The Vernal Equinox and Super Full Bluebonnet Moon

Tonight we've got a Super Full Moon and then tomorrow is the Spring equinox, when the hours of daylight and darkness are equal. I'm going to try to spend most of tomorrow celebrating and reflecting on the new beginnings of spring, but first here's another update on the garden, which is also passing into a new season!

The fava beans and snow peas are both in full bloom. The peas are even starting to put out pods, while the favas, shown above, just have a lot of black (?) and white flowers on them. I'm glad they recovered from the February snow storm.

Some of the lettuce has been bolting, which I thought was strange, since it's not THAT hot yet. I guess it has more to do with a change in the temperature than the actual temperature itself. I've been pulling out the bolted lettuce and replacing it with more escarole, which I want to save seeds from. I just started eating some of my mature escarole, in the form of Escarole and Beans, but the escarole is very bitter. Is it supposed to be that way? It's not too bad if the dish has enough other flavors to offset the bitterness, but it wouldn't be very good on its own. (That recipe I linked to is good, but better with some lemon juice and PLENTY of salt to cut the bitterness of the greens.)

These are sweet potatoes! I've started snipping slips off the roots I had planted in pots and then rooting them and planting them. It seems warm enough for that, though it's still very dry, and I have to water frequently. I am not looking forward to the next water bill. The rain barrels have been empty for at least a week.

And tomatoes too! Isn't spring exciting? I've got about two-thirds of my tomatoes planted by now. Haven't gotten to the peppers, eggplants, or tomatillos yet, but they'll come next.

Here are my pole beans coming up nicely along the back fence. I planted three varieties so far: Cherokee Trail of Tears, Blue Coco, and Turkey's Craw. I wanted to plant Rattlesnake too, but I ran out of room. Maybe I can sneak some in once the snow peas are done.

A lot of the stuff I planted right after the freeze didn't make it, but I have been harvesting radishes now. In fact, this morning I had radishes on buttered French bread for breakfast. The carrots, dill, cilantro, beets, and turnips all seem to be doing ok too. The cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower never manifested, though, and something seems to be munching on the chard.

Also we've been using the air conditioning a bit lately, which means winter is definitely over and summer is just around the corner. I basically see the Feast of Ostara as the last chance for comfortable weather before it gets HOT. I just wish it would rain more.