the winter that never was

It looks and feels a lot like spring here, and it has for a while now.

Self sown and self maintained greens and flowers. After a tough go with kale this past summer, it has beautifully transformed with the cooler, moister weather.

Flowering apricot. This year marks the biggest show yet for this little tree. Fruit? Apparently that is another matter…

Hoop house carrots, planted in the summer. It was too hot back then and they didn’t take well, but over the late fall and winter they have taken care of themselves. I haven’t watered in here for months, so was really surprised to find them! And they have been so sweet and delicious. Over the course of a week or 2 I’ve picked a handful at a time. We are finishing the last of them now and I am making a mental note to do this again, with a little bit more effort on my part.

I finally started cleaning out the hoophouse. This year we need to replace the end walls, which were set up with plastic sheeting we had lying around, and wasn’t really suited for so much sun exposure. We have all the materials on hand now, and the plan is that we get it done this week.

Crocus. Fresh, tiny, beauties.

Some of our Gunnera babies. Steven has been raising (SO MANY OF) these Dinosaur plants from seed. This year they should put on a huge amount of growth. We’re wondering what we’ll do with them all…

Most every evening lately we are lulled by spring peepers, one of my favorite, most comforting sounds at this home. I think this year marks the earliest appearance they have made yet.

I know it’s bitter cold and snowy on the east coast, which has been so hard to imagine here. I try to keep in mind that nothing will necessarily be as I’ve known it to be. There could be another ice age. We could dry up and this land will turn to desert. Everything is changing. And we are changing, too.