About time to swap the slippers

For break up boots, yay! Alaskans will smile and folks reading here from the Lower 48 are no doubt puzzled, haha

What it means is: It's starting to get a little slushy during the day, which means we are easing into "breakup" season, which means-spring and summer are just around the corner now. This is a good thing, because I've had one heckuva month already!

Shortly after my last entry here, my son didn't feel well and I ended up running him into the clinic-diagnosis was pneumonia. (Eeks!) Right on the heels of that I got very sick myself, and ended up in the hospital for four days-influenza A. No kidding, the flu. Since I had never had the real flu, I had no idea just how sick I was....which was pretty bad. Luckily I did not develop pneumonia myself, but it's been a slow recovery for the past couple of weeks.

This doesn't mean that my spring seeding was forgotten-on the contrary! I have run over nearly 20 flats of annuals, and last weekend seeded 50 flats with veggies (with a good friends' valuable assistance). Cabbages are up, and the nasturtiums are starting to pop up. I have tomatoes and peppers and a couple other things showing as well and fairly soon I will be delivering those and seeding. I should plant this weekend (again!) but I am almost out of space. Five racks that will hold 16 flats each plus the table and I am out of room, haha!!! If think I may be able to juggle a few things around and get those specialty melons and squashes done just the same. In two weeks I have another huge plant to do which will include the pumpkins, sweet corn, and cucumbers.

Even if it's foggy, and still crunchy in the mornings, summer is on its way, yay!

Day six on big winds.....

With several nights of interrupted "sleep" behind me, I am fast approaching walking zombie status. This is day six of big winds, and I'm pretty sure it's been gusting better than 50 mph already this morning. Yesterday I had to spend some time outside in it, and was thankful for the invention of insulated Carhart pants :)

This week, I managed to get another light rack and will be picking up fixtures and bulbs on my way home. With over 60 flats going, and easily another 25 to start, I have to have the space under lights. Also finally got a new type of oscillating fan. I'd been looking at them for a couple of years, actually. They are a pedestal and the air is blown vertically, as opposed from a circle as with a regular fan. I'm happy to say it works wonderfully! With three racks being inside a make shift plastic tent inside the garage, providing any air flow is a real headache. Now I am wishing I had gotten it sooner, lol

Back to the winds....I am now having second, third, and fourth thoughts about moving the beautiful wood framed greenhouse up to the top. It would mean that the back wall would be completely exposed to the winter winds. I don't have to worry about debris because there is no one to the northeast of me for quite a ways-but I am concerned about damage to the panels. In fact, I can't think of a place where it would get enough sunshine, yet have some protection from big winds. The only other places with good sun exposure are one particular spot near the house (which means taking down a bunch of trees and doing some site work) or on the arena proper. The arena has heavy trees to the north, but we do use it regularly. I'd have to place it close to the trees for any protection....but this would mean a chance of a tree falling (well duh) and put it just about as far away from power and water as possible. That's just not going to work, is it?

Well, just another problem to solve, right? The correct solution will present itself, I'm sure of that. Until then, I'll be head down to the winds.......