easy come, easy go

Spring in Alaska isn't so much a season as a test of one's will to live here. Have there been beautiful days so far this spring? You bet. In fact, I have pictures to prove it - sunny, warm pictures. But have there also been plenty of mornings requiring a prewarming of the car as well as a shovel to actually reach the car. Yup. In fact, the last storm - wind and snow at my elevation, blew a 2-foot drift across my path. I'm refusing to shovel it on the premise that no one should have to shovel after April 1. But of course, that, too is flawed logic.

Yesterday was the big fundraiser event of the year at the library. It went pretty well, despite the usual chaos right before, and literal running with chairs, etc. For me, the best part about the event is that when it's over, I can focus on other things (like the other three events happening this month at the library....) Actually, what has sunk in today - the morning after - is that my prep time for getting these hoop houses up and going by May 1 is rapidly drawing to a close. I've got oodles of starts planted and they will require housing in due time. In fact, if I were a smart woman, I'd slap some plastic up over the "real" greenhouse and get that baby warming up for the bok choy and spinach that will be ready to plant in a week or two. Last year, I watched a friend grow wonderful bok choy very early in the season - granted, his greenhouse was a palace compared to mine, but still.

Today was a lovely day, indicative of how my life with my children has evolved. It started with a morning at home, the kids playing - and fighting - for several hours while I baked bread (a loaf of which my new dog, Zee, ...who is in heat, but that's another story... ate while we were in town), and then transplanted all the tomato plants into bigger containers. I posted a request for advice on facebook about using chicken poop tea for the fertilizer for the tomatoes. Got lots of advice, much of it conflicting, but decided to give the chicken poop a try, and filled a lovely bucket with 1/5 poop, the rest water. The article I read said to leave it for three days. I doubt I'll make it that long, but we'll see. Then I'll pick a plant out and try it and see if it turns yellow... Good strategy, I'd say.

So the afternoon was spent with my friend and his two children on the beach, where all the wonders of the recent stormy weather had washed ashore, and the leftovers were strange and unusual, we even went and had pizza at Fat Olives (1/4 of the pie sans cheese) The kids love the beach. It's like a giant playground and everyone seems to have fun - although wet feet - by the end of an outing there.

Then to Mike's for dinner and more play - Théa obviously needed a nap today but wound up refusing to fall asleep in the car (didn't want to miss anything) and was subsequently outrageously easy to get to sleep this evening. And Liam didn't complain too much, either. I wish I'd had a little more time with them, another day, perhaps...but it's all good. And now it's my turn as I fall asleep on the keyboard at the end of another wonderfully tired...