With all the rain we keep having and the cool-ish temperatures, sometimes it's hard to believe it's spring here in the Valley. But the plums have bloomed and are leafing out, the apple trees are in full bloom and as you drive through the Valley you can see the grape vines just starting to leaf out. Where I live, outside of Philo on Greenwood Ridge, my grape vines are a bit behind their peers in the Valley - the buds are just swelling and thinking about becoming vines and leaves.
One thing I love about this time of year is watching the grass get cut. At the first warmth the grass really starts to grow and suddenly it looks like we live in this very untidy overgrown grass village. Then everyone starts to cut the grass and the neatness of it really appeals to me. Despite growing up in this area and being used to summers that look like deserts, some part of me loves to look at photos of Kentucky and other places where there is green grass all summer, neatly mowed, tidy under all sorts of fences. And this time of year here looks like that and I love it. And the smell - ah, fresh mowed grass. Of course, I'm sorry for all of you allergy sufferers out there who don't feel like I do - gesundheit!
Gardens are going in all over the place as well. A friend emailed me over the weekend that after the grass was mowed she "planted carrots, spinach and beets." About two weeks ago we went to Ludwig's and picked up over a dozen seed packets and my beau has been working on our garden, tilling in two loads of compost and planting carrots, peas, beets and lettuce, as well as dividing and replanting the strawberries. He's also working on a whole new bed, a much larger space, where we will plant corn, squash and other things that take up more space. It's such a joy to be able to walk outside and pick out what will be part of dinner each evening.
On another front, we've been making wine out of my grapes from last year's harvest and soon we'll bottling the two barrels of rose of zinfandel. I've been busy working on all the various permits from all levels of government to be able to sell the wine - it's quite a process, with lots of forms to complete for everyone. I've been told that there are people who will complete all this for you for a fee, but, honestly, so far I haven't seen the need for that - yes it's repetitive, but I know all the info, so why not do it myself?
I need to get outside for a bit today and enjoy the sunshine that we're having. I hope you get a chance to as well!