Things have settled down a lot here in Wilton. First of all, Dave and I live here now, even if we haven’t completely moved out of the old house. Things are migrating slowly but surely and most of the furniture is here. No pool table, picnic table or other small items. Secondly, the intense all day fog has settled into a morning fog, afternoon burn off so the plants are peeking up finally. Most of the winter crop seeds I planted did not sprout. Who knew we would have 14 days of nothing but fog? Felt like 30 years ago! I did miss Shingle Springs then – up above the fog level most days! And finally, the chickens are full grown pullets- still not laying but that may have to do with the weather- we did not put them under lights and it is fairly dark most mornings with the low clouds or fog.
But, having said all of that, we are here and some of the winter garden is moving along. Two of the blueberry bushes are either in bloom or close to it, and the onions and garlic I planted in November are plugging right along in the driveway planters. The collard green seeds I planted took off but other lettuces did not. Luckily I did plant some romaine in pots. The greenhouse completely came apart in a crazy wind storm, but Dave’s man cave has a sliding glass door. So they have sprouted in this modified greenhouse! Also kept them warmer when we had two nights of a “freeze” ( yes it got to 32F for an hour or two!).
The orchard is also coming along. So far, it seems like all of the trees we planted last year all survived the year! The mandarins are getting sweet and the lemons look pretty but are still rock hard. Not sure we will get many oranges but the trees have a couple flowers- but the bees may still be hibernating. The plum, cherry and apricot trees are also developing buds even though it is still January! Hoping all the work weeding and feeding them last year pays off!
And finally, the chickens are doing well. Hermie remains one of the more skittish and Enola the most reactive to sounds and leaves falling! I can catch and pet the three Chocolate Orps- Cordelia is the largest and Emma the smallest. Charlotte is so dark she looks almost black. Matt bought a fence to give them a yard around the coop so they can have more space and move around a bit. The Orpington are “well nourished” but I don’t think my grape and raspberry snacks are the only reason. They have not yet begun laying (I still see so many behaviors that say they are close) but day length is still a bit short. The overcast mornings do not help!
The final thing is that I am getting all my houseplants moved, slowly but surely. The bay window is a great place for the African Violets and they are blooming like crazy. Makes me happy every day! I should have more updates as the garden gets going. Dave has made 2 more Birdie bins for the front area of the ADU which will become my seasonal garden. He also built me a longer, narrow bin to start an herb garden. Happy days!
