Pleasant Surprises

Today was a perfectly lovely day to be outside in the garden.  Even before we went outdoors we had the wonderful surprise of seeing the male red fox making his rounds in the garden.  It's always wonderful to see the fox in the garden, but today it was an extremely pleasant surprise.  It has been perhaps a week or more since we found the female red fox dead  next to the road not far from here.  We wondered if the male would wander off to search for a new mate.  It was good to see that he is still around!  When I did get outside I was surprised to see my Dutchman's breeches in flower.  This plant and its flowers appeared so quickly. I'm pretty  sure two days ago there was no sign anything.

It was a little surprising to see my pink trout lily pushing up through the leaves.  So far there is no sign of the wild trout lilies that are so numerous here.  I surprised a yellow shafted flicker and got a fabulous view of the bird and the yellow underside of his wings as he flew away.  I guess he was busy eating ants and didn't see me on my garden tour. It's early for him to be here.

These warm March days have made the garden a very pleasant place to be. It has been a delightful preview of things to come, but cold weather is coming back. I hope it doesn't bring too many unpleasant surprises!

Garden Peas

We adore fresh garden peas. Of the kinds where you can eat the shell, Oregon Giant is our favorite. They are so crunchy and delicious when lightly cooked. I would have to admit I love to eat a few raw while in the garden as well. For freezing we prefer peas that need to be shelled, so the rest of the peas are picked and shelled, then blanched and frozen to enjoy later. Peas are a labor intensive crop. Ed puts up the chicken wire supports, plants the seeds, installs the protective fence, ties the pea vines up with string when the weight of the peas causes them to sag, and weeds . He loves that part. Pulling up the vines and harvesting the peas is not his favorite.

I rather enjoy shelling peas. I've been doing it since I was a girl. It is only recently , however, that I have learned how much fun it is to sit in the garden to do it. Today was a glorious cool and sunny morning. Ed finished pulling the peas and left to work elsewhere. I stayed to finish . When you sit in the garden , the birds soon ignore your presence. I got a close of view of a yellow shafted flicker sitting on a nearby post, so close I could have counted his spots. I got buzzed by a female hummingbird several times as she visited the mahogany bee balm. With the shelling finished, I left the shells in my bucket of compost, and took the shelled peas into the kitchen. There I washed, blanched and froze them. We will enjoy them so much when the weather turns cold. If I'm lucky eating them will bring back the memory of this delightful morning spent in the garden.