Snow Bugs?

I took the Pug for our weekly outing to the pond on Sunday to visit these guys.

Amazingly, I actually remembered to bring something to feed them this time.

Someone else enjoyed the Cheerios.......

.....but the swans did not approve!

It was too hard to walk around the pond today because of all the snow so after the quick trip down to feed the swans we headed back out.  I noticed that there were thousands of black dots all over the snow.

Upon closer inspection, I could see that the dots were hopping around.  Huh?  What are they?  Snow bugs?  I still don’t know but I am very curious.  Anyone?

1st Harvest (Spinach) and Wonky weather

FIRST HARVEST!
Without further ado....my first harvest of the year..spinach! I guess I will be making Orange Almond Salad tomorrow - deee-lish! Just in case you're interested...

ORANGE ALMOND SALAD

• Bacon

Cook until crisp and then crumble.

• Almonds
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp butter

In microwave safe bowl combine almonds, butter and sugar. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes until sugar dissolves and almonds begin to brown. Stir from time to time to prevent from sticking together. NOTE: You can also buy prepared honey roasted almonds at the super market and skip this step. They work just as well.

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup salad oil
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp parsley
  
• tabasco sauce, to taste

Combine and chill until ready to serve.

• Spinach leaves
• Green or red onions, thinly sliced
• 1 - 10 oz tin mandarin oranges (Breaking news.....Try strawberries!)
  

Top salad with almonds, bacon, oranges and onions and serve with salad dressing.

WONKY WEATHER
Today I potted up some of the seedlings but was still hesitant to put anything in the raised beds. The weather is still so wonky that I am not sure what to do. Thursday and Friday were around 90'ish and today was 60 or so. In the middle of the afternoon? Hello? What gives? At least the pots can be covered easily.

The real bummer is when I looks at blogs and forums of gardeners not so far away. Some seem almost ready for harvest!

Spring has Sprung!

Welcome Spring! Finally!

After a rather wicked winter the garden is awakening! Spring bulbs are readying to burst open with color. The unmistakable smell of hyacinth will soon be wafting in the air. I love all Spring flowers but hyacinths......yummy. Tulips won't be far behind! Whew-hew!

Yesterday was a beautiful day - time to kick start the garden!



Cold-Frame
Installed the small cold frame in the veggie bed. This was fashioned out of wood with an old window hinged on top. I must give credit where credit is due because this would never have happened without the help of my neighbor Colin (I am forbidden from using power tools that have the potential to remove my limbs). Thank you Colin.

The first seeds to go in were:

• Cabbage - Earliana
• Cauliflower - Early Snowball
• Spinach - Baby's Leaf
  
• Lettuce - Sweet Salad mix includes Black Seeded Simpson, Green & Red Salad Bowl, Marvel of Four Seasons and Bibb
• Lettuce - Looseleaf Blend includes BSS and G&RSB plus Royal Oak Leaf, Lolla Rosa and Salad Bowl

Feeling a little adventurous I thought I would direct sow in the garden next to the cold-frame to compare the results. I smell an "experiment" . How clever is that! Ha!

While puttering in the garden I observed the leeks that I planted last summer. To my amazement they survived a New England winter and actually seemed quite content - they looked good and smelled even better. Now, about leeks......last summer was the 1st time that I ever grew them, if "grow" is what you want to call it. They were planted as 1" starts last June and by season's end the were rather pathetic looking - perhaps 1/3" in diameter. Contrary to my nature, I did NOT yank them in the Fall but rather I decided to leave them be. Hmmmm.....I am interested to see what happens. If this is the kind of growth schedule that they are on, I guess I now know why they are so expensive in the store.