More Evidence that Winter May be Ending

One of the first signs of impending spring in the Maritimes is rain. Torrential, cold, windy rain. This morning I looked out to see the horses huddled in their shelter, looking out longingly at the bale of haylage just out of reach. Before anyone starts feeling sorry for the poor starving creatures, I must add that they do have ordinary hay in the racks of their shelter, readily available but not half as tasty.

Once more the rain has turned the remaining ice on the driveway and yard into a treacherous expanse. Funny how such a short distance becomes terribly daunting when covered with ultra-slick ice. If someone could mimic that lack of friction, I'm sure it would have all kinds of industrial applications. The ice may be another reason the horses are not venturing out. Horses hooves are not really designed for ice walking and it is both funny and nerve wracking to watch them attempt to cross a stretch of ice. Mizeri has the technique, no doubt gleaned from her years of experience. She minces across the slippery surface without a hitch. Touché and DT, on the other hand, sort of limp along, thinking if they put less weight on their feet they won't slip. However, they still take great big strides, so every now and then they slip and have to scrabble with all 4 feet to remain upright. They both have good strong legs, or so I tell myself when I start to visualize broken limbs and bankrupting vet bills. In time, hopefully, they will learn to cope with it.

We had our seed get-together this weekend. Louise and I had already gone through our seed collection and decided we didn't need very many seeds, just a few peppers and tomatoes, one type of eggplant, some swiss chard. Oh, but sit us down in front of those glossy catalogues with a bunch of other avid gardeners and we lose all sense of prospective. I don't know how many things we are ordering but I know it is not just a 'few' of anything. It's not our fault. We have a real weakness for the heirloom varieties that are becoming more and more available in the catalogues and on the web. They have such wonderful descriptions. Tomatoes of all shapes, sizes and colours with intriguing histories. Corn that the native people grew (probably a bit like what we used to call 'cow corn' but never mind.) Lettuce, squash, spinach, berries, all with wonderful descriptions and names. Forget about the fact that we never have time in the summer to get around to harvesting and preserving let alone weed. But that's okay. Apparently geese will weed the garden....