Happy vernal equinox!
Happy vernal equinox! I am so happy that spring has officially arrived and that the days are growing longer. With warmer temperatures and thawing ground, all kinds of exciting things are beginning to happen at the farm. The other day, temperatures reached 60-degrees F and it was a real pleasure wandering around observing nature. Please enjoy these signs of spring. I'll share more of my farm with you in another couple of weeks.
Hi Martha,Trish,Cindy,Margie, etc., You have no idea how much I have missed reading these wonderful blogs and all of your great comments since the 9th of March. I have felt so disconnected, anxious and stressed during the past 10 days because my computer decided to crash on me on the evening of the 9th. Finally, this evening, my brother got it running again and the noise you hear is my huge sigh of relief. It's going to take me a while to catch up with all I have missed, but I intend to do just that and check out the new additions to the Daily Wag. Martha, I love this latest blog with all of the beautiful photos of the spring flowers. It is so rewarding and invigorating to see these signs of spring at your wonderful farm. It's still kind of cool here, but we do have forsythia, dogwood, flowering cherry trees, etc., emerging to welcome the first day of spring. Can't wait for the rain to stop so I can start my gardening. Thanks again for sharing and always being there. Just hope I never have to miss a day again. Happy vernal equinox everyone. Jan PS Trish, I haven't figured out how to twitter yet.
Posted by: Jan Erickson | March 19th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I really enjoyed these photographs especially the ones with the bee in them. You must have had the big camera with you. I have never noticed bees carrying pollen before so I had to google and find out all about that.
Posted by: Port A Pelican | March 19th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Thank you for the lovely pictures of spring in your "neck of the woods"! Hooray for spring! Spring is blooming out all over here in AL as well. The redbud tree outside the back door was covered in pretty blooms that kept the bees very busy for a while. I love to see the bees coming back. Those guys are making honey somewhere! I wonder if they are feral bees or if someone has a hive nearby. No chance to track them back to the hive. Humming along I too am enjoying Spring in all it's glory.
Posted by: Frances Jackson | March 19th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Happy First Day of Spring Martha
I live in South Jersey and woke up to snow this morning. We have a blanket on the ground and it's still coming down hard. Mother Nature is playing a cruel joke on us
I just received an email that we are invited to your show on 4/1 - can't wait.
Happy Spring
Ann
Posted by: ann | March 20th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Hooray for Spring!!!!
Posted by: Carol in NC | March 20th, 2009 at 2:47 am
Martha, on Friday, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets (the president doesn’t like them) but arugula will make the cut.
While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at time when obesity has become a national concern.
I grow an herb garden outside my kitchen door where I can have fresh herbs and a few vegetables as I need them. My parents always had a small vegetable plot on their property and I grew one no matter where I lived even if it was grown in pots.
I think that this is great because I feel that the way the economy is now, everyone should have one. Read the rest here. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/dining/19garden-web.html?_r=3&ref=dining
Posted by: Yvonne C. | March 20th, 2009 at 3:03 am
Thanks Martha! Being in Minnesota...I welcomed spring this morning with snow in my hair when I got to work! It's nice to see some signs of spring in your area...and LOVE the cat picture!
Posted by: Julie | March 20th, 2009 at 3:29 am
I am SO glad spring is here. This afternoon I am going to take a walk around the yard and see what bulbs are starting to come up in my gardens.
Posted by: MarthaAndMe | March 20th, 2009 at 4:00 am
Hi Martha,
Oh the wonderful promise of spring!
I just love Bartok and Mr.Martyn!
Susie
Posted by: Susie | March 20th, 2009 at 4:41 am
Please let me say hi to Jan first! HI Jan and do not do that to me again (even tho it wasn't your fault)! You had me so worried and of course I didn't know what to think! I'm going to give you my phone number on twitter in case your computer crashes again! Twitter is so easy - The Martha Show is even twittering now! Do I sound happy to hear from you? Well, I am!!! Start updating and we'll message too. Trish
Posted by: Trish | March 20th, 2009 at 4:58 am
My favorite photos?...why, Bartok, Martyn, and the robin! Look at Bartok's beautiful whiskers and 'eyebrows' (not to mention those blue eyes)! I would love to nuzzle Martyn's muzzle (that rhymes! [giggle]) and whisper sweet nothings to him. (And) robins are my favorite-est [giggle] springtime bird in the whole wide world. They're so cheerful - they've been singing in the mornings before daylight dawns, and I smile.
On yesterday's blog about orchids at the NYBG, I wrote a lengthy soliloquy (as you can imagine [and hopefully come to expect]) that didn't successfully post. I marvelled at the excellent cataloguing, Martha, of the vast orchid varieties and KNEW you had your handy notebook with you (as you had shared with us last week on your show). I also mentioned that I had had the pleasure of visiting Longwood Gardens numerous times (in Kennett Square, PA) and had experienced their orchid room, full of cascades and cascades of beautiful colors, and the heady aromas that emanated. The DuPont family's legacy to the public is phenomenal, and the history of these vast grounds and gardens is exceptionally interesting as to how they came about!
The other evening, driving home from work, I saw a whole row of blooming daffodils (which caused me to talk out loud to myself!) They were facing the sun, and obviously the wall behind them was generating some added warmth for them to be in full bloom already. I noticed, too, that the forsythia is juuust about to pop. Weeping willows are chartreuse in color with the rise in sap running thru their veins. My grass, I've assessed, WILL be ready to mow in early April. Last week it was still looking dormant - my mower is getting readied as I write. Ahhh, the latter part of March can really fool us (and lets hope it goes out like a lamb!)
I admit that I did a sneak-peek and scrolled down today and saw that Jan Erickson has the very first post today. (I talked out loud again!) [giggle] I'm glad she's back with us, safe-n-sound.
Luscious springtime sunshine to all!
=^..^=
"He's bless'd us all with talents bright, to use while here in time, and as we sow, so shall we reap when we have done with time."--Anonymous
Posted by: Cindy Bricker | March 20th, 2009 at 5:15 am
Hi Martha,
It would be a dream to walk around your property the first days of spring. You have so many things going on already. I am so envious! I have herbs and tomato plants, one in an upside down container and I can’t wait to see how that develops. With our water shortage down here, I haven’t been too anxious to plant anything, although I did sow some wild flower seeds.
Speaking of skunks, (The Daily Wag), I just had to Google the skunk cabbage wild flower. I got a vision of Franny and Sharkey backing away from it! Poor little gals. I was wondering if the odor was the same. Trish
Posted by: Trish | March 20th, 2009 at 5:21 am
Happy Spring! I welcome its arrival even though not many things are in bloom yet but i see signs of life as i wander around my yard/garden!
Posted by: Sherey | March 20th, 2009 at 6:25 am
happy vernal equinox to you too, martha. today i posted a link for 30 ways to celebrate it--not to mention the link about YOUR 8 uses of lemons.
Posted by: Absolutely Not Martha | March 20th, 2009 at 6:55 am
We have sunshine and a rather cool day after a lovely one yesterday.
Loved the pictures of your spring flowers. Hopefully soon ours will be appearing. It is a wonderful time of the year. Ice cream shops have opened
and everyone begins to have SPRING FEVER !
Alice
Posted by: Alice Goldsmitth | March 20th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Your blooms are making me a bit jealous.
I have tons of tulips and I just can't wait for them to bloom! Happy first day of SPRING!
Posted by: Katie Tungat | March 20th, 2009 at 7:46 am
Thanks for posting those pictures, Martha! They are beautiful. Fall is my favorite time of year, but Spring is a close second ... the colors are just so beautiful. I live near the Coosawattee River in Atlanta, and love going to the walking/nature trail by the river with this weather.
Posted by: Carly | March 20th, 2009 at 10:24 am
.
WISHING WELLNESS TO ALL CELEBRATORS OF SPRING!
ABOVE ALL AT THIS TIME, REMEMBERING TIMOTHY, THE PROPANE DRIVER IN THE KENNEL FIRE-----
MY WEIMARANERS ARE PUTTING A GIANT CARD OUT TO TIMOTHY AND HIS FAMILY. MANY OF YOU HAVE RESPONDED WITH YOUR SUPPORT AND SIGNATURES!!
FOR MORE INFO ON THIS PROJECT IN PERPETUAL MOTION, PLEASE GOOGLE UnLeASHed mOuTH.
Andrea and the Weimaraners
.
Posted by: andrea and the weimaraners & unleashed mouth | March 20th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Happy vernal equinox to you! These are very happiness producing:)
Posted by: Miss B. | March 20th, 2009 at 11:10 am
I couldn't get the blog to open for me all day now it is working again must be like Twitter come back later over capacity!
The bee on the flower is an awesome photo close up. All the photos are pretty I uploaded a few to webshots to rotate on my computer.Thank you for the loan!
Spring is here yahoo!
I know this is off topic of today's Martha blog but I just read Jan's post about not knowing how to use Twitter yet. I had sent this post below to friends recently and thought I would share it here if you would post. I know it is long.
I had a few myspace friends ask me how to use Twitter so I made up this little reply to help them get started I hope it doesn't confuse folks more then assist them.
Twitter is easy instead of adding friends like you do here on myspace you add followers and you in return follow. In order for you to see someone you wish to follow you must click on their photo and below the photo you will see a small box and written inside is FOLLOW. Click on follow and now you will be following that person/friend. Next in order for your friend/follower to see you they must accept you and then they will follow your posts. This way they can see your entries and you can see theirs. Some profiles are public and other friends choose to set their profile Twitter page to private. You can tell when a friend has a private page because next to their entry you will see a lock. You can view anyone's Twitter page that is public and see their posts but you can't always see what people have replied to that person unless they have accepted you as a person that they are following. If you are only a follower you can see them but they don't see you umless they chose to make you a person of interest to follow.
If you look at your Twitter page top right hand corner you will see who is following you and who you are following. There are small boxes with numbers showing you how many people you follow and how many people are following you. If you don't wish for someone to follow you then you can either block them or click on Followers and next to each persons photo is the word REMOVE and you can click that on to remove someone you don't wish to have following you or that you no longer wish to follow. You tweet which is your entry top of page and you can write up to 140 characters at a time, letters so not much space to write what you wish to say so it is like texting accept on a page for all your friends to see that you have added.
Our status updates here on myspace are a form of Twitter of even Facebook status - we display our moods and an update of our thoughts or a funny saying it is the same with Twitter. People tend to post a few times a day or once a week it is your personal decision and comfort zone.
If someone direct messages you this is a message sent to you that only you can see and can respond to, just like send a message is here on myspace.
Replies mean you can reply to a follower who has posted a comment to you or posted to their Twitter page and you want to comment back to them. You can set this to see all replies, ,see only my replies ,or see my followers replies this you can fin under settings. There is a setting that lists see everyone's replies meaning everyone signed up to Twitter that has a public profile.
You have a profile page see top of page. You can see all posts sent to you posted there from newest to oldest. You can write a short bio of your interests or about yourself, also see setting to set your preferences, account, bio. time zone, name etc.. You can post a photo of yourself or whatever you wish by clicking on photo under settings and change your background all is there with tips on how to do this.
There is a section on each post where you will see a small arrow or a small star after someone has posted* to the right very tiny). The star means if you like that post you can save it to your favorites to keep see FAVORITES right hand side of your HOME page & PROFILE page). The arrow means you can click it on and reply to your friend then make sure you hit reply button so that it will go through to your friend. Also after you change anything and you like the changes make sure you hit save. You can delete any reply you have posted at anytime. You can delete any message you don't favor or no longer need by clicking on a tiny photo of a trash can which you will see under section replies which you can find on the right hand side of your profile page or home pages posts. Every section even direct message has these little trash cans.
You can find friends on Twitter by viewing your friends little photos on their PROFILE to see who they are following or you can go to top of your HOME page and click on FIND FRIENDS. This will lead you to finding friends who might be on Twitter through your own computer address book and contacts or you can just click find friends on Twitter and enter the persons name. If they have a page it could be under their real name or a screen name they have created for Twitter. (Much hader to find them with a screen name)
I found a bunch of friends by using all my email addresses and hitting search and then Twitter found my friends for me by my address book contacts. Then I invited them to follow me and then I followed them. Much eaiser then putting in a name and searching through pages of people with the same names.
I hope this helps you get started.
I followed Martha over here , there and everywhere and decided to hang out and see what happens with this Twitter trend. Will it stick and stay it's been two years in the making.
Have fun and enjoy Twitter Tweet Tweet or whatever lol!
Have a warm & wonderful weekend
Pam From California
It is 84 here today and I am reading my MSL & EF outside on the porch and loving it.
Posted by: Pam From California | March 20th, 2009 at 11:39 am
So pretty to see the flowers all popping... those yellow flowers you call windflowers, we call them aconites!! (Aconite (Winter) - Eranthis hyemalis) They are a very old flower, I have some in my gardens back from when my Nanna had them!! I was very surprised you were naming them something different!
Posted by: Margo | March 20th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Ode to Martha's Garden
Underneath the weeping cherry tree
There's lots of lovely things to see,
Happy crocus that seem so mellow
Colors galore - some buttery yellow.
Martyn,dreaming of the sweet green grass
Spidery witch hazels,while they last.
Bartok,soaking up the sun -
Tell the robin he'd better run.
Snowdrops in the bank,daffys in the border,
The way Martha plans - everything in order.
Honey bee buzzin' on the windflowers today
Only means,I'll meet you,down the linden way.
Thanks for the help.I'm in tune with whoever wrote the captions. Keep smiling.
Posted by: celia stock | March 20th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Thank you, Martha, for a myriad of helpful things,including noticing Spring, 'though its not yet to my yard.
One of your photos showed crocus "spreading nicely" in your yard. Can they really do this. My Mom had many of them scattered in the lawn near the bed where she had planted them. I thought they came only from bulbs? Their placements seemed too many to have been made by animals. Do they spread by seed also?
Posted by: Balls | March 20th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Thanks to Pam from California for her understandable definition of "Twitter". I'm no longer uninformed.
Posted by: Balls | March 20th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Hi Martha,
Over in the country where I stay, it is also as exciting as your spring. Summer here also sees flowers and plants abloom. I have a small yard where I try to plant as much as scented flowers that I can: I have orange jasmine, Malaysian jasmine, star jasmine and gardenias which we call rosal here in the Philippines.
I want to tell you too how much you have been an inspiration to me. I always go out of my way to buy and collect your back issues of Living. Buying current issue of your beautiful magazine is always very expensive. Although I could say that your magazines are timeless, and I just recently completed all my 2008 issues.
I enjoy reading your blog when I crave for something uplifting to freshen my mood, day and outlook. Thanks again.
Posted by: Annabelle W. Ng | March 21st, 2009 at 2:26 am
Finally spring! I can't believe how tall your daffodils are. And, just love the pictures of the pussy willows, can't wait to see the arrangement you'll make with these.
Posted by: Sherry | March 21st, 2009 at 2:55 am
And Happy Spring to you, too!
I always love what your eyes see. Between the pussy willow pics and Bartok in the sun, Spring, in my opinion, is accounted for!
My 30' bare-naked crepe myrtles (that look like curly willows this time of year) have huge vines of blooming wisteria hanging through them. I've been trying to get them to do that for years and when I turned my back...there they go!
Wish, too, that you could see. OK! One day I'll get a camera! All I have to do is stand there and shoot, right? Ha!
Nice weekend to you!
Posted by: tinay | March 21st, 2009 at 4:45 am
Hi Martha,
I have fun writing... A mentor of mine recently read a piece I had written about food and he thought you might like it too. I'm taking the liberty of sending it to you here, as it would be an honor to share it with you.
Sincerely,
Carla Dippel
"I love the sounds, the smells, the crunch, the gooeyness, the colors all together. I love how food can just be however it is or be combined into something else. I love the freedom to be creative- to have a bunch of different leftovers in the fridge and meld them together in a way that tastes good. I feel like I’m being smart, clever, when I do this. I feel like I’ve made good use of the things I have. I like to take risks (‘let’s add this and this this time and see what happens!’) and act on a hunch or on my intuition. I love the feeling that I am taking good care of myself by cooking with good ingredients. I love that you can put something in pot for a period of time, and the heat makes the dish work better- I don’t have to do anything to make that happen- it’s like I’m honouring what time can do- meld flavours, soften onions, make things hot, make things stick. I LOVE to cook or bake something for someone else that I know is their favourite thing- it is a little way for me to show them that they are important and that what they want is important."
Posted by: Carla | March 21st, 2009 at 7:15 am
I love love love the slide shows, as they are such an inspiration. Tried doing one on my blog through flickr---(didn't succeed). Could someone there give me a clue?
Posted by: Melinda Johnson | March 21st, 2009 at 7:52 am
Martha...
Happy 1st day of spring to you as well, albeit a bit late. As I was enjoying looking out at my budding backyard here in Atlanta over the weekend. I saw, happily, that our peach tree was full of beautiful blooms which means that it will soon be full of tiny, green fruit. Here's our dilemma. Each year, we'll get one or two fully-ripened fruit because the squirrels run away with most of them while they're still green. Any tips on how to keep them away so we get full bounty this year? I've read on-line about several people who swear by moth balls hanging in the tree or others that use a pepper-water spray on the fruit. Another group advocates netting the entire tree. Do you recommend any of those or do you have yet another suggestion? My mouth is already watering thinking about future peach cobblers and ice cream this summer if only I can salvage more than two peaches this year! Please help!
Posted by: Kim Hielsberg | March 22nd, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Martha,
I always love seeing your gardens, and watching your show for gardening tips. With the downturn in the economy and the recent concerns with healthier eating, I hope you would consider writing a book on vegetable gardening. I have been searching for a 'first timer' veggie gardening book for a really long time now to no avail. Thanks again for the wonderful gardening pics and tips!!
--Cassie from the Midwest
Posted by: Cassie | March 23rd, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Oh I am so ready for Spring! We keep getting these teases of warm weather and cold weather again. Tonight is supposed to get very cold here in New Jersey. I look forward to wearing less clothing.
Posted by: Melissa Gutierrez | March 23rd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
This is my first attempt at blogging. I watch your show EVERY DAY and have been a huge fan since1983,while I was carrying my first child! I have subscribed to Living for @ least a decade and still own most of them. Some,of course,have found thier way to another loving,Living home.I'd like to express how very much,over the years,that you and those in your circle,have inspired and literally healed a multitude of "ailments",not just for myself but for my family and friends.And by the way,when I married into my husbands family,my new sis-in-law is named Martha. The running joke,naturally,as started by my new Mother-in-law:"Now we have two Marthas in the family". This of course is the highest compliment I could have recieved.(even 'tho SOMETIMES it is not intended as a compliment,if I appear TOO picky about things,LOL) None the less,I'm very excited about being more a part of Martha Stewart Living. I've often been a bit envious when your blog is mentioned and I am ignorant of this thing we call "blogging"!*tee-hee* I hope this is posted,as I'm unfamiliar with the protocol. Any way,thanx again,Martha,and Happy Spring to you and yours!!
Posted by: Deborah Buck | March 26th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Hello Martha,
Spring cannot arrive soon enough for me . I read with fascination the article on forcing branches of flowering bushes (January 2009 - A Year of Flowers)and decided to give it a try. Not only did your method work well, we were able to take bouquets of flowering forsythia, dogwood and quince to our booths at the two antiques shows we did in Connecticut in February & March. We received many favorable comments, and I told them all, "I learned it form Martha." Thanks for the tip.
Posted by: Lisa Hammell | April 1st, 2009 at 8:44 pm