Life in the Country Lane

-Just some thoughts and words on slowing down, and finding myself.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

"It's the most wonderful time of the year"

No, not Christmas. It is planting season! We start getting the seed catalogs in the middle of January. And our Arbor Day Foundation Trees came last week. I have cleaned out the fern bed and I am ready to plant, plant, plant.... oh, yeah, I live in Illinois. We could still have frost until the first part of May. I am dreaming, and I have the pots and the potting soil for whenever the weather will cooperate. I have 2 flower boxes beside the driveway and a pots on either side of the arbor in front. My husband wants 2 climbing roses for the arbor this year. I think that would make a lovely father's day present. He can have a rose bush from each of the children.

This year, we are only going to plant tomatoes and peppers in the garden. We can barter with the Amish for potatoes, and we can buy a bushel of green beans for canning. I don't know what we are going to do about strawberries and blueberries. We have not frozen strawberry jam for the last 2 years, and the freezer is looking pretty bare. Last year, the strawberries got frosted, and never did bear enough to even to take into the house. We tilled the patch under at the end of the year. The blueberries, we get from Arkansas, but my parents are going down 2 weeks early for a graduation, and will not be there for harvest. I have gotten spoiled. I dont' know what I would do with out having my freezer 1/2 full of beautiful frozen berries ready to be made into something scrumptious.

I guess I will go to the store and buy berries like everyone else does.