This beautiful bird flew into my home office and got trapped there, freaked out by my windows and mini-blinds AND my chasing it. I finally caught it (STRONG little thing!) and released it apparently unharmed.

Long Shot For Tampa But What The Heck!

I got the seeds from the last meeting of the Tampa Rare Fruit Council....since upper 20s can happen in Tampa some winters it will be risky here but I will try in pots at first as I am intrigued.

http://www.backyardnature.net/mexnat/cow-okra.htm

Monsanto Knows NO Limits.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axU9ngbTxKw&feature=share

I better feed the rest of my citrus and papayas and some roses tomorrow!

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Tampa&state=FL&site=TBW&lat=27.959&lon=-82.4821

Spring is here....

When I rode my bike today to the gym at Joe Abraham's Fitness Center at Ballast Point Park, the red buds were JUST starting to bloom. And the color of Tampa Bay is shifting away from its dark winter tones.  I think we hit 82....and due to an approaching cold front, Friday looks to be offering a good chance for rain.

Good News Bad News

The good is that the 'San Ho Giant' mustard and daikon radishes in large, restricted drainage tree pots are healing quickly since I rendered the area chicken proof, plus emerging seedlings in other container gardens are safe. The bad news is that some chickens once again got into an east bed due north and two Black Sex Links drowned in a 4 foot deep pond made from a buried fiberglass barrel, just as 2 did last year in a similar pond in the same bed I'd since kept covered with plastic mesh. Wasted eggs and wasted meat. Here they have a HUGE area to run including a massive west bed with weeds and bugs yet they INSIST on very persistently getting into two east beds that are NOT easy to get into!

Spring Fever!

The east bed revamp, which will likely include a hugelkultur zone at the south end to help process trash tree saplings I am cutting down in the back yard, is largely done, getting mulched with oak leaves, with crops actively growing in restricted drainage container gardens now that the chickens can no longer get in. Today I take the new pound of curds from dairy kefir grains that hung and dripped overnight and place a 5 lb. gym weight for a 24 hour pressing before aging a few months in the fridge. Past cheeses were dry due to a 2-3 press with more weight.....I want this cheese to have a texture more like Brie. Today I plant a few dozen more seedlings of Allium fistulosum in the 6 foot diameter kiddy pool that Tim gave me in my quest for onion self sufficiency since it is a perennial that divides and self sows...in essence a giant perennial scallion. Chickens are now daily getting into the SOUTH bed and have ruined papaya seedlings and the general tidiness I had finally established, so today I will consider two methods for keeping them out so they will forage in the west bed I WANT them to frequent!

The folks at Black Kow a few years back paid me to write them an article for a pamphlet they distribute across the southeast U.S. and might be commissioning two more! Their sales rep Steve sent me a box with two new all organic fertilizers whose ingredients impress me for me to test......two 5 lb. bags of 'Dynamite Plant Food' and 'Dynamite Mater Magic'....I am impressed by the ingredients of both and will be sharing them with a couple gardening friends to evaluate in their gardens. They might be commissioning two more articles from me, one about roses and one about tomatoes since I wrote often about both in my St. Pete Times column for eight years.

Sure sign of spring yesterday.....I saw my first azalea blooms of the year while riding my bike to the gym. Any time now my Meyer's Lemons should begin flowering and an early species amaryllis emerging would not surprise me. Thank heavens I escaped Denver in November 2002 as spring there is still a VERY long way away. So much to do this time of year....good thing I like to be busy. I've begun a weight loss and fitness regimen which will surely boost my energy levels as I get back into shape and get the gardens into shape.

Oh how I love spring fever!