I Feel Spring In the Air

It's a BEAUTIFUL day. Yesterday, it rained and threatened snow, but today is beautiful. Spring has arrived. I can see the buds on the apricot and peach trees getting fat and ready to burst. I hope that they don't get too anxious and it will probably freeze several times at night before it really gets spring in the panhandle. Last year, there was not any fruit because of a late frost so I am hoping that we will have some this year. We especially look forward to having a good crop of wild sandhill plums. Sand plums make the best jelly. I always try to pick enough to put some in the freezer for the years that we don't have a crop. We missed two years in a row so my store was depleted. My family loves this jelly and I always like to have some made as gifts for Christmas, and for welcoming newcomers to the community. It is a great way to get your foot in the door and welcome a new friend.

I don't have my garden tilled yet. It has been too wet and I guess that my potatoes and onions will be planted on good Friday instead of St Patricks day. I really don't plant too many potatoes though, just enough for fresh new ones with peas or beans. Mostly, we plant okra, beans, squash , tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. That is what does best in our soil and that is what we like when it is fresh. I am not like my dear grandmother. When she had a garden, it was intended to raise the food for the year. This she did, and her gardens produced enough to share and sell. It was nothing for her to can 500 to 700 quarts of vegetables and fruit a year. This was before many people were freezing their produce. There came a day when she knew that she would have to slow down though. One year, she didn't have any jars and had to pour out some of the older goods to have jars for the fresh things. After that she didn't plant such a large garden. She would think me to be lazy, I fear.

I have watched the birds getting friendly with one another and choosing their nesting spot. One of the favorites of the finches seems to be right over my car in the carport. I do enjoy watching them but hate the mess. I have learned to move my car just a little though and it helps to keep it clean. Mother bird, always has a clean nest as she has trained her babies to turn their tail to the outside and hit what is below. What a smart little thing.

Yes, I can feel spring in the air. The yard is calling and I can see a lot of work to do out there but I think I have a bad case of the Spring Fever or maybe it is just plain laziness, so I think I will first go and take a nap. Don't you think that sounds like a good idea????