Finally! The gardening season has begun!

So, I couldn't take it any more. There were just way too many seed packets, all shouting to be opened ... the seed starting kit was beckoning ... I just couldn't hold out any longer! So, last night, I finally opened up some seed packets I have a 72-pod seed starter kit, and I split them half-n-half: 36 pods got the Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, and the other 36 got the Parris Island Cos (Romaine) lettuce. And weirdly enough, the entire time I was putting the seeds into the starting mix, all I could think about was Jake Gyllenhaal. Weird. Maybe it was because I just watched City Slickers.

In other news, I couldn't resist the siren song being sung by the local Tractor Supply Co. store. I actually passed on seeds, instead going for a bandana, a soil meter, and a book.

The Chippewa blueberry plant that I have has flowered, and is now sitting outside, soaking up the sun ... or the rain ... there's a 50/50 chance for either right now. The flowers were really pretty, in my opinion. And in the window, I've got a potted bougainvillea (purchased from the same nursery as the blueberrry) sunning itself. It's DEFINITELY way too cold for that one outside.

That was a few weeks ago. So, fast forward a few weeks. Bougainvillea is still inside, as it's still too cold for it to be outside, blueberry is still outside, and I'm hoping that's okay (because I've yet to bring it back in). I made another trip to Tractor Supply Co. and bought a pair of gardening boots --- THANKFULLY! --- because the mud and dirt from the garden was becoming a pain to knock off of my shoes every time I needed to come inside the house. So, with all of that, I had my seeds started --- lettuce, carrots, Anaheim chili peppers, Serrano chili peppers, and Swiss Chard.

And ... drum roll, please ... the actual GARDEN has begun! We've removed the sod from the 20' x 15' area that has been tempting me since last fall. Then, we went out and got some "Moo-Nure" from The Home Depot (about 25 bags), and took some leaves from our blackberry/black raspberry garden (which has been our catch-all for the past few years and has become overgrown), threw them in the garden, and VOILA! --- the makings of a garden. So, we borrowed the neighbors' tiller, and by the end of the following day, the garden had been nicely tilled, with the leaf mulch and manure mixed in to the soil. The tilling was done mostly by my dad, thankfully! That tiller packs a kick!

Now that the triumphs have been sung, here are the tribulations ...

So, the past few weeks have been ... rain, rain, rain, sun, partly cloudy, tornado watch, rain, rain, rain, wind & rain, sun, cold and cloudy, and rain. Not great planting or gardening weather. So, on one of the rare sunny days, I went outside, set my little plastic greenhouses with my seedlings up on the deck rail, and went inside to get some water for them, came back outside, heard a slight *plink*, got up to the deck steps, then heard *boom*.

Only 1 of the 2 greenhouses were still on the deck rail.

I was pissed.

The lettuces that I've been nurturing for the past few weeks had toppled over the side of the deck rail, due to the wind, and were crushed and strewn around the loose soil that now laid on the ground. So, there went approxiately 3-4 weeks of growth. Grr....

On the bright side, though, the carrots, Bibb lettuce, carrots, and peppers were still okay ... the Swiss Chard was unfortunately, wilted by the cold. Not a big loss, though, considering that I've never had Swiss Chard before, and don't really know if I'd love the taste of it.

Hopefully, if it dries out, I can get out there and re-till the garden, then begin planting. Once the garden is re-tilled, then I'll hopefully start the lettuce again, this time, I'll just plant it straight into the soil.