Mar 10 2008
Indoor Spring Fever
It is still chilly outside, but I can see the small changes that are leading up to spring. Birds are chirping (as we speak) outside of my window, and little flowers are poking their heads above the surface. Very soon the beautiful spring blossoms will be on the trees. And while I will be sneezing and watery-eyed, I will be enjoying the spring.
Funny, because three weeks ago, I was really hoping for a nice big blizzard to finish off the winter. We had a pretty mild winter in Maryland: temperatures were chilly, but snow was sparse. I like seasons to be what they are supposed to be. Winter kind of let me down, and I hope that spring does not pass in the blink of an eye.
Prompted by the promise of warmer temperatures (and perhaps the arrival of the loom that takes space in my office) I have been doing quite a bit of spring cleaning. Kris and I have realized the need to pare down and simplify, and that meant cleaning a lot of things out, and donating them to local charities. After giving away about 200 books to the library, I consolidated my bookshelves, and rearranged my office. The idea of living with less really resonates.
Functional planting is definitely our focus, but we have made some space for the *pretty* too. We recently arranged a indoor dish garden with some cute cacti and succulent plants…
Seeing the green makes me happy.
And for Valentine’s Day a few weeks back, Kris brought home a lovely orchid that just keeps blooming.
We are making grand plans for our outside garden, hoping to plant many vegetables this year, and really explore ways to preserve the harvest. We live in a small house with a small yard, so we have to be creative in order to maximize our space and yield. We are starting some seeds indoors now, and we are planning to keep some plants going throughout the year indoors - primarily herbs that we use in daily meals. We are primarily interested in raising several heirloom varieties of vegetables and fruits in the garden. We have a local farmer/nursery supply that we have enjoyed for several years, and we will be paying him a visit in late April/early May for the seedlings and plants.
Last fall, we started a vermiculture composter - all winter we have contributed our kitchen wastes to the bin, and those little worms are making some great fertilizer for our garden this summer.
In typical fashion, I have been researching and reading up on the gardening and local food movement. Of particular interest are the general books about family farms and living off the land: I am enjoying Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life in audiobook form (while knitting and weaving), and am reading a similar book Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods
before bed at night. Next up are Four-Season Harvest
and This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader
. Many thanks to my friends in various Ravelry groups (Crafty Gardeners, Locavores, Sustainable Table, and Homesteaders) for providing daily information and inspiration!
How are you preparing for the changing season?




































