Is It Spring Yet?

Well, after fighting off some sort of virus for most of February, I am back on my feet. Yeah! And just in time, too, because the sap is starting to run in the maple trees here.  Hopefully we are finished with the sub-zero temperatures. I am tired of being cooped up in the house.

 I dug a path out to where I wanted to build a rocket stove and where I could easily reach a wood pile, then had to dig a path out to the greenhouse to get some of the cement blocks there to build the rocket stove because the blocks I had stacked behind the wood pile last fall were frozen solid in the snow.  Eventually I set up the stove and  tapped five trees, so I am ready to make some syrup! I'm looking forward to seeing how well that rocket stove works.  Maybe I'll try boiling some venison sausage in a little maple sap . . . .

The new moon is on the 11th and I will begin starting seeds in the basement then.  The metal shelf unit we used to set seed flats on collapsed under the weight of the winter squash we stored on it, so I disassembled it and now have to run to the building supply to get some boards to build a new one.  It seems like these days in order to have reliable furniture that lasts you have to build it yourself.  I am dreaming of lots of tomatoes this year. I think I'll experiment with planting some in the forest garden.  The peppers did well in the greenhouse last year, so we will keep them there again this year. 

And speaking of dreaming, well, winter's not over yet.