I believe Spring is finally here!

This month we have had a lot of rain and thunderstorms, (much needed after such a dry winter with no snow to speak of in the mountains) and even had hail one day. A very cold and dramatic April it has been. A true 'April Showers for May Flowers' event!! 

As a consequence of all this cold weather, our usual spring plant date of March 23rd has been put off. I do believe that it may now be warm enough to plant my peppers, tomatoes and eggplant. They have (well some of them) been hanging out in our greenhouse and the others I will have to purchase still. 

Another reason to NOT get right out in the garden, is that everything around my raised beds is all disrupted with some hardscaping construction. My sweet husband pulled out the old redwood walkways that were starting to be a hazard to us due to their age and he is replacing them with concrete cobblestone on one part and we are working on another section to blend in with the brick walkways. 

I do have leeks, garlic, green onions and carrots that are doing well. I just pulled out my Kale last week that I had planted in early spring last year. Of course there are perennial plants and herbs that are always doing their thing too. 

The big job ahead of me is completely cleaning out the greenhouse and rearranging some of the furniture and staging (shelves). I couldn't do it before now because I couldn't leave the plants out over an extended time in the cold. 

I believe next week will be clean and plant time. It should be energizing, since working with the soil helps generate/stimulate the serotonin in our brains which makes us feel good (happy) and takes any blues away. The other part of it that makes me feel good is just being close to nature. It is always so satisfying. I will have pictures to share next blog post.

I do have to say that lots of baking has been going on in this extended winter season.  Each loaf is an experiment with different grains and seeds, and some with sourdough and some not. We have several favorites, but all were wonderful. Here are a few of the loaves.

This first loaf is made with whole wheat/unbleached, sourdough starter and two-seeds (sunflower and sesame seed).

This loaf is another sourdough whole wheat loaf with molasses and three-seeds (sunflower, sesame, poppy seeds).

This is called Indian Bread. This is a three-grain (whole wheat, unbleached, cornmeal) with sesame seeds.

This is a three-seed (sunflower, sesame, poppy seed), whole wheat/unbleached loaf.

This is a a three-seed (sunflower, pumpkin, poppy seed), whole wheat/unbleached loaf. I added the seeds after the first kneed, which leaves more on the top. Yumm!

This is another whole wheat/unbleached loaf with sunflower and sesame seeds.






This last loaf is a three-seed (sunflower, sesame, poppy seed) whole wheat/unbleached loaf. It had about 1/2 tablespoon of liquid too much, so the center is just a little sunken. It sure was wonderful though!!! I think this last loaf was our favorite so far. We eat a slice for desert. It is that good!

Tomorrow I will make another loaf, but don't know what yet. It will probably be sourdough, since my starter is bubbling really well tonight after being used for sourdough buckwheat pancakes this morn. 

But soon my energies will be focused more on the garden! It is all part of creating our own environment. So, I will soon post garden pics.