Slow Growing

Nearly a month after starting a bunch of seeds.... I have very little to show for it. The poor little things are trying, but even in the greenhouse it has just been really rather cold. 

South Carolina really spoiled me as far as gardening expectations go, because in the spring seeds grew in time-lapse fashion and we had lettuce and radishes and tomatoes and beans and all kinds of things, just in pots on the patio. Not so much out here. That's kale above, which is doing better than the rest. 

Some tomatoes have germinated but compared to the seedlings available in stores these guys have got a long way to go. 

I just added this little tuft of wheatgrass to my window box of lettuce seedlings. Amy actually grew this from one if those little coin-machine capsules "grow your own garden" things for 75 cents and it did quite well on the windowsill. 

In the big garden the peas are growing, very slowly.  I think they got scared when I optimistically put up all the trellising. 

And lastly the strawberries, which look exactly the same as when I planted them, a month ago. 

However the weeds underneath the weed-block fabric are trying like crazy to grow, and keep pushing up against the fabric, creating an odd, creature-under-the-blankets effect in this bed. 

The established plantings around the house are all doing very well though - fuschia, passion flowers, dinosaur plant, and plenty else I don't know the names of. And the grass, oh my, does the grass grow. So it's not all dreary, I just thought this supposed "mild climate" would mean more promising things for the early months of a garden. We shall see what the rest of spring brings! 

Mirror Tricks

Two of my children spent, without exaggeration, three hours of their Sunday sitting on the bathroom counter, talking to all the friends they found there. 

I guess if you don't have a bunch of pals to hang out with you just have to make your own. 

Though it helps to have one really good pal to imagine with. 

These Three

As I scrolled through last week's pictures, looking for a story or theme to blog about, what struck me is how many pictures I had of all three kids together. For the most part, A&W are still a unit, but with increasing frequency C gets herself right in the middle of what they are doing (whether they would like her to or not). So here's just a brief recap of our rather uneventful week and weekend past. 

First, I have to mention that I did indeed finish the vest for Amy, and even though it was a learning experience in the areas of shaping and striping yarn, it still turned out pretty well and she loves it. 

And I love this picture from later the same afternoon: 

Caroline's little blonde curls are just killing me these days: 

We had nice weather this weekend and spent a lot of it outside flipping over stones looking for snails and roly-polies. 

And naturally Ollie was on hand, looking handsome (if a bit ridiculous) on the shed roof against the blue sky. 

And just a couple more moments of togetherness: 

In the above picture Amy is brandishing her new, handmade magic wand, made of maple and dragon heart string, crafted by my very talented brother just for her. It came complete with a letter of early acceptance to Hogwarts, so she was more than a little thrilled. And A&W and C behind her in this picture just crack me up. 

That's about what has been going on here. I have a rare-morning-napping baby with me right now so I need to figure out what that means for the rest of my day. TTFN! 

Chickens and Eggs

In this case, the chickens came first, at the garden store, followed by some egg dyeing later on at home on Friday afternoon. 

And here is my bunny, all ready for church this morning. 

Happy Easter, He is Risen!