an early spring

 i hope phil is right. this winter's been kicking my ass. worst january weather i can remember--nearly three weeks of temperatures in the single digits OR BELOW. only a handful of above-freezing temperatures. one day we had an ice storm, something that hasn't happened here since before i was born. i woke up to a quarter inch of slippery ice covering everything, encasing my car, it took 45 minutes of running the heat before i could scrape my windshield.

it's too early to start seeds, but i started a few anyway. i thrifted an aerogarden, and instead of using it for hydroponics i'm using it as a grow light. meyer lemon seeds sprouting in a coffee mug:

 they won't live very long in this container and i won't be able to transplant them, but for now they're wonderful. i also started a few micro tomatoes, hahms gelbe variety:

 there's nothing like the smell of tomato leaves in late january when it's 2 degrees and snowing out.

 the lemon leaves smell wonderful too. very sweet and fruity.

 my fire ranch aloe plant had five pups, so i separated them out into different containers and gave them to friends.

 minnie is the energizer bunny of egg laying. she's the only one who barely slowed down all winter. prinnie molted last fall and didn't lay at all until about a week ago--also her comb shrank down to almost nothing, then popped back up almost overnight.

the last few days have been relatively warm and most of the snow melted, so the ladies are happy to get outside. they wouldn't leave their coop at all when the snow was deep.

first harvest monday of autumn

this weekend jason and i went to our friend rifka’s house in king hill for a harvest/equinox celebration. we feasted, foraged, played music, wandered, relaxed, feasted some more...it was so lovely, i’ll put up photos once i finish them.

i’ve harvested a lot since last week. many of my plants are having their second (or third, or fourth) wind, like this monster zucchini plant:

if you can believe it this has been growing since april. outdoors, using a fishbowl for a cloche early on when frost was still an issue. it started squashing in june, and i wish i kept track of how many zukes it produced...at least 50. the stem split into two vines, and it keeps growing in both directions.

just in the last week it’s put out seven zucchini, with two more growing now. that’s more than most weeks, but not by much. and i'm still not tired of them.

all three of my eggplants are blooming and fruiting again.

so are the strawberries.

ground cherries are dropping more than ever.

future salsa verde: my first big harvest of green tomatillos.

and the very first ripe purple one. little late, but i’ll take it.

the citrus fruits show no sign of wanting to ripen anytime soon. it’s almost time to move the plants inside. they’ve grown so much from the tiny twigs that came in the mail six months ago.

happy autumn everyone!