Is it spring yet?

Okay, so I know that spring is still more than two months away, but I think I am going to think spring in my head and begin planning my garden. 

I did ask for some specific seeds for Christmas and someone must have lied to Santa (or Hannah and Jason) about me being a good boy last year because I got them -- sunflowers, pumpkins, and popcorn! Those are all crops that need to be planted in the ground rather than started inside since their roots are sensitive to movement and they don't typically survive transplanting. 
The weather is supposed to be nice next week, so I may begin tilling an area for them. I am actually pretty excited about all three varieties.

If you are planning ahead and want some hostas, I will have plenty to share this year. Some gardeners recommend splitting them in winter, but I have found them to do well pretty much anytime and will wait until spring to thin mine. Just let me know if you have a shady spot that you want to fill.

I do want to get an early start to some cole crops this year -- cabbages, kale, broccoli, and maybe some collard greens. I also want to plant some spinach and lettuce, but those starts can wait a little longer. 
Planning a garden is almost as much fun as working it, so I will do what I can for the moment.

What are your spring plans?
Is it too soon to ask?

John

Friday Fun Facts

Did you know there's a flat spot in the curvature of the ocean?
Okay, no scientist really describes it as a flat spot, but that's how my own pea brain pictures it.
The Indian Ocean Geoid Low is a place where the earth's gravity is much lower than the surrounding area so the water of the Indian Ocean is pulled away from the low gravity area making the surface of the ocean nearly 100 meters lower at the center off it than the surrounding ocean.

Because of the size of the area, there isn't really a perceptible hole in the ocean, just a gradual decrease and increase in the actual sea level versus the mean sea level.
Over 100 meters; nearly 350 feet!

I wonder if you measured your vertical jump from the deck of a ship at the center of the geoid vs outside of it if your jump in less gravity would increase.

Our little planet is pretty amazing, isn't?

John

Can We Talk About the Birds and the Bees?

One of a simple life's pleasureful things is being able to observe and enjoy nature. 
I get to do that a lot -- morning coffee on the deck, working in the flower gardens, an afternoon cigar, a relaxing evening, and late nights listening to the frogs, bugs, and occasional coyotes.

This year we seem to have an abundance of dragonflies. I read that this is in part due to the very wet spring that we had. These voracious little hunters consume mosquitoes and other small flying insects -- often more than 100 per day.
Competing for small insects and also eating dragonflies are the barn swallows. I kind of hate that these birds dine on the dragonflies, but love that they also keep the wasps population in check. I haven't seen as many wasps around this year. It might have something to do with the mud nest built on one of the deck joists!

Earlier this week I watched a tiny little jumping spider stalk and capture a small moth on the deck screen. It was the third time I have observed a spider make such a catch. The other times were houseflies.

There are golden finches that nest in the trees across the street that come to feast on the seeds of my zinnias and cone flowers. In the fall I will harvest enough seeds to plant in the spring, but leave most of them so the birds can feed on them throughout the winter months. They will be picked clean by spring.

My hummingbird feeders have been dry for a little while. I don't worry about it this time of year and often see them feeding at the flowers. I tend to pay closer attention during the spring before the flowers bloom and in the early autumn weeks before they begin their long migration back to Mexico.

I often work while barefooted. I must have startled or stepped on a little critter this week and took a stinger of some sort in my foot. I didn't see what stung me, but did dig a bit of stinger out of the lower side of my foot. I've been surprised at how long I can still feel the effects of that little sting. 

I have to admit that I laugh at myself when I think about how much I enjoy observing the smaller side of nature. One the one hand it does make me feel like an old guy. But on the other hand I wish I would have been more observant of the life around me all along.

Spiders hunting moths, dragonflies hunting mosquitoes, birds munching on dragonflies -- nature can be pretty violent and unforgiving even at this small level. It really is a privilege to be able to observe and learn.

John