A moment to catch up

I have a quiet moment. Rare around here.  I did not sleep well last night so I am a slug this morning.

My husband is not underfoot, he left for the morning (a rarity since he works from home)and I am enjoying a moment of solitude in the silent living room. 

This is the scene outside:



As I look out now it is trying to snow along with the rain.  We have had some lovely warm days this past week.  I even took the nephews to the park on Monday and enjoyed the sunshine.

I had to move the chicks from our living room, they were making us have the sniffles, the dander and dust they create is quite thick and irritating to our sinus’. 

Here they are in their new little home for a bit. They were getting big enough to leap out of the bin I had them in so a move into a cage was necessary.



This is in my studio on my main painting table. It is the only other secure heated space around here that is not IN the house.  So I only get the sneezes now when I have to work in here.



They seem to be quite content and are growing fast and feathering out.  I cannot tell yet if any will be roosters. None seem to have a larger comb or a wattle yet. 

I had to move all my painting stuff over to my worktable and now I have a mess I need to organize. You can see my seedling pelargoniums on the window sill trying to bloom.  I am going to have a ton of pelargoniums (zonal geraniums) this summer all over in pots.



The ladder is in here so I can start storing some items in the loft.  I need to devise some sort of ladder that I can hang on the wall when not in use.  One day…

I have also been potting up seedlings, they were getting crowded in the community pots they were started in.



These are my Camp Joy heirloom cherry tomatoes, I acquired the seeds from Renee's Garden.  I have had great success with any seeds I get from them.  Many garden centers carry them but you can also order direct from the website if you cannot find them locally.
 
I know a lot of people are so enamored of Sungold cherry tomatoes but as soon as they try these they are sold that these are the best tasting and a great size for salads and to just eat.  Instead of little marble size tomatoes these are comparable to a walnut.  And they produce tons. 



When I potted these up last week I buried most of them with only an inch or so sticking up out of the soil and now look at them, they have leaped up already.  I don’t want them to get too spindly, so I try to brush my hand against them daily.  I should do it twice daily.

Commercial growers have a chemical solution they douse the plants with that makes them grow stockier but here at home we have to do it the old fashioned way, either a fan to blow against them or brush your hand on them. 

I also potted up my basil.  Last year I did not get any and I ran out of my homemade pesto from the year before.  So I started plenty of basil plants this time around and I plan on planting tons.  Basil smells like pure summer to me. 



Sigh, the rain has turned to pure snow and I need to get off my lazy backside and get started on my day, I have signs to paint.   
I wish you sunshine and warm temps where you are today!