Still River

A glimpse of one of Michigan's quite little rivers--the Red Cedar River. 

Cone Flowers and Snow Drops--Winter Version

It was just one of those winter days...where the snow turned everything into a thing of beauty.

Snow Glitter

Fluffy snow sparkles in the gravel driveway. 

Tire Track Ice Art

Ice frozen in tire tracks can be pretty interesting. 

Here we have a prehistoric animal figure...

...nd some prehistoric human figures. (Not sure I want to know what they are doing, though!)

And then something a little more modern...ice stars...

...and ice feathers...

Linked to Macro Monday.

Love that is real and true...

love that is real and true

will empty itself and gently let go

so that the beloved can soar

(empty goldfinch nest in the winter)

Contrast

 Frost on the barnyard fence from yesterday. 

A wild Michigan lily in a roadside ditch from July 7th.

Linked to Macro Monday. 

Late for Work

The frost is on the fence, the air is chill

dawn hangs on the eastern sky

I skim through my list of patients to be seen

I'm going to be late to work again. 

A few minutes late--the story of my life

the sun is lighting the eastern sky

I grab the camera and head outside

the frost is on the fence, the air is chill

I stop for a moment just to breathe it in

dawn lit sky, frost and goat bells

the rooster flaps his wings and  crows

the sun breaks the eastern horizon

I call my first patient and say

I'm on my way, just leaving home now

be sure to draw back a curtain and look outside

and breathe the morning in--

the frost is on the trees, the air is chill

and the sun is rising silver in the eastern sky.

Linked to Real Toads. 

Molten Gold Sunrise

Linked to Skywatch Friday. 

The Easy Way to Start Tomatoes (plus a giveaway!)

I'm giving away these tomato seeds. Details at the bottom of the post!

In the northern hemisphere, it is that time of year when gardeners' fingers ache to dig into the dirt. 

Many of us are pouring over seed catalogs, drawing up garden plans, buying bags of potting soil and dreaming of spring. 

But with a simple seed starting method called winter sowing, we can do more than dream. Winter sowing is planting seeds outside while temps are still freezing in containers that are covered with clear plastic. The seeds sprout at their own pace and will turn into strong stocky plants with well developed root systems that need no hardening off and suffer little, if any, transplant shock. With winter sowing, hardy perennials and cold hardy flowers and vegetables can be planted any time in the winter. Tender flowers and vegetables can be started a few weeks before the weather warms up. 

Since learning about winter sowing about 10 years ago, I've started all my seeds this way, with the exception of peppers. I find they need indoor warmth to germinate and otherwise don't make it to maturity. Winter sowing has given me the ability to start all my tomato plants from seed with no hassle and have plenty of stocky little plants for the garden as well as to give away to friends or trade for other things on Craig's List. 

Here in zone 5 in Michigan, I start my tomatoes the around the first of April. We usually still have a few weeks left of snow and freezing weather. The seeds will germinate toward the end of April. Once they germinate, I do throw a blanket over the jugs on nights when the temperature drops back down to freezing, but other than that, they remain outside with little care, except to make sure the soil does not dry out. Our last frost date is usually the last week of May. 

Click here for step by step instructions on winter sowing. 

Some specific tips on planting tomatoes:

• Use high quality potting soil. 
• If you aren't using milk jugs, make sure the plastic you are using to cover your container has ventilation holes in it. 
• I seed 12-15 seeds per gallon jug. 
• Once the seeds sprout, make sure the jugs with the tops on aren't in direct sunlight (the seedlings could be damaged by the concentrated heat). 
• Once the seedlings have their first set of true leaves and the days are warm, you can leave the tops off the jugs and keep them in direct sunlight. I do keep the tops handy to put back on at night to protect against night time cold and frost. 

Milk jugs in the snow with seeds planted in them. 

I often transplant the seedlings from the milk jug to the garden. The seedlings may be small, but they they have well developed root systems and take off quickly. Here two tiny tomato plants are tucked into a row with basil and young spring greens. The basil and greens will be harvested as the tomatoes grow to fill in the space. 

If I am not ready to plant out yet, and the milk jugs are getting crowded, I transplant into pots. I also repot any extra seedlings to give away to friends and neighbors as well as trade for other plants on Craig's List. 

Winter sown tomato plants taking off in the garden. 

 The left over plants (after supplying all my friends and half the neighborhood) set out on the curb  with a free sign.

So what about those tomato seeds?

 These are four varieties of some of my favorite heirloom tomatoes. I saved the seeds from tomatoes grown in my garden last summer. Besides coming in fun colors, heirloom tomatoes are packed with sweetness and flavor, and you can save the seeds from year to year and they will stay true to the variety. 

 To enter this giveaway, all you have to do is leave a garden related comment at the end of this post.  If you've grown heirloom tomatoes before, tell me about your favorite variety. Or share an useful gardening tip or interesting gardening story. Or tell me about your very first garden, or share your garden plans for this year. If your comment does not link back to a blog, please make sure you leave a way for me to contact you if you are the winner. 

Giveaway ends at midnight on 2/6/13 and is open to all readers with a mailing address in the United States. 

German Pink: a large, meaty and sweet pink tomato. Fruits are about one pound. 

. 

Striped German: A large sweet tomato with marbled orange, red, and yellow flesh.Very pretty when sliced. Fruits can get up to two pounds. 

Black Cherry: dark purple cherry tomatoes packed with zing and flavor. Very productive. 

And the last one is Glacier (which I know I took photos of last summer, but somehow those photos seem to have  completely disappeared). This is a very early (55 days) golf ball size red tomato. Very sweet with a rich tomato flavor. 

I look forward to hearing about your garden and announcing the winner on Thursday!

Update: This giveaway is now closed. The winner is Candy from Lazy J Bar C Farm. 

****************

Some of the women I blog along side of are also having giveaways on their blogs this week. Once you enter your comment here, please go over and visit these blogs for more chances to win (these start at 8am 2/4)!

Natasha from NatashaMetzler.com {author of Pain Redeemed} is giving away a Set of 16 Valentines {2 each of 8 designs}
Gretchen from GretchenLouise.com is doing a 24 hour giveaway for a Copy of Christin Slade’s new e-book, “Blog at Home Mom” , which releases today! As well as some other book goodies!
Shannon from ArrangedbyGod.com is giving away a $25 gift card to Amazon.com.
Ginger from GingerTruitt.com is giving away a Delectable Box of Chocolates.
Jess from LifeintheWhiteHouse.com is giving away a Floral Glass Tile Necklace.
Lots of fun things to brighten not only your February, but your Valentine’s Day too!
So, there you have it. Be sure to hop on over to everyone’s blog, real-fast, because it ends at 11:59pm on February 6th {EST}!

Paper Art

A scrap of paper from a paper wasp nest. 

Linked to Macro Monday. 

Somber Earth

Sparkles

across the snow

drifting down from branches

somber Earth is dressed in silver.

She laughs.  

Linked to Real Toads.

Sharing a Snack

Sharing a snack with one chicken isn't a problem. 

But when the whole crowd shows up? Not so good.  

(Stay tuned for a little giveaway starting on Monday morning. You will have a chance to win several packets of my favorite heirloom tomato seeds--including seeds for these Striped German tomatoes. I will also be telling you about a simple, hassle free way to start your tomato plants. For nothing more than the cost of seeds and potting soil, you can have enough tomato plants to supply your garden, your neighborhood, and everyone on Craig's List as well!)

Striped German heirloom tomatoes