Our weekend with the kids ended a few hours earlier than originally predicted. Their Mom and companion quit skiing at lunch time yesterday and headed home arriving about the same time as Granddaughter’s bus, so I left them with the dinner I had planned and came home to prepare dinner for hubby and myself. It was great having the kids this weekend, they got off to school yesterday with little intervention on my part. Hubby met me in town for lunch and a walk and we parted company again so I could meet the buses and be ready to prepare dinner. A lot of reading got done, not much spinning and no knitting, though all were taken with me.
We have been very good about walking this winter. We feared that when it got cold, we would wimp out, but we haven’t and have encouraged each other on days when one or the other felt indifferent to the idea. It helps that there is a community walking group that self reports the week’s progress to “our leader” who sends out weekly updates with pictures, or information on other Newport’s around the world if we have accumulated enough miles as a group to have “walked” there. At times, I have been a poor reporter, even when we were doing the walks, but am keeping a log now so that I report as soon as his weekly post from prior comes out. His posts are about two weeks behind the current week to give everyone time to get their mileage turned in.
When we walked today, there are Snow Drops blooming, the Forsythia in town is already in bloom, the crocuses and daffodil greens are up. There are ahead of us as far as development of spring time, but today was near 60 f when we walked and there are no “cold” days in the 10 day forecast. Winter isn’t over, there will be frosts still, we have even has snow in March and flurries in early April, but buds are forming, you can see the change in color from flat winter gray to reds, pinks, and greens as the trees in the woods begin to develop their flowers and new leaves. The heat will run less, the grass will green up and mowing will have to begin again, but winter will be in the rear view mirror soon.
Within the next couple of days, the tomato and pepper seeds will be sown in starter pods, maybe a bit later as an order for the pods for the larger hydroponic garden has been placed. I was out of them. It will continue to provide us with lettuce and komatsu until they arrive. Last year’s success starting the plants in the hydroponic has encouraged me to do it again that way this year. Most everything else will be direct sown and those plants that I would like to give a headstart other than tomatoes and peppers will go in starter pots in a tray in the sun.