Feeling stymied

Stymied: To be an obstacle to; prevent the advancement or success of; thwart or stump: weather that stymied attempts to locate the missing hikers; a math problem that stymied half the class. 

I feel stymied by our wonderful weather. The sky is blue, the sun is bright, the grass is greening-up, the breeze is blowing, and it's a mere 45F outside. It rained yesterday and the ground is damp. 

I can't mow, I can't dig in the too-wet dirt, I can't set the begonias out on the porch for another round of hardening-off. 

But there is hope! Tomorrow, if all goes as predicted, I'll be able to cross off a lot of items on my To Do List. I'll be able to mow (or maybe convince the Lord of the Manor to do it), get the begonias to the greenhouse, plant sugar snap pea seeds outside in a few grow bags, sow a row of spring onions in the raised bed, and plant a few seeds in starter packs once the begonias are out of the way. I may even make a quick trip to the landfill if Himself is willing to do a few things for me this afternoon. 

I'm definitely feeling frustrated this spring. There are so many things to do, that I want to do, and I need to wait out the weather, at least until tomorrow.

Tomorrow's 10-day forecast is a beacon of hope. After tonight, there is only one night that the temperature dips into the thirties (Fahrenheit). Since my little greenhouse isn't heated, I plan to cover the begonias at night with an old sheet for the next little while anyway, so it'll still work for me. 

There are, of course, things I could do today if I had more of a domestic bent. Housekeeping and laundry have never excited me the way being outside does. I'd probably die if forced to live in the "concrete jungle." I do enjoy home food preservation, but I don't have any canning projects lined up. 

I'll figure today out soon. I'm never stymied for very long. 

The Lady of The Hideaway

Holly Tree Manor, The Hideaway, gardening, home food preservation, rural living, weather, greenhouse, country lifestyle, a writer's life, Greenstalk, seeds, sugar snap peas, seed trays, 

The hardest part of gardening is just ahead

We've not done extensive vegetable gardening here on the Manor. We have a huge problem with white-tailed deer and therefore, in the past, we had an even bigger problem with working hard just to provide them with a nice salad bowl. But the times, they are a-changing, or so they say. This past summer we were successful on a very small scale. For 2021, we're upping our game. 

I'm already in possession a collection of seeds from Burpee. My grandfather and my mother both bought seeds from Burpee so I'm continuing the tradition, at least for this year. I can't say as it got off to a good start since I received someone else's order, but apparently, the lady who got some of my seeds got to the company before I even knew it happened. I had an email telling me my replacement order was on the way before I got the wrong seeds. That I get to keep. I'll be growing sugar snap peas, spinach, and different varieties of radish and lettuce along with what I ordered. It's all good. There are enough seeds in each envelope to plant for two or three seasons. Just because they're packaged for 2021 doesn't mean they will magically go "poof" on December 31st. 

Now I need to figure out when to start the different seeds. That means research into each variety and careful notes on a gardening calendar. After the seeds spouts, the fun begins as the plants grow, then flower, then produce. I'm kind of excited about it! 

I already know some of the seeds can be started early in seed trays inside my little greenhouse. Others will need to go directly into the growbag for the season. Some, like the lettuce and spinach, I'm undecided about how I want to grow them. I have an old wagon and I'm tempted to plant them in that and move them around to thwart the critters. 

Yes, the time to do serious planning for 2021 is here. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor  (The Hideaway)