White Admiral!

When Iris Eyes are Smiling....

...Cheesey? Yes, but aren't they pretty?

PS: Hummingbirds have arrived! They showed up on Thursday!

Butterflies!

Saw my first Tiger Swallowtail in the yard today! This is a picture from last year. I need to get a lantana or something to tide them over until more stuff starts blooming...

...And They're Off!

I started the tomato, tomatillo, ground cherry and some pepper seeds last weekend (President's Weekend). Some of the tomatoes are up! Black Cherry, Cowlick's Brandywine, Aunt Ruby's German Green, and Pruden's Purple have poked their little green heads out of the soil. I started everything in newspaper pots with seet starting soil- 9 rows of 5. I made a map of the tray and as they come up I'm moving the little pots (very gently!) into a 2nd tray and I'm starting a new map. The pots are fragile as they have absorbed some of the water and have kind of stuck together. The 2nd tray is put under a shop light. I have the timer set to go on at 7am and go off at 9:30pm. I might adjust the time, I can't remember how long I'm supposed to keep the light on. I also have a fan in the room, I haven't turned it on yet but I probably will before too long to keep the air moving in the room.

I think I'm going to start my Romanesco broccoli today. I tried it last year but just got leaves then it bolted. I'll try again. I think maybe last year I started it too late and it bolted in the heat before it could head. I have some old Organic Gardening magizines from the late 70's that give month by month tips on when to start seeds/garden chores. I'll check to see what I should be doing for February.

The picture above is one of my favorites from last year's garden. It's a new leaf from a lemon cucumber plant in my garden. I fiddled with the settings of the camera for about a week until I was able to get really good macro pictures. Each picture takes up a ton of space on the camera but the pictures come out really crisp and with a lot of detail.

Seed time

I ordered my seeds today. I feel that it's a bit late but it took me this long to get my act together. I have a lot of saved/leftover seeds but I still ordered over $50 worth-sheesh! They are getting more and more expensive! Victory Seeds has very reasonable prices and they have signed the sustainable seed pledge (which is cool). I also ordered from John Sheepers seeds (also signed the sustainable seed pledge)- more expensive but they have the wacky stuff I'm looking for. I also plan on starting my tomatoes and peppers this weekend.

The weather is absolutely horrendous. It was snowing so hard today I couldn't see the neighbors house across the street for over 2 hours. It's been snowing all day. If it clears up I'll make a dash to the store to get seed starting soil and run some other errands. It was -3'f yesterday morning. I think I *may* start seeing the light at the end of the long winter tunnel this week. It's supposed to warm up to the 40's for a day or two. It will be a good 2 months before it will be Spring-like but above freezing will be a nice change.

The picture above is from my trip to the Cornell Plantations back in August. Trycyrtis Formosana-Variegated Toad Lily