In the world of partying - I hope everyone had a fun St. Pattys Day. The day of (green) beer, green clothing, and everyone claiming Irish descent. We celebrated at the Still with Robin's friends. Much fun was had - perhaps a little too much as I was not well the next day. It's been a long while since I partied all night. Fortunatly I did not drink any green dye #8.
So, it's the spring equinox... supposed first day of spring... how come there is still snow on the ground then? We had such lovely weather a week or so ago - some of the herbs in the backyard decided to start growing, and then they were doused in snow! Although what was there is now brown I already see fresh green from the recent days of sun. I am getting very impatient - I want to be gardening!
Robin and I are getting excited about our organic gardening plans. There will be a lot of vegetables, as well as herbs, and companion flowers (strategically placed to keep bugs away). Robin also has plans for the front flower beds, although we are lucky to have numerous perrenials already there. I think the rabbits already ate the tulip bulbs I planted in the fall, which is a good reminder that I will need to devise a way to keep them away from my vegetables!
I've already started seeds indoors. I'm reusing as many plastic containers as my imagination can devise. These large salad greens bins are particularly great. And the organic greens that were inside them are delicious. My (vegetarian) sister introduced us to them while she was visiting and we've kept our fridge stocked ever since. They are an incredibly priced deal as well. And see how useful they are after!
I've also created newspaper pots that can later be planted directly into the ground. These are good for the larger plants. So far I have marigolds in them.
I also have some peat pots (jiffy pots), but before I picked those up I started some seeds in cardboard egg cartons. They fit very nicely into my salad bins.
These are my brandywine tomato seedlings after 5 days! I think they like their plastic bin home.
While I wait for all these seedlings to grow I content myself with tending to the indoor herbs. Just to be clear, the composter will not stay there on the deck. We just picked it up today and put it together there.
All the sunny table spots are taken in the house. Jenny is not too impressed by this as Darla and Gryphon tend to hog the sun-spots on the floor. I often find Jenny sitting among the plants, and since she's not the evil one who eats them, I don't mind.
Yes, this is a goldfish plant. Of course, when I saw it at the grocery store, I had to get it. Mine has yet to flower. 
And what posting is complete without a photo of Darla. Here she is running up the yard. See all those branches on the ground? That used to be a nice tree in the backyard that provided privacy. Then it blew over in a recent storm. Now the branches are helping me prepare the ground for a garden by killing the sod beneath.
In other news, we are redoing the kitchen and front entrance soon. We bought new porcelain tiles the other day. We've got the paint colours picked out and the new countertop. We just need to pick a new backsplash tile to match the floor. The one we had previously chosen does not match.
** I am updating this post with a picture of the tiles and paint colours (the dark blue is the countertop sample.) The paints are not coming out quite the right colour and will probably look even more different on your screen. The blue is more muted and greyish, but this gives you an idea.
