Mary Mary Quite Contrary

is it just me (well, me plus the fact i live in southern california) or did spring just show up one day and say, "here i am! step aside winter" (or whatever you call the colder wetter months in california). at any rate we realized it was already time to start dreaming up and planting our garden. we planted a couple of weeks ago and today i saw the first true leaves of my rows. it is always so exciting. it truly is a little type of miracle that you can put a little seed in the ground and out shoots food in a couple of months or so.

i left all the digging and hard labor up to bryan and i enjoyed the sowing and labeling my rows and spacing. i added some new "crops" as well - some cantaloupe, watermelon and cucumber and thai peppers to my usual - squash, carrots, lettuce, spinach, corn, peas, beans, onions and pumpkin. it is almost time to thin the rows, which is always a little sad to do - to pick out the lesser developed of the seedlings and toss them aside - i had so much trouble doing it last year that i ended up with overcrowded rows and miserable carrots, so i am going to try to be tougher on them this year. i am going to pick my team and not feel bad for the runts - we may be more p.c. now, but it doesnt count in gardening at least.

i had to send my camera in to warranty because some functions weren't working otherwise i would have some pictures to show the progress. hopefully i will get it back shortly before my little guys get too big. oh, and i didnt label this blog as a hobby because i certainly cant claim it like my husband can. bryan studies this hobby - he watches the gardening shows and buys the magazines and orders rare palm seeds from the internet and also ladybugs and praying mantis'. this year we are going to get some worms and throw them in the mix and then when fishing season comes we will try to find them all and use them for bait to catch trout. what a fulfilling life dont you think? they will not only help fertilize our garden, but also help catch protein - i believe we should have a meal dedicated to worms - or at least raise a glass in their honor, i dont know. but bryan is truly the green thumb in this relationship. i can kill succulents and i almost did until bryan realized that i neglected my only plant and is now trying to nurse the poor thing back. i only get into the practicality of a garden because it is functional and saves money.

which takes me to a different thought on hobbies all together. the functionality of them. i like functional hobbies. more to come on that...