This week off (since my weeks and weekends are reversed from the rest of the world) has gone by entirely too fast. Â Working Tuesday night really took away a lot of homestead work time. Â I am however beginning to figure out this whole sleep schedule with working night shift which has been a big improvement. Â I have been falling asleep to ocean waves on a sound machine app I downloaded and it has been great. Â It’s making me crave a trip to the beach though!
For the last two days, I have been doing pretty much nothing but cleaning the house.  Besides the normal house work, I got started on some Spring cleaning.  This meant organizing closets, cabinets, cleaning out my computer, and cleaning other parts of the house that aren’t normally in my cleaning repertoire.  I am absolutely exhausted!  Tomorrow starts my work weekend, so I am grateful to have tonight to rest.
With all of the cleaning I have been stuck inside for the most part, which has been alright since the low last night was in the 20?s. Â Looks like that groundhog was mighty wrong this year! Â Despite the below freezing weather outside, my seedlings have been growing at a ridiculous rate. Â My beans, despite the tiny pots they were transplanted to, have already flowered and are growing tiny beans.
I am surprised they are producing with as little space as they are confined to. Â With the extra few weeks of cold, all of my seedlings are outgrowing the greenhouse and the transplant pots. Â As any ER nurse knows, you always have a back up plan (or two, or three, or four). Â From failed equipment, to lack of supplies, to a patient crashing and there being no help available, it is vital to think creatively.
I decided that since there is no warm weather in sight, it was time to go to Plan B. Â This involved taking the seedlings from the greenhouse, that were out of space, and transplanting them to the large containers that were reserved for other plants. Â This way they would only be transplanted once instead of multiple times until the weather was warm. Â Luckily, most vegetables can grow in containers so they should be happy living out their days in confinement. Â I haven’t decided what the extra space in the raised beds will be used for yet.
As of today, only a few plants remain in the greenhouse (strawberries, watermelon, eggplant) and the rest have been moved to containers.  I didn’t move the beans since they are in a fragile time of producing.  I am just going to plant extra bean seeds in the raised bed gardens later.  The plants in containers now are jalapenos, mixed peppers and tomatoes.
I have garlic and viking potatoes growing in containers as well. Â The lettuce and cherry tomatoes are fairing decently in the hanging planters. Â It’s a bit of a pain to bring in all these plants at night!
The chickens and pigs survived the bitter cold and were enjoying the sun this afternoon. Â Lady-Bug’s belly is growing every day, but no signs of labor yet.
The pig pen crew consists of the pigs, Solstice and Princess (who learned how to escape from the chunnel-hence the reason she is now in the pig pen during the day). Â They seem to be co-existing peacefully so far.
Solstice has begun to adjust a bit better to her new home. Â She really enjoys spending the day with the pigs.
She was feeling particularly frisky today.
Solstice still comes in at night and Princess roosts with the rest of the flock. Â As soon as the weather warms, Solstice, Princess and the chicks will permanently reside in the pig pen. Â The old gals are just not tolerant of anyone new so a separate flock will be started with the others.
We are patiently (as patiently as I can anyway) awaiting warmer weather!
Until next time…
