Early, early spring

 This time of year, the last of the carrots have to be pulled out of the ground because they start getting hairy in early spring in anticipation of the growth of the bloom/seed stalk ----which makes the carrot inedible.  I dug up about 10 pounds, took some to Rachel Ashton and her babies and have these left to can for summer eating.  I pull up the big ones all fall and winter, so these are all sizes and shapes.  I LOVE garden carrots!

 Yesterday we had 9 deer in the back yard at dusk.  They were eating the clover that is coming up from last years blooms.  We have large picture windows in the back of the house, so they could see us moving inside and they don't like that.  I have to sneak to get a photo before they dash away into the woods.  I wasn't very sucessful.  They blend so well into the background, as you can see.  They were very frisky yesterday skipping along with odd gaits and gambols.

In what line was I standing in heaven when the sports gene was given out?  I guess I was in the collards line.

Moon log

Our moon views are also often spectacular.  Here is a lovely gibbous moon I caught in the north sky just above the horizon at about 4:00 AM January 30th or so behind the winter tree limbs.

Sometimes I have to scavenge the garden for lunch.  That is one of my favorite things to do.  Today I found a bunch of cool stuff that needed to be picked because the season is changing to spring and all these will be ruined soon because of bolting or sprouting.  I got some of them cut up and put in the steamer before I realized that I should photograph them.   So I retrieved them and put them here.

You can see (7:00 o'clockwise) broccoli, Brussels sprouts, turnip; white purple and orange carrots; la Ratte potatoes and a Brussels sprouts top.  Yummy lunch!

Sunset log

Sunset on Windmill Hill February 2, 2012

Now and then, we have a spectacular sunset and we watch for them religiously.  Strangely, they only come when conditions are specific and it is a pretty rare occurrence.  I usually have to go out to gather the eggs at sunset, so I rarely miss the chance to check for them.