The Yardstead

Well according to the groundhog we will have 6 more weeks of winter.  We can't express our disappointment enough.  Here at the yardstead, we have spring fever and really want to get some vegetables planted.  We know there are still lots of vegetables we can plant...but we (mostly Kathleen) can't wait to get the tomatos, squash, corn, zuchinni, and gourds in the ground!  I did get sugar snap peas (about a 25 foot row) planted this weekend.  Here in North Florida we put our potatoes in the ground around Valentine's day.  So these little things will have to hold us over for a few more weeks.  I will just have to settle for starting some seeds indoors and patiently waiting for the last frost.  We are trying two new gourds (new for us) this year.  Apple gourds and large Speckled Swans.  The North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy had a very large field of gourds planted last year.  We were lucky enough to get one apple and one speckled swan to take home and admire.  Of course, we now have to try these at home on the fence row.  We will also be trying our new winter melon seeds.  These will also be planted on the fence row as soon as it warms up.

Like the rest of the country we have seen colder than normal temps this winter.  We've had several hard freezes.  Our bamboo plants have suffered a bit.  We are really looking forward to the spring to see how quickly they recover.

Our ducks are sitting on a heaping nest of eggs.  We really hope this turns into a heaping pile of ducklings.  If so, we will post lots of pictures.  The chickens have weathered the winter well enough.  A few still managed to lay eggs through the colder periods and we have not had to buy any eggs this winter.  We have two new roosters given to us by friends.  Really pretty roosters and I will get some pictures of those in the gallery soon.  I need to compare there pictures online to other roosters and try to figure out what breed they are.  If anyone sees the pictures and recognizes them...please feel free to post the name in the forum!

More updates and pictures to come as the weather warms.