First Food

Thanks to Mike taking the girls out to Osler to see his family, I had a relaxing day spent almost entirely in the yard. I worked with two of my former students to prep for debate Nationals from 9:30-10:30, but other than that, I was out from 9 until 2. It was lovely weather and I spent it in a lovely way.

Thanks to that mighty wind storm, my first job was re-raking the yard. While doing that, I uncovered all sorts of baby plants just getting ready to be born. Since two of my sisters are due to have babies this week, it felt like a year of birthing (I feel free to say this because when I used to talk about dealing with Leora as a baby, Teela would always compare Leora to her dog Jessie).

My mother used to go around her yard poking into the partially frozen ground to see what was ready to come up. Since I spent many a good James evening teasing her about this, I am a little nervous to admit my raking time was a least half occupied by poking the ground. Since it was not frozen, my behaviour in no way resembles my mother's.

I found a number of things already up, but I was most excited about the Cranesbill Geranium (great smell) and the tulips I planted last year. The very tips of the hyacinths I got from my mom are up in the full sun bed, but no daffodils yet.

I also did some re-potting and pruning, and then I decided it was time to harvest our first food of the season - parsnips. Our neighbour, pat, told me to just "leave them in the ground in the fall and dig them up when the ground thaws in the spring." They were her husband's favorite when he was still alive, and she's been planting them "forever", so I trusted her advice. She said not to eat any that get mushy.

I dug up a small patch of ours, and two of the ten were mushy, but I am using the others in roasted veggies and am exciting to be eating our first meal with some fresh garden in it. Last year that was the asparagus, which is not yet perking this year. I also have chives, and will be harvesting cilantro and spinach in small clusters from the greenhouse soon. Check out the pictures of all the green things, especially my upside down tomatoes.

I also spent a nice couple hours reading in the hammock, which made it a great day in the yard. On Tuesday I am headed to Teela's to help with her new baby, and she tells me it is air conditioner weather there.