A different sort of GREEN.

Here on the farm we have many kinds of green.  Of course, we have the greenhouse where we grow all things green - no kidding.  But we also take recycling seriously as well.  

Doug and I have been married 37 years this month and it didn't take me long to realized I married into a sorting, separating, recycling family.  My father in law sorted out paper, metal, glass way before it was the "right" thing to do.  There was a lot of family joking about this recycling thing but when you take a load of metal to the recycling plant and bring back $200.00 plus - well it's a no brainer. 

This week the older boys have been using the rainy weather to recycling an old boiler from our basement.  If you were to come to our house, you would see containers of aluminum cat food cans and foil, boxes of brass fittings and old wire cords cut from old electrical appliances, and  anything really that says - metal.  

Here a chick, There a chick, Benson's has some chicks chicks chicks.

Here they are.  The little chickies I've been waiting for.  Not really sure what variety other than heavy brown laying hens.  I truly prefer buff orpington's but this was worth the wait.  Every Sunday we stop at the Oneida TSC to, among other things, check out what they have.  Usually, nothing.  But today not only did they have chicks - but they were on sale.  How perfect is that.  $1.00 off of the $2.49 price so instead of 6 I got 8.  Right now they are in a stock tank in one of greenhouses getting used to there new environment.  Molly and Max have already checked them out.

Sunny Days and too much wind

But at least we aren't looking at this anymore..

Even our local paper is telling us we're frozen in time - their words not mine. Like I needed them to tell me what I already knew this morning when I dragged myself out of bed. Douglas uses his cell phone as his alarm - ok so that's a somewhat good idea right. I mean two months ago when I knocked the alarm clock off the bed side table I put it out of commission.

This is Rico and although he is small -

he had a BIG voice, piercing to be exact.

I miss that clock cause 1. I could tell what time it was in the middle of the night and 2. I could handle waking up gently to it's music.The cell phone is another matter - you probably know just what I mean. It starts off with a nice little songy tune and ends up blaring by the time someone gets to it to turn it off. Yes it is charging across the room. Wouldn't be so bad if I only had to listen to it at 1 am, but at 3 and 5 and then again at 7 when I have to get up. Really, it's worse than getting up to feed a baby. You might be asking when dear husband has set the alarm to go off every two hours. Well, that is why I know it is COLD. He is running to the greenhouse to put more woo into the stove.

But April is just around the corner and I know that means warmer weather and daffodils and lilacs.

Some days are just plain boring

Today was one of those days. While being in the greenhouse is really nice when it is cold outside - cleaning out the chimney isn't but it is one of those jobs that just have to be done.

You could say it's a DIRTY JOB.

On other notes - the aquatic plants are really taking off with all the sunny weather we have had. Might not seem like a lot but it's just enough to get the water hyacinths and lettuce producing.

Water lettuce despite it's name in not edible

and for that matter despite what one of our customers tells us, water hyacinth isn't either. Although Green Deane did pick and boil and eat some - he didn't say if tasted well or not.

Some good qualities about these two plants are

1. they aren't hardy to this area - which you will realize is a

good thing once you see how prolific there are in your pond

2. they do a top notch job of cleaning pond water

3. they provide shade and cover for your fish

4. they are pretty - hey.

Little Cars and Big Soil Bales

I remember when we got our last NEW car and my saying -- "and you will not carry plants and soil in here ---- or shedding dogs for that matter either"

Well, today when I got home from work - thanks to my friend for the ride - there in the back seat of my little focus were - THREE bales of soil. Don't even want to look in the trunk.

If this the fate of my little blue focus?

Soil is of course a necessity to the greenhouse business so I have learned to forgive and forget and use a powerful vacuum. Yesterday we planted up lots of baskets and readied a 1200 pots for today's soil pick up. That means 1200 little geraniums going into 1200 little pots tomorrow. yeah.

Sunny Saturdays working in the greenhouse bring back such nice memories. Back in 1978, I was planting tomatoes with James sitting happily in his car seat. Guess he was preparing for the future.

Super Moons and Saturdays

Did anyone get a chance to see a awesome super moon rise tonight? Huge and orange and rising behind the evergreen hedgerow. Spectacular.

Full Worm Moon – March As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter.

On another note, after breaking our pickup truck at the beginning of plowing season James and John finally got her back on the road. Greenhouses are getting back in the swing of things and that means runs to the gas station for kerosene.

love these longer days

I love that it is still light out at 7 pm. Why can't we just stay on daylight savings time forever. Doug and James are putting in extra hours in the greenhouses.

Setting up benches and pulling weeds seem to be the order for the day.

This morning CK Greenhouses delivered baby plants "plugs" so we will be planted soon.

Planting using plugs is so cool. when I first started working in greenhouses back in 1972, plugs were no even heard of. The greenhouse owner would sow seeds in narrow containers about 8" x 30". My first job there was to transplanted begonia seedlings. See that plug above. It is one plant. In that amount of soil space my boss would sow 2 dozen seeds which translates to 20 plantlets that I was supposed to separate and plant -----and hope they would grow. It was tedious work that I do not miss at all.