It’s spring! It’s spring! {smile} Everything is green, and growing, and even 57 degrees feels warm with the sun shining! I’ve been having a heck of a time keeping the kids in coats and hats! Yes, I’m a little militant about hats or hoods. But I’m also not a fan of ear-aches and migraines–and besides, the Cowboy’s “highlighter” hat is the only way I can keep track of him sometimes! Their Carhartt gear just blends right in!

We’ve been letting the kids hit the woods right at the edge of the yard to hunt garden marker sticks and I think they have discovered the pure joy of playing in the woods–a joy I remember well from endless visiting to my own grandparent’s house in the mountains. I don’t know what they do over there, but there’s a lot of hollering and laughing involved.

You can see our backyard fence in these pictures. With the leaves off I’m able to keep track of them pretty well while we’re working in the orchard and garden–or even reading and sipping coffee on the back porch.

Normally I hesitate to let them out of the fence–it’s that momma-fear again! But this year I’ve been taking a lot of deep breaths and letting them go. A little. {smile} I figure if I get used to it now, it won’t be as hard when the leaves are there and I can’t see them anymore. Besides, I always send Penny with them!

We’re a little behind on the garden already. But we did have that last minute cold snap, so I don’t think it’s hurting anything for us to be taking our time. Our 3 new fruit trees are in and each child has claimed one as “their own.” (So I get a lot of help with watering!) And our existing peach and plum tree are flowering nicely already.

And if you’ve been following us on Facebook, you’ve seen that our strawberry bed is coming along well. (I usually post Facebook pictures and updates at lunchtime and during the evening chores!) Our raised bed is 5×10 and we’ve got two long rows of strawberries to the outside and two long rows of onions to the inside. (Who knew strawberries and onions were great companions?! I’ve pinned a couple great companion planting guides here, here, and here.)

No sign of our potatoes yet, but they’re down there. Our lettuce and broccoli are just getting started in the house (that would be the part we’re behind on!) and we’ve gone back and forth about the carrots, but I think we’re going to try to make our own seed tape and plant them straight in the ground this weekend.

We’re also planning to get the trellises up for beans and peas this weekend and those are ready to be planted.

And don’t forget to check out the Everything Gardening {LINK UP}!

It’s still open–and growing!–until Monday and there’s some great stuff  there!

What’s your favorite things to plant (or just enjoy fresh!) in the Spring?