With all that’s changing in this world and our adjustments to life in the time of COVID-19, many things in the garden remain wonderfully, reassuringly constant: The arrival of spring and warmer days, blooming daffodils, crocuses, and hellebores, fat buds on trees, increased bird activity, lots of seed sowing, baby chicks, and an abundance of lush weeds.
A nice surprise has been how well our carrot crop lasted in-ground over the winter. Every month or so beginning August 2019 I dug pounds of carrots from the bed. Yesterday I dug the last couple of pounds from seed planted almost a year ago. My years of storing carrots in sand in our basement are over; from now on I’ll leave some in the soil and continue to harvest into springtime. This bounty prevailed despite over a foot of snow we received from a few snowstorms this year.
Earlier this week we brought home nine baby chicks to add to our flock. We’re raising three breeds that are new to us: New Hampshire Reds, Silver Laced Wyandottes, and Black Australorps. It’s a sweet, promising thing to hear chicks cheeping again.
Helllloooooo! There’s always one in a group…
Gardens at Coppertop 
I love seeing chicks. Every time we go to the farm store for bird seed I look into the containers holding those sweet little birds. They are enchanting. Your hellebores are beautiful.
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Thanks, Lisa! Stay well.
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Beautiful Hellebores
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Thank you. We’re enjoying the new varieties especially.
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Absolutely stunning Hellebores!
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Thanks! Take care.
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Those are some pretty fresh Chicken McNuggets!
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Ha! Hope you’re doing well, Tony.
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Cute chicks! By which I mean, cute young chickens, just to be absolutely clear. I love the white Hellebore with purple speckles.
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Yep, the chicks keep us smiling, Jason. Hope you are well in the Windy City. That hellebore is called ‘Confetti Cake’. Could live without that name…
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Love your chicks! I’ve had Black Australorps before and they are sweet birds. There is absolutely nothing like spring chicks to give cheer and joy to your life!
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Agreed! Thanks, Cindy.
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That looks like a lot of fun, all the best for your new gardenmates!
That speckled hellebore is fantastic, I’m always a sucker for the spotted ones.
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I am too, Frank.
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Wish we could leave carrots and turnips in the ground for later harvest too. You obviously have milder temps than we do, as our ground freezes solid here. But spring is here at last. Pretty hellebores and chicks!
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It’s good to hear from you, Cynthia! Discovering carrots can stay put here is a game changer.
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Remind me what region you garden in?
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This general region is 8, but because we’re on a mountain, we are 7B.
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Okay. We are 5 up here.
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I have failed repeatedly in my attempts to grow carrots. Your post inspires me to try again. They look great.
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Thanks, Bill. Nice to see you here. Carrots have never given me any trouble. May they flourish for you this year!
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This is so cool, I really want to grow vegetables! Looks fun too
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