March has arrived and is almost gone, the big planting month! And we’ve ventured out into a new aspect of nurturing: bunnies! Just in time for Easter (tomorrow)….we’ve adopted two lop bunnies, babies born February 18th, 2008. They were supposed to stay with their mother for a few more weeks until we brought them home but, oops, she had another liter. (I’m still struggling to understand how that happened, since she hasn’t been with a boy-bunny since the first litter was born….) Here they are:
In the garden, I’ve planted the hill. It’s amazing! In addition to all the big plants, I’ve also added dahlia bulbs, watermelon and I think I’m going to put strawberries in the top corner (the triangle). Compare this AFTER picture of the hill to what it looked like before…and yes, there is more to come!
In the vegetable garden, I’ve planted the carrots, basil, tomatoes; I also have corn to go in the ground (in between the raised beds), dill. From winter I need to harvest the remaining tomatoes and pull them; also harvest the garlic, and in a month or so I should have onions. I was reading in Barbara Kingslover’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle that potatoes are one of the foods that contain the most toxins — according to her research, there’s actually residue of DDT in potatoes, because they live so deep in the soil and the toxins (such as DDT) can remain in the soil for so long. I’ve worried about things that are sprayed directly: blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, etc. but hadn’t given much thought to root plants. A part of me wishes I could test EVERYTHING: my own soil, the dirt on my lot, the water inside the plastic arrowhead water I buy (by the case), the lettuce I grow in my own garden. But you can’t live that way; you need to make the best decision with the information you have, and move on. But sometimes I wonder. . . . .
Among other flowers, the wisteria is blooming (beautiful purple); the grape Michael planted from bare root has sprouts forming; and we spread cocoa mulch throughout the front yard, which gives off a strong chocolate smell. Jasimne is also very fragrant right now, and so it full size washington orange tree, which has a bunch of flowers and what I think are small, oranges forming. Spring is here!
One warm day this month the kids ran naked:
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