The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

After much anticipation, it's a heady feeling to confidently take off the snow tires and be able to drive with the top down. We have turned on the sprinklers, and to make sure they work, I scheduled them to run last night. Success, we are ready for spring. We even had dinner outside on the deck last night.

Though the last two days of sunny weather may not be more than just that: two great days, cooler temps are coming. But I'm sure the snow and sub-zero temperature are over for now, so it's time to get serious with this year's garden plan.

The radishes I planted earlier this month are starting to show themselves, and as usual, I crowded them into bunches instead of rows. I begin with rows, but I usually forget where I planted them, start to move dirt around, and voila' a radish clump. Maybe next time, I'll remember to put markers where I planted them. I'll try again next spring or perhaps a second planting this year. I still have some seeds left, and I might as well use them before the mice have a radish seed feast.

To make Daniel a little crazy, I tossed a few lettuce seeds in the "onion, leek, garlic" patch. I see sprouts, and maybe we'll have lettuce soon. To be safe, I also planted about twenty lettuce starts and I see salads in my future.

The cabbage is planted, as are carrots (black, yellow, and orange varieties), herbs are reviving themselves, and I even see a few flowers on the apple trees.

I am excited that our friends Janice and Brad from Los Angeles are visiting this week. They will arrive in Portland on Monday, and we will host them in Waitsburg from Wednesday to Friday. They must agree with Benjamin Franklin, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days." In this case, I disagree with Mr. Franklin because this visit is too short.

I met Janice through work, and she would talk about her flower and vegetable garden during our business lunches. She was the first to inspire me to plant vegetables at our home in Los Angeles. That first spring, we planted bok choy, cauliflower, and broccoli. Just as we were getting close to picking time, they were obliterated by opossums. The next day, I'm sure the neighbors had a good laugh when I saw an opossum on our garage roof and yelled, "I hope you explode from gas."

We did try tomatoes and saw some potential until Captain Destructo, our Labrador-retriever mix, jumped into the bed, raising havoc. To avoid it reoccurring, Daniel covered the plants with netting. Still, I heard the dog yelping the following day, caught up in the netting. That ended our efforts to grow tomatoes in L.A.

I may not have a vegetable bounty to show my friends now, but at least I have some beautiful flowers blooming. The tulips and daffodils may be fading, but the lilacs are about to burst, and the mini-iris patch is going strong and smells great.

Best of all, their visit will spur me on to finally, after five years, visit the Palouse Falls. I will pack my camera because our guide will be our friend and photographer Bill Rodgers, who knows the area, vistas for amateur photographers, and even a good place to lunch. I believe it's spring.