good

morning!

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sunday snapshots

6AM: a few inches of fresh snow

9AM: snow stopped.

Sunny.

Very cold.

2PM: bitter cold, constant wind.

Still blowing at nightfall.

A full day of snow predicted for tomorrow.

Appropriate action has been taken:

Also, the last gallon of 2015 cider is thawing in the kitchen.

Preparations are complete.

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thanks so much

A huge "Thank You!" to everyone who commented or sent an email about the windowbox project! I feel so lucky to have readers who take the time to ponder these things, and then write about their experiences and their ideas for what would or wouldn't work well here. Thank you!!

It's extremely helpful hearing about things like fiberglass boxes that last for decades - who knew? - and using plastic liners inside wooden boxes - which never even crossed my mind! - and the need for daily watering because even in plastic planters the soil may dry out more quickly than I expect and the heat of the sun on the boxes may damage the plants' roots. This last in particular may seem obvious to most of you - except KB, who has a similar closed-canopy situation at her woodsy home as I do here - but having to watch out for the effects of too much sun on the plants will be quite a new experience for me!

I'm still looking at pictures and measuring and deciding, so if anyone feels the urge to add to the comments, please do! With so many excellent ideas and options, I really don't think there can be anything but a satisfying outcome. The project should be underway next week; I'm trying to coordinate with my hired helper to be here one day for other tasks, as that way there'd be an extra hand within hailing distance for windowbox assistance if needed.

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And as I've continued to ponder plants and planters,

there's still a lot of this going on every day:

Turns out you can do quite a lot of garden planning

while combing a goat or two.

We've reached the time of year when things start happening quickly...one day, the slightest tint of green amidst the high grey branches of the maples, and the next morning the air is absolutely full of birdsong. I saw the first flycatcher in the South Paddock yesterday; hopefully they will build a nest under the workshop eaves again and I will see them swooping to and fro when I am filling the water buckets. Today I saw nine goldfinches at the feeder - a record! Several are in the process of trading their serious Winter outfits for a new Spring wardrobe.

We know what that feels like, don't we, Azalea?

"I'm about halfway done with shedding my cashmere!
It's tremendously hard work, but I don't complain.
Just having a bite of hay to keep my strength up."

In fact, it's taking a chance, but this weekend I'm going to shed my own Winter coat. I'll take my ancient calf-length down-filled barn coat off the peg by the back door, mend this year's rips, wash it, dry it in the fresh air, and put it carefully away for the season.

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Piper and I have been going for our usual short walk/wander most days when it isn't actually raining. Everything is right on the brink of massive change; you can feel it in the air and see it in tiny signs everywhere you look. On clear days, it would be hard to take a bad photograph.

Especially when you have the help of a dog like Piper, who has recently begun to insist on being self-walking.

She actually carried that retractable lead all the way out of the woods, walking about 20 feet in front of me the whole time. I think she's finally come up with a solution for a human who stops to take photographs too often. "Fine. I'll walk myself."

You go, Ms. Independence.

:) 

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opinions invited

Your input is requested on my next project.

As you may recall, there are windows on the west and south walls of the porch. Three windows on the west wall; four on the south. Even as I was measuring for these windows, I was planning to put up windowboxes beneath them. Because they will get SUN!

Please pardon the parallax in this distorted snap - it's the best I could find at the minute. If it wasn't dark right now, I'd step outside and get a better picture.

Last Spring, the windowboxes had to be postponed. This Spring, I am very determined to Make It Happen. And now is the time, before the gardens can be worked. It's going to take time and effort and trips to buy materials and...well, as slow as I am, I had better get cracking.

Will you please help with the planning?

All along I've been picturing individual white-painted wooden boxes filled with soil, each box supported by brackets attached directly to the walls. Sweet peas growing up! Nasturtiums dangling down! Herbs in the middle! Soooo pretty!

But now that it's time to get to work, I'm - of course - thinking of other options. For example, I've been told plastic is by far the best material for gardening containers because it maintains more moisture for the plants. The non-rotting feature of plastic could be pretty useful too, considering all the water that goes into windowboxes.

Expense? Well, no matter what plastic boxes would cost, it would probably have to be cheaper than building wooden boxes and then painting them, probably with multiple coats of...I don't know, some kind of enamel, or marine paint? I haven't researched the paint yet.

(Sidenote: I have a terrible record as far as painting wood goes. Every time something is built of wood here (by me or by real carpenters) I think, "This time I will paint it. Some cheerful color. It will be so pretty!" And every single time, when the item is built, I look at it and think, "Wood is so beautiful." And I don't want to paint it. So I don't. I honestly cannot remember the last time I applied paint to unfinished wood.)

So, the first question is, the material for the boxes:
Wood?
Plastic?
Other?

Next, do I really want seven individual boxes on wooden brackets attached to the house? There are good alternatives. For example, I could build a shelf or slatted rack the length of each wall below the windows, and put the boxes - or even pots - on the shelves. Flexible for future arrangements.
Or, I could build a tall, freestanding bench in front of each wall, and use the benches to hold the boxes. The only advantage I can think of, is that this option puts space between boxes and walls, which might prevent staining of the porch walls from rainwater splashing or draining from the boxes. The most difficult aspect would be leveling the benches at the start (leveling a lawn chair takes effort here), and annual adjustment after frost heaves.

So, the second question is the overall design:
Seven traditional boxes on wall brackets?
Two long shelves on wall brackets, holding boxes?
Two long freestanding benches, ditto?
Other?

Please feel free to weigh in on these questions! Most if not all of you have much more experience than I do with successfully growing plants. And I'll bet many if not most of you grow plants in windowboxes or planters or containers of some kind, and I'll bet they look fabulous. Please share your wisdom and ideas! Thanks!

Sambucus would like to see windowboxes on the barns.
"Just about chin-height, please!"

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sunday snapshot

Such a welcome sight!

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