As Homer says, “D’oh”.

I could not wait for spring. It’s been a long cold wet overcast winter…since, like, mid November. This Colorado girl was having serious seasonal affective disorder (SAD) sunshine withdrawal. By April, I figured we were out of the woods. And we HAVE had more sunshine. We even had one day where there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It felt like the governor had called in a death row reprieve.

So I broke ground and planted seeds on April 7th. And several rows of chard, spinach, lettuce, spicy greens (mustards), onions, peas, beets, Chinese cabbage, potatoes and radish later, I have a total of four, count them, four mustard greens coming up two weeks later.

It has been unseasonably cold, and still pretty wet and overcast. In short, I jumped the gun. Just because a vegetable can take a frost, that doesn’t mean it wants to germinate when soil temperatures are still under 50 degrees. Today, it snowed. Ugh. (The seeds, by the way, should be fine tucked into their nice refrigerated bed. They’ll still come up when it warms up.)

So, I’ve decided to stop planting (I had planned on doing succession planting, where you plant the same thing every week or so to extend the harvest) until I start seeing more stuff come up. If there is a life lesson I am presented with over and over again, it is patience. Breathe…breathe.

There ARE signs of spring, despite the weather.

Our last frost is not until Mothers Day, but the fact that the spiders are even out is a good sign!

The bees (next post) are going to love the plums when they bloom.

I had recognized that there were violets around, and had wondered why they did not bloom last year. It was because by the time I got here in June, they were already done.

I LOVE violets. They are edible, and some crazy people candy them. I am SO not there this year.

This Red-breasted Nuthatch was politely tapping on an old apple stump in my yard, looking for insects. They are cavity nesters, and I have a LOT of nest boxes up, so here is hoping.

I started these broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower plants in my cold frame. Good thing! The plants in the front are Lavender and Anise Hyssop.

I planted a bag of daffodils all over the yard last fall. This is the first one to bloom. Yeah for yellow!

Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers. I had them in my wedding bouquet. These have got a way to go. I missed the bloom last year, so am looking forward to seeing what colors/scents are here.