Friday, March 21, 2014

Spring: What's Not to Celebrate?

First day of spring. Hurray, hurray! What's not to celebrate?

Sunflower sprouts basking in the warm light.
Vince and I had our first cup of coffee on the patio today, and I know that some of you are still dealing with snow! But the day WILL come when the sun shines again, so hang in there!


My sunflowers are now sprouting in their pots under grow lights. Last year's experiment was good and bad. Some seeds took forever to sprout, while others like my tomato seeds grew two inches and stayed dormant for a month. They DID finally grow in the garden, but how frustrating to watch. I wondered....was it the seeds, the grow lights?


This year I DROPPED THE GROW LIGHTS LOWER and...guess what?

The seeds starting sprouting twice as fast. ~Sigh~ There is always something new to learn.....and here I am taking a Master Gardener course.

GARDENING IS SO MUCH LIKE LIFE.

WE LEARN THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR.


Alas, I did not place in the Pitch Madness contest, but I can celebrate that I entered my first contest and practiced pitching my novel. The examples of the 60 novels that did place are a GREAT LEARNING TOOL. You can read the authors' pitches and first 250 words at the website. I urge you to take a look.


Biking the local trails is right around the corner.....actually NOW. I found a map of our area in the newspaper this morning that shows some of the wonderful trails we can bike in Pullman and Moscow alone. The trails extend to other communities as well.

Map of region in local paper.
If you ever visit the Palouse region, BRING YOUR BIKE. There is plenty to see in our two communities alone.


Note the Cougar and Vandal mascots in the middle of the map. FOOTBALL IS HUGE HERE (although personally not my favorite sport), but with two universities back to back, you can just imagine the crowds that come to see the games. Lots of energy and great for local businesses! Not bad for two communities with a combined population of less than 60,000.




HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!!







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12 comments:

  1. Your sunflowers are sprouting? Very cool! Sorry to hear you didn't place in Pitch Madness, but I agree, entering at all is just as important to celebrate. (Not everyone has the guts for that sort of thing, after all!)

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    1. Thanks, Heather. Apparently I'm a sunflower, when I take the flower test. I'm still smiling :)

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  2. Hooray for spring. It was a long time coming.

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    1. Boy, hasn't it been a long winter? Can't wait to do some biking with you and hubby again :)

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  3. Yay for sprouting seeds! The snow has disappeared here finally, but - bad news - snow in the forecast for Tuesday. Still, I am happy since I can see the grass. I love that map BTW! It looks like you live in a FUN area with LOTS of recreational opportunities. Jealous!

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    1. I'm a map person too. I keep thinking I need to do a treasure map story someday. I love treasure hunts! Hope the snow doesn't stick!!

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  4. For me, cooking/baking has always been that way. Trial and error. The only problem is, by the next time I cook something, I forgot what I did incorrectly the last time!

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    1. Ha-ha. I have the same problem with recipes. I can never remember what I did! Nice to me you, Stephanie. Come back for the A-Z and some free recipes! :-)

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  5. I'm going to grow my own vegetables this year. Nothing to fancy, and it will definitely be trial and error. Seeing your seedlings has made me realise I must go and buy some seed compost.

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    1. Hi Maria. Good luck growing those vegetables. I'm still learning the ropes too. Gardening is a perfect hobby for writers sitting at the desk all day....and we eat healthier, too!

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  6. Spring is slow to come to my mountains, but my south-facing deck is starting to warm just enough to sit on and close my eyes and savor. Ahhhhh.

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  7. Won't that be nice to sit out on our patios and decks again? Some days I feel like a cat on the windowsill....

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You could call me an eternal optimist, but I'm really just a dreamer. l believe in dream fulfillment, because 'sometimes' dreams come true. This is a blog about my journey as a writer and things that inspire and motivate me.