Getting my hands dirty

We were up early this morning. The nights have been particularly chilly these past few days. We're waking up in 5°C (41°F), but even so, we're still warm at night under our duvet comforters. Our guests on Monday night said they slept really well and had no complaints. They did start a fire in the wood stove, so they were toasty warm. 

This morning was the first weekday morning where I didn't have to go do something. It was quite nice. I rolled up my sleeves and dug in my garden for several hours. The tomato plants needed a good overhaul. I got rid of all the dead leaves, tied the limbs that were starting to seriously droop and weeded. I tidied up the greenhouse as it was starting to really feel disorganized. I cleared out some of our California Poppies that were starting to encroach on other plants. I weeded all the beds and pulled out all the lettuces. They were growing vertically, which I had never seen before, and the leaves were looking sad. I have to start planting news seeds. The leeks are coming along now, but tomorrow I'll divide them and spread them out. They growing in clumps and I doubt that will result in nice, big stalks. There is no sign of the onion that I planted a few weeks ago. I know it can take up to 12 weeks to sprout, and it's only been about 4... so I'll have to be patient. The urge to just dump the whole container and start something that will yield quicker results is very tempting, but we've come this far, might as well see it through. 

Mary (Kevin's mum) and his sister, Karen, arrive next week. Mary is a brilliant gardener so I'm looking forward to learning many great tips while she's here. I wonder what she'll think of my 'liquid gold' from the cows?