Snow day and seed orders

   We finally got a little snow last Thursday. It was actually kinda nice to pile on my snow pants  and snow boots to go out to do chores. Altho I suspect the animals weren't quite as happy as I was. They were all doing pretty good tho and we gave them all a little extra straw to hunker down in. We hunkered in also (in the house) and looked at the seed catalogues for what we want to order, compiling lists from last year, piling up what we have on hand, sorting, dreaming...ah...

   The bad winds and snow kept us from our deliveries in Chicago on Thursday, so we went to the big city on Friday to deliver. I took Ricky with me...he rides on my head.

   I do have to be careful with him tho. As we cross the streets, some people have the tendency to speed up when driving toward us. I know that happens in the country...but come on folks! A quick whip off of the hat sometimes helps...

   The snow was blowing and drifting across the road when we left the house at 7:30am. The day before was pretty windy so we were glad that we sat it out at home. Chicago got a lot more snow than we did and it wouldn't have been fun driving all day in it...not to mention the crazies (oh, guess I mentioned them above with the Ricky hat huh?).
   We've been excited to take the new seed catalogues to the chefs. Every year we contact a couple of our favorite seed companies and ask for extra catalogues. Then we distribute them to the chefs so they can peruse them for interesting new products they'd like to try. They love getting them and we love hearing their wish lists.
   We ask them to give us their "dream lists" by the end of the month. Then we finish up our orders and mail them in. It is super exciting to see what they would like to try, and it's always fun for us to try new items. We really enjoy growing items that are requested special by our friends. It also helps us to know what to grow, takes a lot of the guess work out of it.
   Today, a Monday that feels very much like a Monday, the snow is already melting off. The chix are happy about that as they HATE walking across the snow. The ducks love the snow and look like penguins as they skid about on their bellies from puddle to puddle.
   I'm cleaning up the plant areas in the house today. Re-potted the cacti garden (one of the only gardens I'm actually good at, even tho they look a little on edge in the pic) and got the upstairs bookcases ready to hold new seedling trays. Then I started work on the downstairs.

   We can fit about 50 flats (36 pots each) in our downstairs planting area. But, we also "borrow" the plugs and extension cords throughout the year. So every year in January I clean up, find all the plugs, buy new extension cords, fill the water jugs, and start filling the plant trays with soil. That way everything is ready to go as soon as the calendar says the timing is right.
   The Stella Natura calendar tells us the best days to plant, so I start figuring out what gets planted first. I seem to be having issues with which way to tilt my head when I take a picture. But, you get the idea...

   Usually I start in mid to late January with some herbs as they take longer to get them big enough to transplant. Then the peppers and cold loving items (like cabbage and bok choi) get started the first of February as they will be transplanted into the greenhouses early and harvested in early April.
   So, back to my Monday work schedule!