Let the planting begin...

But little mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often awry,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!
      Robert Burns

Some people don't seem to be able to speak in plain english, so they add lots of words that sometime rhyme, and do it all of the time. It may not be a crime, yet it's not my idea of sublime. I like living in the great expanses where men are men and fair women are fair women. Where a gardener can say he or she won't plant until the proper time, but when spring gets into the blood; he or she can throw caution to the wind, toss out the best laid wintry schemes and try the long shot. He can plant in zone 7 on Mar 2nd. Come what may, we live life on the edge!
Well, others may say that gardening is not an extreme sport, but some of us may beg to differ. In the face of all tradition, I, yes radical me, decided that spring is here. I will begin wearing shorts, applying liberal amounts of sunscreen, and planting my garden. It seemed a little cold to wear shorts and it was raining off and on, so I did what any other person would do in such a case...I planted the first part of our garden.
I read a book this last winter, I can't remember which or I'd give it the credit (it was written by either a man or women, had a cover, talked about greenhouses, and didn't have many pictures if that helps to narrow it down) which recommended recording everything in a little journal so that you can look back over the years. I am starting my journaling now. I recorded each of the seeds with the expected results. Then I recorded planting day, temp, moon size, and weather. I will soon (I hope) be recording germination dates, how many plants came up, and harvest date. All of this is hard work, I know, but think of  posterity. My children's children shall come upon them in some attic box and realize their grandpa had terrible penmanship.

For plant markers this year, I found a package of paint stir sticks (about 12" long) on closeout. It ended up being 1000 sticks for $20. I thought it a good deal and didn't know what I'd use it for, then this idea came to me. It isn't as artistic or quaint as copper or corks, but works the same. I'm sure Helen will come and help me rearrange them later, but I'm hoping they stay there for a while.

And, in case you have not seen modern art lately, I wanted to present an original from Lucy. After eating breakfast, most people compost or throw away the left overs - and other gluttons just eat it all - but Lucy has found another purpose... Art.