Spuds ahoy!

I'm sure you remember vividly the post in which I talked about planting potatoes? no? how will you manage the quiz at the end of the post, I ask?  You may be headed for failure with a capital L, as one of my teachers memorably said one day, poor lady.

Anyway, back in February we had a deceptively mild day, and I had a couple of potatoes sprouting on their own in the kitchen, so I planted them in containers.  Then a lot of weather ensued, which kept them pretty much wet and frozen for weeks, neither of which conditions suits potatoes.

 
But a couple of warm days, and we see that, contrary to my expectations, they are sprouting rapidly, and there will be a harvest.  

 
Even my backup one is coming up despite the squirrels digging everything up multiple times.

So maybe in June, along with green peas from the farm, there will be new potatoes, too.  I'll be sure to show you the harvest if there is one.

And here's my little red maple, new foliage, lovely color.  I use the leaves in fall for dyeing purposes, and recommend them as a natural dye source. Even fallen leaves, if they still have some pigment, can work.  Aside from the fact, says she hastily, that it's a beautiful tree for your landscaping..I tend to get carried away with utility in these things.

Speaking of which, the ficus, which I took outdoors perilously early, did indeed drop a lot more leaves, no help from squirrels climbing about, but I notice also signs of new growth, so that's hopeful.

I had already decided that if she didn't survive this year,  I would spray her some interesting color and use her as a home decor feature.  Maybe she heard my plans and thought, hey, not so fast, lady. Waste not want not...