The sun rose this morning at 5:19, and will not set until 10:20 this evening. We’re on daylight time, but I’m not really sure why – we certainly have no shortage of daylight! 17 hours today, and we’re gaining about 7 minutes a day. Solar altitude at noon has crossed the 40° mark, most of the snow has melted, and I’m putting the mints out to harden in the daytime. But at the darkest time of night the sun is only a little more than 10° below the horizon.
Violets and delphinium are popping up next to the south wall of the house.
The forecast is for quite a bit cooler this week, with rain and snow possible. I hope the snow doesn’t stick! I’ll probably get out the hose today, but I certainly won’t leave it hooked up at night.
I’m doing the #writemotivation check-in again this month, with a longer list of goals now OLLI is over until fall. My goals aren’t all writing this time either. Specifically:
1. Get the garden going. Given the earlier springs up here lately, the beans have started to sprout (indoors) and I’ll try to get the squash planted today if I can find pots; plant both outdoors before Memorial Day. Get seeds in before Memorial Day if possible. This will involve getting the hoops to support plastic covers up on all three raised beds.
The chives in the holes in the cement blocks making up the raised beds have reached eating height already, though we're still having hard freezes at night.
2. Keep up daily blogging using my existing schedule: Alaska weather Monday, review Tuesday, quotation context Wednesday, wild card Thursday, Jarn’s Journal (back history on my science fiction novels) Friday, Science/technology/health Saturday, and Six Sentence Sunday on Sunday. https://homecomingbook.wordpress.com/
3. Keep up Context? Tweets daily @sueannbowling
4. Put at least two interesting science links a day on Homecoming’s page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Homecoming/109303925759274
5. Get outdoors for at least a couple of hours a day when the weather cooperates, either gardening or tricycle riding.
6. Read over entire trilogy for flow; put bits on Six Sentence Sunday; find a beta reader or two if possible. Anyone interested?
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The green is a very welcome sight!
Isn’t it? I’m looking for anything green this time of year, even weeds.
I love that you included your gardening goals! Here where I am the strawberries are starting to blossom, the peas are about three inches high right now and the spinach is maybe one inch. The potatoes poked their heads out last week, and were instantly turned black by a cold snap. I’m hoping they’ll recover. The rest of the yard is slowly being taken over by grass and weeds. I definitely have plenty of work myself. I’m looking forward to reading more about the Alaska weather and gardens, and of course about the trilogy. Good luck with your writing!
I got the beans started (indoors) and the squash about 10 minutes ago. Had to bring in the plants that were out for the day hardening off early–it started to snow about 4. (They come in at night anyway, but at least last week it didn’t freeze during the day.) The strawberries are greening up but I haven’t really raked the leaves off them yet.