Netzingers -- Explicit coquina que est optima medicina.

The redbud are blooming and the little green leaves are up and out all over.  Daylillies are going strong and the leaves are poking out of our new pear trees out on the front lawn.

 There are still thousands of cubic yards of debris piled up around Salem from the ice storm.  Lots of folks are grumbling about the surcharges on their electric bills, but I for one think the NAEC workers are nothing short of heroic.  It all seems so long ago, when the historic storm plunged us back into the cold and darkness, yet the sun shines in new places and the woodpeckers are ecstatic in their newfound bounties.

Yesterday we planted five persimmon trees behind our house.  The new row of trees neatly finished up where the two native persimmons stand.  We did that in between the downpour and the sleeting rain.  Today,  we planted two dewerry in between a couple of shrubs out front.  The dewberries, and persimmons, and a few more items, came from Vernon Barnes (931-668-8576).  Barnes is a family-run business with great customer service and wonderful plants.

We also planted common sage (one out by the drive, one near the garage) and Egyptian multiplying onions  out back in the hazelnut bed.  These were in the garage window and put on a lot of healthy roots over the winter.

Out in the south plot, over by our side street, I planted two rows of Proso millet (R. H. Shumway's). I am eager about getting some grains in the ground, especially drought-tolerant ones like millet, sorghum, and millet.  If the folks in Mali can live on millet, it is worth a shot here in Arkansas. We had mulched the back plot for overwintering, and it really helped in getting the ground ready for cultivation and planting.  Underneath the pine needles and thatch, the ground was moist and rich, with the remaining weeds too weak to seriously hang onto their roots.  I had only reckoned on getting one row done, but it was easy enough to do two.

Well now my wive and me are well tired. It has been another long day.  We are still settling in, and getting our new plants established.  Not only do we have to plant the garden, we are establishing a sustainable edible homestead.  The fatigue is greatly eased by the thought of the rewards that lie ahead.  And the thought of the pioneers who went ahead, and broke the earth for the first time, tempers any idea of taking pride in our accomplishments.