Come on Spring....

So today started rather dismally. A nice inch or so of snow blanketed everything and... well really I'm just glad it didn't happen next week after things started sprouting.

I found this pretty but soon to be dead planter as well as some rabbit prints on the way to work.

After a rather average day at work I stopped off at the post office to get the modem that was shipped. 

I picked up the package and sent of a birthday surprise for my lil sister. I know she reads this... but it's not like I said what the surprise is. :)

Can the Snow Just... Not?

So when we filled out the application for the apartment on Saturday there were a few bits and pieces we needed to include that we didn't have with us. Mom said she'd send the last month's rent by Priority Post on Monday and I said I'd get my "proof of employment" to them a.s.a.p. this week. The idea was that if they had all the bits by Tuesday, they'd have an answer for us by the end of week

I went after work today to drop off my pay stubs and the manager said the deposit hadn't arrived yet. I texted mom for the tracking number....

Okay, so it's been delayed a day or two due to the nasty weather. Delightful. 

I really am hating this winter.

A New Year; A New Beginging

Soooo... It's been almost a year.

It's been so long in fact that I considered creating a new blog for this new chapter of my life. I've decided against that idea because I don't want the past efforts lost to time. I want to bring with me the memories and lessons of these past few years.

That being said, there is so much we have to catch up on before I can even start telling you about now, let alone the future. But there's time for that. I'm not leaving the city for at least two more years so we have all the time we need.

For now however, it's past 1 am and I should be asleep. Goodnight.

Fluffy

Well that didn't last long.

Stupid SMarch Snow 

Soggy

Rain has washed away almost all the snow and soaked the soil.

Fingers crossed for a better season this year.

Winter Returned

So the snow came back after some very cold days and blanketed everything. I'm hoping this coating will stay because we could use some build up. The neighbours have their backyard ice rinks and the river's starting to freeze along the banks. Winter seems to have finally come to stay.

I moved the aloe back into the window because it was getting pale in the center.

Looks like it's doing fine now and the  other plants in the front window seem to be doing okay.

Aloe's looking darker.

Lavender's thriving.

Chamomile good, Oregano still small.

Calendula pale, Sage small.

Chives weak but still holding on.

Over all they seem to be doing okay. Do you keep indoor plants? How do you keep them strong and healthy through the cold dark winter months?

January thaw.

Last weekend we had a run of days over freezing and it melted all the snow. Warmer temperatures are good for the compost but it hardly looks like winter any more. The cats were trying to use Bed #7 as a litter box when there was snow on it so I put down an old folded dog crate we had laying around and the metal mesh has seemed to put a stop to that.

West side.

East side.

Look at What I Found!

I just have to say... This is so awesome. 

I'm going to post the weather reports every month! Squee!

From wunderground.com They are amazing.

Fluffy Blanket

It snowed a lot last night. 

There's at least a couple inches covering the garden and more drifted up against the compost.

Jack Frost is a Busy Guy

Winter's definitely here. There's icicles, snow, and freezing winds.

Down spout icicle

I removed the paper and sticks. The garlic bed looks a little drier than the others because it had that layer of "protection" from the early morning frosts and such but it's not overly dry. It'll be interesting to see how much we can get from this one bed.

Garlic hibernation.

Evil White Stuff

Seems the snow is starting even though winter is still officially about a month away. Going to get the newspapers and sticks up before they get buried under a few inches.

Frankenstorm

Other than the power going out for a few hours and the kale plants getting a little beat up we survived the tail end of Sandy with no trouble.

I hope you and yours are also safe and sound.

Final? Harvest

Weather says possible snow tonight and the pepper plants were already showing signs of frost damage... So we got the last of the food out of the garden, (except the cold hardy cauliflower, kale and herb bed) and cut down the bean vines, and pulled the pepper plants. I can't say it's been a good year but it has been an informative one.

Big bowl of parsnips... and a few baby carrots.

A massive pile of parsley

Some smallish green peppers and a demented twin eggplant.

Harvests & updates

It's been a long hot summer and I actually managed to grow a social life of sorts. I haven't been taking pictures, I haven't been weighing harvests, I haven't been planting, and I haven't been updating... bad girl.

I offer an apology to my readers, and an approximate description of harvests and current garden conditions, as well as info regarding future plans.

The onions never matured.

We did eat a bunch of these already. Very tasty!

Garlic, garlic, garlic!

We've been picking peas and snap beans as they mature and recently have been able to pick some cherry and plum tomatoes as well. I've also just harvested the onions and garlic.

And now for the garden tour:

Yay Rain!

Amazing what a two hour thunderstorm can do.

Yesterday

Today

And not only is the rain barrel 3/4 full, the garden is watered so I don't have to use any of it yet. :)

End of May Update

The broccoli are still getting nibbled to death. We thought it might be aphids but we can't find any so it's probably ants.

The babygreens are becoming.... less baby.

It's just awesome how fast they're growing!

Something's wrong with the tomatoes. The lower leaves are getting splotchy.

Rain barrel is dreadfully empty. I hope it rains soon. I'd rather not use tap-water in the garden.

I bought DE to get rid of whatever's killing off the food. The broccoli bed got a light dusting and we circled some other plants to test different methods of application.

The sprouts in the front window are doing well. I've even got one of the sweetpotato spouts in it's own pot.

Sharing and Caring

These lovely plants are ready to go to work with me tomorrow.
I had a few too many so I'm giving them to my boss for her garden.

Bell pepper, cucumber, and cherry tomato.

And now that I've finally found a supplier of slips... the last ditch effort that hadn't been thrown out yet,
started sprouting. I suppose we'll have to find a home for it now. :)

Two big ones here and a smaller one just started on the other side.

Speaking of homes, we still haven't found the owner of this new stray in the neighbourhood. If you are in London Ontario and missing a (mostly) black cat, please let me know.

I didn't actually make it out back today before the sun went down but John watered earlier today so it'll hold til tomorrow. Our water barrel is helping greatly but it only has 1/2 usable capacity right now due to being flat on the ground. John's planning on building a platform so we can use that other 25 gallons between rains.

Down By The River

The baby geese seem to be growing quickly. The little yellow puff-balls have become large grey puff-balls.

Two adults with their two young.

Even with all the recent rain, the river is low.

The white mark below the bridge is the normal waterline and this bridge is often flooded in spring.

Lovely Lilacs and Warm Weather

Mom and lil sis visited town yesterday and we had a great time wandering all over. I took this picture of nice dark, beautifully scented Lilac bush near Talbot on King.

That's my mom's arm holding the branch still in the wind.

This weekend's supposed to be very warm with a bit of rain again.... and John has informed me that the Junebugs are out already. I've decided that since the pepper and tomato plants are getting crowded inside, they will be put outdoors this weekend even though they aren't planned to go out for one to two more weeks. (many pics to follow)

Anxious

• I'm awaiting word on sweetpotato slips from a seller since I can't seem to sprout my own
• I'm waiting for my mom to call so I know when I see her tomorrow(she lives 1 1/2 hrs away)
• I'm waiting for all the little green things in the garden to get big enough to ID as food or weed
• I'm waiting for someone to claim the stray cat that showed up in our neighbourhood last week
• I'm waiting for the salad greens to mature and start to look like leaves not sprouts.
• I'm waiting for various job posters to call me about my resume
• I'm waiting for the day's to get longer and warmer so I can get more into the garden