Sewing...no, sowing...

 March 7, 2024

So, I have decided to quit moaning about the missing winter, and go ahead and enjoy spring...which seems to be springing a little early....about 2 weeks early, according to the birds. The temperature ups and downs over the past few weeks have been like a roller coaster ride, and some have been cataclysmic. On one of the last days in February, an extreme +16C (61F) dropped to a low -19C (-2F) within a 24 hour period. There have been several nights of above freezing temperatures in February...unheard of. There is still the feeling of unease about what the summer may hold, weather wise, but.....onward.

The first Robins usually arrive mid March, but are already here, along with the Red-winged blackbirds, and this morning I heard a Purple Finch for the first time. There are flocks of Pine Siskins and Redpolls that have been around for quite a while, as well as Red Crossbills hanging out in the pine plantations, and we have 5 Snow Buntings which have been here for some time, foraging across the snow before it melted, and now foraging across bare ground. For a whitish bird, they are well camouflaged for foraging on snow or bare ground. 

Recently, I attended a talk on Winter Sowing, and decided to give it a go. Today has dawned sunny and just below freezing, a perfect spring day, so I set up on the picnic table and had at 'er.

One needs clear, or opaque plastic containers and the distilled water bottles left from topping up the batteries for the solar system fit the bill. I drilled holes in the bottom and up the sides beneath where the soil will be, then sliced the bottles in half, leaving an hinge.

 4 to 6 inches of moistened, good potting soil goes into the bases, then seeds, a covering of soil, a label, then the hinged part of the bottle is duct-taped closed. I wasn't sure how well the labels would fare, so used a paint marker to write on the outside of the bottles.

The screw lids come off, and then the bottles are set out in the weather. The idea is that Mother Nature knows when the conditions are right for germination. Once all danger of frost is past, one removes the duct tape, and unhinges the lid. The plants may need protection from strong direct sunlight for a few days, but then, voila! one has well hardened transplants to set out. The idea is that you have created mini greenhouses. If frost threatens after germination, one can just throw a cover over the bottles.

 I tied the handles up to keep the bottles upright in windy conditions, and set them into the end of the strawberry bed.

It is an experiment. I've planted more or less cold hardy stuff like parsley, chard, kale, spinach, seed onions, and if it appears to be working, I'll set out more containers mid April, with tomatoes and peppers.

The knitting bug continues to bite. The Fair Isle style sweater is finished.

I didn't want to buy buttons, so raided my button jars for buttons that would co-ordinate rather than match, because there weren't enough of any one variety. 

On the cabled hoodie, the back and left front is complete, and I have started up the right front. Still the hood and sleeves to knit.

There are pockets at the bottom of the fronts, and it was interesting how they are knitted into the garment. (The acrylic ruler is inserted into the pocket.) On the left side of the picture, the integral pocket lining is sticking out to the left.

I would like to try my hand at lining the hoodie with some fleece once the parts are finished. Any sort of breeze can go right through a knitted coat. The plan is to block out the pieces and cut the fleece to match the pieces, adding some ease and seam allowances. Another experiment. We'll see how far I get with that this spring. 

 Over the last two days, mild temperatures and rain have evaporated the snow off of our clearing, and last night there were a couple of deer grazing behind the big solar panel. Once the frost is out of the ground, the first garden chore to be done is to replace the rotting boards around the herb garden with the new ones Hubby milled out of hemlock last summer. The boards were my birthday present...and what an appreciated one they were and are!!!