Footprints of Life
A couple weeks ago we had a bit of a warmup. As a result, the driveway melted a bit and every thing that crossed the driveway left it’s mark.
When I went out to check on the chickens the next morning, the driveway was once again frozen solid and the traffic patterns of the previous day were preserved.
It was wonderful to see all the different prints left behind by: human, vehicle, dog, duck, chicken and cat. There is certainly a lot of life here at Chiot’s Run!
What’s your favorite animal track to spot?
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Garden Dreaming
Now that I have a huge blank slate for a garden, I’m spending a lot of time dreaming about what I want to do. It’s really not that different than what I did back in Ohio, just on a larger scale. One thing I’ve always dreamed about having in the garden is a nice bench.
I don’t know exactly why this type of bench calls to me, but every time I see one at a botanical garden or in a park, I tell myself I’ll have one in my garden someday.
This particular bench was nestled in a peaceful alcove by the pond at Bloedel Reserve, the perfect spot to sit. I could definitely see myself spending hours on this bench reading.
I think all gardens should have a place to sit, though oddly enough I’ve never really had an official one in mine. Back in Ohio, we always sat on the stairs of our front porch or on the stairs in the back. Someday I will have a garden bench, I just have to start saving my pennies because a good quality one isn’t cheap!
Do you have a place to sit in your garden?
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Duck TV
Mr Chiots and I have this little round window in our dining room. I have a deep distaste for round windows, but that’s another story for another day. This window perfectly frames our garage/barn, which is where the ducks lives at the moment. We find ourselves often pausing to look out this window as we walk to and from our office, checking to see what the ducks are doing. Having ducks is more entertaining that having TV. You never know what you’re going to get when you stop to look out this window.
Sometimes there will be ducks scaling the Mt Everest of snow piles, other times you’ll see 7 ducks flapping their wings attempting flight. A week ago we got a good laugh when they chased a squirrel from the yard. This is better than cable and much cheaper too!
What sources of entertainment have you found outside your windows?
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Farmer Chiots
Ever since we moved to our new place in Maine, Mr Chiots has been looking for tractors on Craig’s List. Luckily, our new neighbor Matt is well versed in the tractor world and has been helping.
A week ago Sunday, they headed up to look at one that looked promising. When he returned, Mr Chiots had the manual and big smile on his face. He had purchased his chariot. Luckily we found a great deal on a used one.
This past Saturday, they rented a trailer from a friend, and made two trips to bring home the tractor and all the implements.
Lucky me, now I can have Mr Chiots dig holes for trees in a snap with a tractor. It will sure come in handy when it comes to tending the driveway and squirreling away firewood to stay warm in the winter.
What’s your favorite garden tool or machine?
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Seeds, Seeds, and More Seeds
Yesterday there were two packages of seeds in my little bus barn when we arrived home from coffee at our neighbor’s (they were from High Mowing Seeds and Baker Creek). Nothing is quite as exciting as opening these up and shuffling through them. I’m quite excited about a lot of these, some are crazy tropical fruits that will end up being houseplants, like the pink banana from Baker Creek. Others are going to fill the big garden up behind the garden.
What did I receive?
Here’s what I ordered from High Mowing:
Garden Combo Inoculant
Maxibel Haricot Vert Bean
Santee F1 Hybrid Sprouting Broccoli
Mars Celeriac
Fisher’s Earliest Corn
Roy’s Calais Flint Corn
Painted Mountain Flour Corn
National Pickling Cucumber
Optima Lettuce
Cortland F1 Hybrid Onion
Sedona F1 Onion
Green Arrow Pea
King of the North Pepper
Delicata Squash
Burgess Buttercup Squash
Jade Bean
From Baker Creek I ordered a ton of stuff. A few new and interesting things to try. Many of the herbs will be started indoors in pots and will become houseplants.
Ailsa Craig Onion
Gobbo Di Nizzia Cardoon
Hollow Crown Parsnip
Butternut-Waltham
Mammoth Sandwich Island Salsify
Golden Globe
Laurentian Rutabaga
Broad Windsor Fava Bean
Extra Precoce A Grano Violetto Fava Bean
Florence Fennel
Golden Beet
Perpetual Spinach
Mary Washington Asparagus
Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts
Purple of Sicily Cauliflower
Violetta Itallia Cauliflower
Glory of Enkhuizen Cabbage
Giant Red Re-Selection
Di Firenze Fennel
Pink Banana
Chuffa
Autumn Giant Leek
Bulgarian Giant Leek
Giant Musselburgh Leek
Bleu De Solaise
Celtuce Lettuce
Australian Brown Onion
Lipstick Pepper
Red Mini Bell
Fordhook Zucchini
Sweet Meat Winter Squash
A Grappoli D’Inverno Tomato
Coriander, Large Seeded
Cilantro, Slo-Bolt
Dock, Bloody (Red Sorrel)
Feverfew
Lemongrass
Ramsons or Wild Garlic
Summer Savory
Tarragon, Russian
Fairyland Dwarf Mix – Candytuft
Unwin’s Mix – Dahlia
Yellow Canary Creeper Nasturtium
Lemon Queen – Sunflower
Envy – Zinnia
Button Box Zinnia
Lilliput Mix – Zinnia
It’s kind of exciting to finally have a large garden space, I can grow a little of this and a little of that. I’m excited to try broad beans and celeriac for the first time this year. My seeds from Peaceful Valley arrived last fall. I still have seeds from Renee’s Garden that haven’t arrived and I need to order a few cover crops from Johnny’s and Fedco.
Have any of your seeds for this season arrived yet? What are you most looking forward to growing?
