More Treasures!

Kyle, my husband, was inspired by the warmer than usual weather this weekend and did his own hike in the woods.  He came home with a handful of nuts and a detailed description of the trees that they came from.  After about a half an hour of research and verification we discovered that he had found Hickory trees and their nuts.

We knew that the wood from the Hickory tree is very useful and I love to smoke meat with it, but we weren't quite sure if the nuts would be edible.  Low and behold...they are.  I cracked one open and tasted it.  Although the nuts had been on the ground since last fall, they were still tasty.  They reminded me of a pecan, but not quite as sweet.

At Thanksgiving, I like to make pecan pies.  I went to the store this year to buy the pecans and about had a heart attack when I looked at the price.  Next Thanksgiving, I will be giving the Hickory nuts a try.  I'm quite sure they will work very well and won't cost me anything but a little time to shell them.

On the garden front...

A week ago, Sunday, I had started some seeds in starter pots, watered them and placed them under my kitchen sink.  As of last Saturday, two have sprouted and are now enjoying a prime spot in front of my brightest window!

Kyle and I are both excited by the new life and can't wait to get things moving forward on the garden front.  He has drawn out detailed plans for both the hydroponic and vertical gardens.  We have chosen the spot for the garden and he is anxious to get the materials and begin the process.

The warm weather is very motivating, but we both know that it will turn cold again...so our efforts are focused on not getting ahead of ourselves.  I would like for him to build the cold frames so we can set the seedlings as early as is reasonably possible.

In The Mean Time...

I am a mother of 3 adult children...2 boys, both in the Marine Corps and a daughter.  Both my daughter and my son, Ben's wife are pregnant and are due on the same day in March.  My daughter is growing rounder by the day and her body has begun practicing to deliver my new grandson.

This weekend was quite eventful.  I received a call from my son-in-law....all in a panic.  Hannah was having contractions 7 minutes apart and was very uncomfortable (I laughed as the last trimester of pregnancy is uncomfortable by nature).  We came home immediately and sure enough her little belly was as hard as a rock.  Of course, it is really too soon for her to be in labor, but she was having practice contractions.

They stopped and the grandbaby kicked like a soccer player and all is well.  The next day my son called...all in a panic...same thing going on with his wife.  It's so awesome to feel the weather warming, the new seedlings sprouting and my grandbabies coming!

Very soon, there will be new life all around!