1st Sunday in Spring.

I know...I've just jinxed it, but there are a few things that have helped me to the conclusion that today, Sunday February the 20th, is the unofficial first Sunday of Spring 2011. First:

I like to think of this as our lowcountry version of the groundhog. I spotted this guy on Thursday of last week. Behold, the first gator of 2011! He (or she) has come up out of hibernation (or whatever they do when it is winter and they disappear) and is taking in some rays alongside a lagoon. Certainly this has to be as good a harbinger as some rodent seeing or not seeing it's shadow? Second:

My pieris is starting to bloom. I really love this plant. I have found that the buds stay pretty tight while it is still cold and wintery outside. Once the warming trend starts, they swell and develop the white bell-shaped flowers that remind me of lily-of-the-valley. Third:

My beet seeds have finally germinated! I put a little thumb tack there so you can see how small they are. And today, I saw my first little rainbow carrots starting to come up. I said a loud "thank you!!!!" because we were getting pretty worried that they weren't going to come up at all. The peas are getting really big as well:

I'll thin these to 3" apart...time for an Epicurious search for sprout salad. Might be tasty alongside the oven roasted chicken we have planned tonight. A spring chicken, if I may be so bold.

One day, without no warnin', things start jumpin' up from the ground...

Before I left for a trade show and conference last week, I was pleasantly surprised by the sight of a few little green leaflets making their way up and out of our pea plots. Technically, these are referred to as the cotyledons. I read on another garden blog a very interesting analogy-how these leaves can be thought of as the yolk or placenta for the baby plant, providing food while the plantlet gets going with photosynthesizing. Just this week, I noticed the radish seeds had begun their own eruptions. Here's a look at a radish cotyledon:

This little guy should be harvestable in 25 days, according to the seed packet. I chose "French Breakfast" radishes because they are a milder variety. My nearly 4 year old son says he doesn't like radishes because "they are toooo spicey". Now-I have never told him this, and I don't think he has had any radishes yet, but maybe in a salad somewhere along the line he did. Now this fact seems to stick in his rapidly developing brain. I hope to change his mind in, oh- 25 days or so. By getting our kids involved in gardening and growing food, they are more likely to try new things.

As for the peas, here are some shots I took, they are a week along and have formed their first true leaves:

Germination rate is looking pretty good on these so far. Looks like I may have some pea sprout salad after all.

You eat like a bird!

We enjoy providing our feathery neighbors with victuals of their own. Creating an inviting environment for birds will help our kitchen garden fight the bugs that come to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

February has always meant goldfinches. They show up earlier in small groups, but the hordes always seem to arrive in February. And true to form, over the last few days there have been at least 100 of these hungry guys at the feeders-devouring all the seeds in sight. We have two large tube feeders with black oil sunflower seeds as well as a mix w/ millet, sunflowers and lord knows what else. We also have a cool double sock thistle feeder especially for the finches. And rounding it out, a couple of suet baskets. We tend to fill the tube and sock feeders every three days once the posse arrives. We also have a little clear plastic house-shaped feeder with suction cups attached for sticking it right to your window-so you can see the feeding up close. Here's a goldfinch who has gorged him/herself and, consequently, passed out.

Ahhhhhhhh....just like grampa after Thanksgiving dinner.

Waking up after a five minute "bird nap".

After you watch the way these little guys put away the groceries, you have to wonder about the phrase "you eat like a bird"...because birds can really pack it away. I'm counting on this when those hornworms and earworms start showing up...unfortunately, the goldfinches will be in the Hamptons by then, but our cardinals, chickadees and titmice will take care of it.

Side note-carrots, beets and radishes planted today. According to the farmers' almanac  today was a good day to plant root veggies. Let's hope the moon agrees.