and then it snowed.
if you woke up this morning and heard the sound of someone moaning piteously somewhere off in the distance, that was me. because when i got up and opened the blinds in the kitchen (just to make sure the backyard hadn't wandered off while i was sleeping), this is what greeted me:
why? why is it snowing here in april? this just isn't right.
we need to sacrifice something to appease the weather gods. maybe if we all voluntarily didn't drive for a week, or refused plastic bags at the grocery store for a month, or forever gave up our consumption of factory-made (although strangely delicious) fruit cremes - you know those cookies with a circle of red jelly dotted with sugar on one side and yellow icing creme between the two halves? i'm willing to do whatever it takes...
and yesterday was fairly productive out in the garden. a bit of clean-up and tidying. everything from seed that was planted seems to be up (even though i need a magnifying glass to spot the carrots and marigolds). i transplanted the cauliflower sprouts from my starter flat to a raised bed. planted a second round of lettuce and spinach seeds in another bed, as well as a second row of peas.
my 5-year-old and i deliberated and then decided to plant a row of beans - goldmarie, purple peacock and kentucky wonder (i think) along the fence. she tried very hard to drum up some excitement among the troops playing in the backyard (my two + two more), "Boys! Boys, we're gardening now! Come on! It'll be fun!", but to no avail. She's such a sweetie. Whenever she has a chance to make wishes at a fountain or by blowing dandelion seeds, she always wishes for a beautiful garden (and a pony).
the have finally shown signs of life. the plum sat in its pot for a month and then started blooming, just to taunt me. the apple and the pear (which i had dutifully planted and fed and watered) showed no activity for ages and just this past week started sprouting little leaves at the tips of their branches. the strawberries are roaring along. the rhubarb from last year is already a good-sized clump, and the two new rhubarbs have shown themselves (you can play spot-the-rhubarb in the picture below).
is this the fate of an overeager gardener?