We had a pretty nice week of weather, right up until Sunday morning.  Now it feels like late winter again.

I did keep pretty much outside all last week taking advantage of the dry weather.  I completed a first pass at tilling in leaf mulch and cover cropping as well as broke about a half an acre of new ground that has been planted as a hay field since 1961.   Now if it dries out again and I can till it in preparation of planting, all will be well.

The tree planting project also has taken a lot of my time.  The bulk of the work was done by the planting crew.  However, there is an air gap between the hole side and the root ball that needed to be filled and the best way was to manually wash soil into the space while soaking the roots.  Very time consuming, muddy, wet and man I can tell you that the needles on these Austrian Pines do live up to that name – they are sharp!  Also, because it will be some time before the tree roots begin to grow out into the surrounding area and anchor the trees, the wind is tossing them about.  I have started the process of staking and guying them but have a long way to go.   I finished up what I could yesterday afternoon as the weather was changing.

This morning, all signs of sunny weather are hidden behind clouds.  It is just about 2:00 p.m. and the high so far has been 50F.  With the dampness and wind, it feels even colder.  So I am going to skip straightening up trees and opt to work on potting up tomatoes.

I did work several hours in the office this morning trying to catch up on correspondence and order related issues.  I do address emergency-type issues daily, but out of necessity, it can take a bit of time for me to answer questions or address comments.  Thank you for your patience with me.

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