Thursday, March 21, 2013

Garden Growing

Our seedlings made their debut a few weeks ago in their little planters on our kitchen table and some of them are finally ready to make the transition to the garden beds. So far the hardest parts about being gardners have been waiting for the indoor seedlings to sprout and knowing when they are strong enough to be planted outside. The tomatoes and basil are still so teeny tiny and frail that we think they might not be doing so well, especially in comparison to the sunflowers, peppers, and squash which sprouted out of the soil overnight like little green arms and have grown inches in a matter of days. 
Our strawberries and snap peas were starters that we bought so they are looking pretty robust! Sadly our first little berry was a bird snack for somebirdy else so we will have to wait to taste the next one. The sweet peas, romaine, parsley, spinach, and beets are all sprouting on their own little schedule so honestly we just water and wait. There's lots of wondering if this little shoot is a beet or a weed, and if this little sprout is lettuce or a volunteer from the last garden... it's so much fun and the suspense is killing me! 







I haven't gardened in a really long time and it has been such a special way for me to reconnect to my childhood and specifically to memories of my Grandma Jackie. It's also pretty much me and Joey's favorite hobby together lately and such a fun learning process. There is a wealth of gardening knowledge out there but sometimes all that learning the right way to do things is exhausting and you just have to put some seeds in the ground and trust the planet to do what it does. 

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Traveling East

Something very special happened yesterday. Joey and I both had a day off! To celebrate we made a day adventure to Vista, where we visited the brewer's supply store and stocked up on supplies for Joey's newest endeavor: hard cider! Then we ate at the Yellow Deli (disclaimer: we thought they were just a bunch of food-loving hippies, turns out they are quite a Christian bunch).  
Then up the foothills we went to Julian, where we cleaned out the day's supply of raw apple juice (for the cider project). 

I have never been on a weekday and Tuesday looked like a ghost town. Half of the shops were closed and there were about 25 people walking around instead of the 200+ weekend crowd. It was really nice to see it in a more quiet way. 

We walked up to the top of the hill through the cemetery and saw more blue jays and woodpeckers than I've seen in my entire life. The view from up there was nice and the afternoon sun was perfect for strolling around. 

We headed home very excited about our new brewing hobby and decided to make a space for the carboys in the bathroom closet. Stay tuned for a post about the whole process!