I feel like I need a life jacket.......

It's been hot, it's been cold and it's Ohio in April.  There is no set schedule but it's always busy!  The earth is waking up and then decides to roll over and go back to sleep.  Just keep planting, just keep making pots, just keep starting seeds.  The days I put my blinders on and don't answer the phone or look at my email I get stuff done!  The days I do look or answer the phone, I get stuff done at 10:00 pm.  I am glad the days are longer, although I just don't have the energy to garden much past 8 pm or in the dark anymore.  

The warm days take me an extra hour at night for tick checks........ they are back, they are early and they are abundant!  

Time to release the chickens....... oh but that neighbor who fears for his life when they're out.  Me, I'd rather have a pack of rabid chickens with switchblades than a nest of ticks any day! 

The girls know Spring has sprung too as laying is in hyperdrive!  These three sweeties are giving us a dozen plus eggs a week.  Tractor Supply, now has a 6 chicken limit and I really don't want 6 more chickens!  I wouldn't mind three more but 6 is too many.  Chickens are like prunes for breakfast; how many are enough? When is it too many and when you realize it's too many, it's much too late.         

Garden is ON!  I am so excited that we have been eating out of the garden since mid March!  And there is so much more to come!  I spent a couple days flipping the compost pile and realized some of the chicken bedding from last Fall has not broken down yet.  I stopped myself from spreading it on the garden, way too hot and way too much nitrogen!  Making a few changes this year on the subject of mulch.  I will only be buying a few yards for the shrubs and perennial beds.  The vegetable and fruit gardens will be getting mulched with grass clippings mixed with composted leaves.  Should keep the moisture in and it will slowly decompose.  Again a lot of nitrogen!  Too counter all this nitrogen I stepped up my phosphorus.  So the mad scientist strikes again.  Every year is different but we are off to a good start.

Planted red chieftain and blue potatoes in grow bags, realized I had way too many potatoes for the amount of grow bags so I sprinkled potato chits all over this place, between the blueberry bushes, the gooseberry bushes, in the strawberry and asparagus patch. The spinach is on round 2, radishes just keep coming, loving the new kale varieties, and the best turnips ever!  New favorite radish is "Hailstone"! 

Still starting seeds (9 flats),  several dinners with this years asparagus, so much time hauling trays in and out of the back door twice a day.  It really is time for a hoop house. 

Planted 11 new blueberries around the gardens.  Trying several dwarf varieties this time.  All the branches that have been piling up were run through the shredder and used around the new blueberry bushes.  We have had so much wind and cold weather it's been more like March than April.  

The rain barrels are now over flowing, during the first planting cycle I drained them down by two thirds, it was that dry!  Now the rain won't stop.  The lettuce and radishes are so happy! Cool, wet weather, bring on the brassicas! 

There has been time for much needed R&R too, botanical gardens and museums. 

the kitchen is always busy.......

And then in the middle of blizzard, this winter,  I signed up for space in a community garden too.  I don't have enough sun to grow everything my heart desires so I rented an 8' x 12' raised bed in the local community garden.  I also realize I don't get off the compound much and thought this might be a good way for me to start interacting with the locals again.  Ran over and looked at the very small bed and realized the dirt is crap and will need amended before anything goes in the ground!  Then I got an email that we were having a work day; 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm on a Tuesday.  Cool!  It was chilly and the rain was on its way.  This garden is on the north end of town and I have no idea what the soil is like on the north end of town.  I assumed it would be a lot like I have here, sandy loam.  This is what I walked into.......

Muck, black stinking muck.  Last year someone had put huge sheets of black plastic over this area to kill the weeds.  Big mistake!  Weeds were sprouted and ready to emerge when we pulled all that black plastic off.  Why not sheet mulch?!  Cardboard, wood chips, straw, grass clippings; thick and deep.  There were thousands of dead drowned worms laying in pools of water on top of the black plastic.  8 of us slogged through the water, removed heavy pipe and rolls of chain link fence before we could even get to the plastic.  Then we had to cut the plastic from the spikes pounded in the ground that plotted out the area.  Under stern commands we were told; under no circumstances were we allowed to remove those spikes.  By this time I was just pissed.  There is no reason to ever ever prep a bed like this..... I probably should have walked away but did I? OH NO....... I stuck it out and sucked up stinky air.  Quickly realizing the rest of the world moves at a snails pace and I do not.  PEOPLE!  We have an hour and half to get this plastic off, rolled up, put away, and the beds staked out.  No one was really directing anyone and the rain clouds were looming large.  I suggested we work in quadrants in case we got rained out.  And one lovely woman came in ballerina flats and her office clothes..... no one had tools to dig the plastic out of the trenches, it was bull shit!  One guy, kept standing on the plastic while I was trying to roll it up.  Get off the fucking plastic stir or I will roll you up and they won't find you until next Fall when they unroll this holy mess again.  And YES let's roll the water into the middle so it's twice as heavy when we have to pick it up and carry it away.  WTF?  I was covered in mud, my pocket knife was covered in mud, my face had streaks of mud and I don't play well with others.  I went into survival mode, and I'm not even going to have a garden in this area as I have a small raised bed I can see from this mud hole.  Another tip people; do not leave any tools on the ground because you elevated us from "gardeners" to the Three Stooges! The shovel was worthless.  It sunk in the ground and made a sucking noise when you pulled it out.  Everything was heavy, everything was wet, everything was covered in mud and I was cranky.   I left my compound, never leave the compound.  I don't play well with others and I constantly run with scissors.  Why is this such a hard lesson for me? 

I retreated to the studio and the wheel is spinning again.  I have applied to several shows this year.  

Honestly I don't know how this year will shake out as keep hearing we are in or headed into a recession but I can't just stop making stuff.  

Ya, there is a lot going on here in Paine Falls but I picked out my new knitting pattern and I'm gonna look great!