Go away!

I am officially tired of winter. All that firewood yesterday has my body feeling like it was run over by a semi this morning. Every joint aches. Every muscle is sore. I don't ever want to see another piece of firewood for as long as I live. Not likely given that I have enough of it to last at least through the spring of 2011 if I can figure out how to slice and dice the trunk of that huge tree still laying back there.

It's 19 degrees. The high today will reach 40. By Friday, it'll be 55. I can't imagine what that will be like. It's been so long.

Today is another good day for sowing seeds. I've got my containers ready, my labels made, my seeds chosen. Here's a sample of what I'll be sowing today.

Dianthus Firewitch
Cardoon
Hardy Yellow Hibiscus
Red Mexican Hat
Great Blue Lobelia
Lobelia cardinalis
Ageratum
Alstroemeria
Verbena hastata
Yellow foxglove
White Buddleia
Siberian Wallflower
Creeping Thyme
Monarda citriodora
Echinacea purple
Alyssum Maritimum

All of these seeds were from trades or the swap I hosted. Most are perennials, some hardy annuals, some biennials. Given their propensity for reseeding, most should perform well especially with warmer weather in the forecast. Now if I could just get motivated to sift the 4 bags of soil I have in the basement, but I am still in my pajamas. I'm taking my coffee down to the basement. The heater is trying, but the house is cold and drafty.

10:28am - It's sunny and 27 degrees. 50 more containers have been sown. I used two lasagna pans that I had from last year for the rest of my collected Autumn Colors and Cherry Brandy rudbeckia.



48 two-liter containers were added to the 136 already at the end of the driveway. My container count is now 534.



In the basement, the pussywillow cuttings I took last week are showing root initials. The redtwig dogwood will be planted in the rain garden once the chance of frost has passed. These should be ready to pot up in a few weeks. I'm hoping they don't start to leaf out too soon. I'd like to stick them in the hoophouse for the remainder of the winter. I did the same last year with good success, although I rooted the redtwigs in soil rather than water. Always looking for more efficient, better methods.



I'm on my fourth cup of coffee, still in my pajamas.

5:01pm - I did get dressed today, finally. I went outside and chopped down some of the butterfly bushes. I was tired of seeing their frozen corpses. They needed to be pruned before spring anyway. I also hauled three wheelbarrows of wood into the basement. I'm having to refill the heater about every hour. It's steamy in the basement now. It's 67 upstairs. Outside, 36. In the hoophouse, 49 and dropping. I need to replace the batteries.