Thoughts of Spring On a Cold Winter Morning

This morning dawned cold and windy, another freezing cold, but soon to be sunny day.

The temperature is showing 10 deg. on the thermometer on the porch, which means that the wind chill must be somewhere around Zero or minus 4 with the wind whipping around out there.....Brrrrrr.


Our garden, it turns out was a total disaster again this year, even with all the loving care I gave it and all the hand watering I did.

We have a small plot up on the hill just behind the house, which consists of about 3/4 of an acre that I turn into a garden each year, in it I try to grow many different things including my annual gourd crop to use in my Gourd Art projects.

I grow several types of gourds, Birdhouse Gourds,Canteen Gourds, Bushel Gourds, Bottle Gourds,Nigerian Bottle Gourds,and Peyote Gourds on a fence row, even those tiny "Jewelry Gourds" also called "Miniature Gourds".

My usual gourd crop is about 500 gourds of the Birdhouse,Bottle, Canteen and Bushel variety and around 2,000 miniature (Jewelry) gourds and around 200 "Peyote" gourds. The "Peyote" gourds I use to make my gourd rattles with, so I need quite a few , but I do sell some of them in the Raw stage, meaning not cleaned, to other Crafters.

Oh my how I have been rambling here with my thoughts...lol.....anyway, this years gourd crop was a total wipeout again, as it only produced about 10 very stunted gourds and only about 5 "Peyote" gourds that could be used.

Here is hoping that next Spring and Summer will bring some much needed rain to feed the garden and produce a bountiful harvest of veggies and gourds to feed our bodies and inspire our creative Spirits.

The two photographs above were taken at the very start of the growing season, and show the growth progression of a Birdhouse Gourd, from Baby with the bloom just fallen off to starting to grow into the birdhouse gourd shape.

The Birth and Growth of a Birdhouse Gourd