Leo, it always sounds like you live in Alaska or the Himalayas, not in upstate New York, when you write about how cold and difficult it is to get started every spring.

Last weekend the starter cord on my weed whacker broke, so I had to stop what I was doing to fix it. [Note to self: buy set of longer allen wrenches instead of borrowing from the neighbor.] Now that I've fenced in the garden I'll have to take the string trimmer in to keep the grass paths down. It would be too much work to get the mower in there.

I have these pots from last year that I hadn't done anything with and now they are a charming mix of seedlings from things I forgot I had growing out there last year. Bright red petunias in with white alyssum and portulaca and marigolds. Maybe I can transplant some of the flowers growing up through my brick patio cracks. Tons of lemon balm coming up.

I have two large (maybe 20 gallons?) clay pots in front of three windows that are where there used to be a garage door. In order to mask the fact that concrete runs right up to the house at that point, I put ornamental sweet potatoes in those pots and they're just now spreading out. I want them to spread and disguise the concrete area. Instead of potting mix I used a homemade mix of topsoil and my finished compost, so lots of interesting seeds are sprouting under the sweet potato. I am considering whether to leave or transplant a tomato coming up in one spot. It isn't like I'm short on tomatoes this year.

SRS