Spring is in the air
We’ve had a lot of really great but serious posts lately, so I thought I’d shake things up with a fun post! Spring has me in the mood starting up my outdoor hobbies again. The weather this winter was really wet- a lot of snow and rain- and now things are starting to warm up! I love getting my hands dirty in good soil and seeing things grow.
When we moved into this house I loved everything-
except how bland and boring the front yard was. Desert-scapes are better on the budget in the summer time, but I wanted more greenery. So about two years ago I decided to plant a little flower garden in the front! I dug out the gravel and planted a bunch of bulb flowers. The first two years they were a little bare, but this year they’ve really taken off and have filled the whole space up. I can’t wait to see them when they’re all in bloom!
I also decided to try my hand out with a raised garden bed.
There isn’t enough yard here to put in a planted garden, which is what my family always did, but there is enough room for a few raised beds! I quickly discovered that while I grew up helping my parents plant and raise a garden, they always did the hard work. There is a lot more that goes in to growing a garden then just poking some seeds in the ground and weeding. The first year I grew a few scrappy little plants that produced maybe one vegetable each. The second year I grew some great plants that didn’t produce anything. So this Year I’m really hoping to grow some great plants and some vegetables.
If nothing else though, it’s been a lot of fun watching Sadie discover the magic of growing things.
She’s to the age now where everything is amazing and new, with questions bursting out of her of how the world works. She had a lot of fun planting the seeds in our starters inside, and check the plants the next day to discover little bits of green in each square. (also don’t mind the picture- I didn’t realize I took a screenshot instead of a picture and once I did realize it Sadie wouldn’t come take another one with me)
She also loved when we got out peas, beets, and carrots started outside. She was a little rough as she shoved the peas into the ground, but she checks every day to see if they’ve grown. One night when we were getting ready for bed and talking about the day she said to me, “Mom, sorry, but I ate a pea plant. I just wanted to”. So I asked her if it tasted good and she said, “No! it wasn’t good at all!” So we had to talk about the difference between a pea plant and a pea seed.
We also had fun helping Sophie get her garden started over at her house. It took a little more work since her garden is in the ground, not boxes, but Sadie loved collecting all the “pet” snails as we raked the ground free of weeds and worked in new soil and fertilizer. I’m really excited to see how our gardens do this year and watch Sadie as we (hopefully) harvest from it.
We’ve also been enjoying lambing season. Any time after February until about May we can expect to have lambs. It’s always fun to go and help take care of the little lambs- even though it can be disheartening at times. Sadie loves any excuse to go outside with me. I love our nature walks where I let her lead and we stop and look at every bug, weed, and flower. It’s such a good reminder to me that there is still so much amazing wonder in the world and not to get too caught up in the bustle of life.
