Sunday, February 19, 2012

Weekending

Fairy Lantern

Somehow we were spared the deluge of rain that was supposed to hit our end of the island and instead we had nearly two full days of sunshine!! So out we went to enjoy seeing our shadows and exploring what was left in the garden :)

As the kids ran through the secret pathway and tromped through the knee high grass that has taken over a neglected flower bed they found some fairy lanterns. Well poppy seed heads actually but the winter had left nothing but their skeletal innards and my daughter thought they would be perfect little lanterns for fairies to use to light their way through the long winter nights *grin*.

Ice whales

Their next exciting find was the 'Ice Whales' swimming in one of the frozen buckets of water :) The thick piece of ice covering one of the pools of water had formed some mysterious shapes that we could think were none other than the dorsal fins of miniature ice whales that were visiting our garden :)

Towering Mullein

As the kids continued to poke around and dance around the giant mullein stalks still standing in the garden I thought I would get busy and take on the mega job of digging up and turning the soil in the garden for spring planting.

Digging

I usually have it rototilled but as I was plucking some of the weeds I noticed how many wriggly fat worms there were just under the surface layer of soil mulching and fertilizing and I made up my mind that this year I would take it upon myself to save those precious little workers from being chopped up in the tiller tines and turn it all by hand.

I only got a quarter of the way finished today and my shoulders and back are aching a bit from the strenuous activity after a lazy winter but if I can get it all finished I'll actually have it ready for planting even earlier than usual since I usually have to wait longer for the soil to dry for tilling so it doesn't cake up to much as it is turned.

I think I'm going to see if I can get my strapping young teenager to help me out though when I return on the next sunny day *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wandering outside and just "looking" is so much fun - especially with kids.

Hopewell Creek Designs said...

That does look like a fairy lantern!! I love an outdoor adventure with kiddos!!

Katie said...

The rain missed you, but it didn't miss me! We had a minor flood in our basement this weekend :-( Seeing your post reminds me that spring is indeed around the corner!

Natalie said...

What a fantastic treasure that fairy lantern is...amazing what a great sculptor mother nature is, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

I appreciated the kindness with which you dealt with the issue of worms. Though you have a back breaking job, you still opted for it! Hats off, it is hard work.

All the best for a beautiful spring gardening.

Pattu
http://www.gardenerat60.wordpress.com

Martha said...

Oh, the freshly turned dirt look so nice, ready to seed! We will probably be doing the same thing very soon. I can't believe you're picking out worms by hand. Now that you say that it makes me worry and think of our worms....maybe I should do the same! ♥

I do love your baby socks!

http://www.thescrumptiouslife.blogspot.com