SPRING IS HERE. thank the heavens.

The broccoli is looking a bit haggard but is apparently coming back to life even though I uncovered it months ago and subjected it to sub-freezing temps without any niceties like mulch or weeding (I did finally weed it, obviously). Also, I can't believe I grew some carrots. OVER WINTER. Also, despite its poor living conditions, the garlic seems happy, and it took all my willpower to not check just one of them for what's going on down there under the surface (this is because I want as much garlic as humanly possible). Clearly, I didn't have the same patience (or desire) with the carrots (although they were quite delicious).

While Jay changed the oil in Taco, Moosie and Tally inspected the fence I recently put up to keep their little hind ends out of the garden. Clyde, the angel dog, knows to circumvent the raised beds, but two certain little hellions think it's all shits and giggles to tromp through them and eat random pieces of mushroom compost, all disgusting like. So, a fence (albeit a short one at that because they're both little dogs) was in order.

Jay couldn't quite wait until the weekend like he originally planned to do the first mow of the season. The rapidly growing grass (and weeds) was too tempting. If I haven't already mentioned it, we've never had a lawn before so all this mowing still hasn't lost its novelty on us. I love having luscious emerald green grass to walk barefoot through (which I've done already several times in the last few weeks).

So, almost all the garden beds are ready for planting according to my garden plan. We still need one more cubic yard of soil for the corn patch and potato towers. Bed 1, the middle one in the first of the above three images, is 69 feet long. I originally was planning two more of the same length right below Bed 1, but the logistics proved more difficult than I realized. I am blessed with long gams, but hopping over the bed to get to the other side ended up in smooshed soil, and I am just too lazy to walk around 69 feet. So I made some paths and am quite taken with them. A garden shouldn't be difficult, after all. (In hindsight, I might actually rearrange Bed 1 altogether next winter because it gets quite soggy on one end, but this will do for now -- I'm tired of shoveling.)

Remember how I said that I wasn't gonna get all fancy and shred leaves with the mower to make leaf mulch? Me neither. (P.S. that totally works!) (P.P.S. that pile was about three times the size before shredding.)

The chives, oregano, perennial onions, and comfrey gifted from a friend are as excited about spring as I am (the echinacea has yet to reappear).

While the weeds certainly enjoyed my winter sowing attempts, the actual flower seeds are trying their best.

I was thrilled to find some flower buds on an as yet unidentified shrub coupled with (I think) an abandoned bird nest.

The potager garden is finally filled with soil like the rest of the main garden.

Again, the main garden is finally fenced off from the mutts. This has been thrilling for me.

Clyde continues to maintain his position as Head Porch Dog.

Well, shit, that was an awful lot of pictures. Can you tell I'm excited about spring??