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Here in NZ it was like "what Summer" as it was so grey and wet and tornados/cyclone like this country has not experienced before and it continues. I noticed the tomatoes,capsicum and chillies did not begin to ripen where we live until March and some still not changing colour. Our daughter who lives over an hour away didn't even get tomato fruit on her very healthy looking plants!

Aside from that I got enough tomatoes here to do preserving and currently it is feijoa season and there's a good crop.  The veg garden is doing well with the Autumn/winter plants and I'm grateful.

The dahlias are dying off but soon I will plant pansies as they are so cheerful .

Deep cleaning has been put to one side as there has been knitting to do for our grandsons before Winter hits.

Your post brings such encouragement Donna. It is so nice to know many if us worldwide think and live the same way and can share our with each other.  Even learning new things to try.

When knitting I have been watching Ruth Goodman who is a UK historian on YouTube ...Absolute History. She and 2 men have done things like live a year on Tudor Farm or Wartime Farm etc . The one done recently was Full SteamAhead of how the railway impacted the UK. All of the videos they are in are amazing and we can learn a lot for today from them.

I'm behind on planting, mainly because I'm going to have to get my raised beds and a garden area fenced off within my fenced-in back yard.  My older dog never was more than slightly curious about the raised beds, but my new dog decided  that jumping into them is a lot of fun.  In the past, my husband and I put up our own fences, but he's disabled now and I'm not able to operate post hole diggers or stretch and nail fence wire like I used to do.

You may have said this already, but what kind of apple tree(s) are you growing?  

In spite of all the native blackberries that grow in the woods around us, our thornless blackberries are not doing all that well.  They don't grow much and produce maybe a dozen berries each year.  I'm going to move them behind the garden fence when it's up, which will be in another part of my yard from where they are now, and see if I can help them out there.  I'll also plant new blueberries and transplant old blueberries there and I already have boysenberries between two raised beds which are blooming and growing well.

It struck me when you showed your bed that I rarely see printed sheets anymore.  So many of them are solid-colored.  I prefer prints, though.  

I admire the effort you are both putting into your garden.  I hope it pays off really well this year!

hello Donna,  I am so sorry you lost your lovely lemon tree,  and possibly the oranges!   
I took a seed from a California mandarin orange last year,  it is doing well in my kitchen,  on sunny days it spends time on the porch, nights are still cold here.  It will outgrow my kitchen this summer,  I am not sure what I will do next winter!  
Our spring has been cold and wet,  not much gardening getting done.

Ann on Vancouver island, b

My tomatoes are still tiny, though I sowed them in early February.  I took them outside for a few hours today as their first field trip, but they won't be planted out until mid to late May: it's not usually warm enough here until then (Yorkshire UK).  I have lots of other seed trays in my kitchen and out on my sheltered patio, depending on how much warmth they need.  I've started a few rows of carrots and parsnips in the ground too.

Most of my fruit trees/bushes are flowering now, but the apple trees buds are only just emerging.  I can't believe how much farther along yours are!  Our earliest fruits are the sour cherry tree and the raspberries, generally not till late June or early July;  we might get a few strawberries earlier but don't have a lot of luck with them (slugs).  

I'm actually getting impatient for my seeds to come along.  We've had plenty of rain and some warm days, thankfully nothing too extreme.  I really want to see some progress :)

I try to do something in the garden every day before work and after work.  So it is slow but progressing.  

I think the name of the show you had the question mark for was Tales from the Green Valley.  My list looks pretty much the same as yours, lol.  I will also re-listen to a number of versions of Jane Eyre and anything else Bronte, and various versions of Little woman and the old and newer version of All Creatures Great and Small.   I  also confess to having all of The Waltons shows.  You forgot Return to Cranford which wasn't as enjoyable as Cranford but still quite enjoyable!  Audio books are also a wonderful companion for sewing.....

Enjoy!

oh Galadriel,  I almost never see sour cherry trees here anymore!   Don’t folks realize how absolutely delicious is a sour cherry pie, or jelly?  Enjoy yours!  Ann in BC Canad

Oh how I covet flowers and gardening and all that green. My cottonwood tree leafed out; my only leafy and favorite tree in my yard where I can listen to the leaves rustle in the wind.   But I know with real dirt, comes winters and I can't handle that. LOL.  So in Tucson today it's 92+ from being 70 and it's baking me. So it brought me inside to perhaps decorate my office and kitchen. Having a heck of a time since everything is trendy. I wanted some office ideas but to make a long story short, the answers were that I should embrace going digital. Do people actually notate bills, match receipts, reconcile accounts anymore? And I can't fathom reading everything on a 3x5 phone!   One said all my stuff could burn, but I said, it sure could, but I don't have to rely on power, phones or computer working, more hacking, passwords, to get my bills or do a search through oodles of texts or emails to find what I want. That just seems crazy to me!  I feel like I'm in the wrong era.  If I don't do as they do, or like all the trends (including painting all my wood), then it's "just not "in".  Where does one go for inspiration anymore?  Ugh I'm so sick of shopping online. I want real. I want interesting. I want different.  I love this blog.

Hello Donna~

I thoroughly enjoy your posts!  I was anxious today as I had an appointment at the DMV to renew my license.  I worried for nothing, and all went well, but I spent the time leading up to it watching a few of your You Tube videos.  I could watch those over and over (and do)!  

I also enjoyed All Creatures Great And Small and Call The Midwife.  We are rewatching All Creatures from the beginning again :)  I wondered if you have ever watched a You Tube channel called "Frugal Money Saver"?  It's a couple in New York State and she could very much fit in with our way of thinking.  I mention it in case you are ever looking for something new to watch.  So many of the money saving You Tubes seem too extreme or lack common sense to me.  I hope you and Charles had a lovely Easter.  Love to all of your furry and feathered companions.  Donna ~

I thought I'd be the only adult who would actually read "All Creatures...." LOL.

Your yard is just beautiful!   

I had a good chuckle reading the comments.

The Waltons..  all the dvds too. 

All creatures great and small...all the books and watch now and again on you tube

Call the midwife...a favorite programme when it's on.

Brought Pansy plants today. They will bring cheer in the cold months.

Hi G Donna :)

Your new front garden looks great, and I liked how Charles sunk the pots down a bit deeper in the garden. I thought it looked pretty and functional too !

Here in NZ I've been busy in our Autumn garden as we've been having some lovely sunny days finally. We've put down new woodchip between the vegetable garden pathways, pulled out old zucchini and tomato plants and transplanted Strawberry volunteer plants. I love this time of year as it's not too hot and often we'll get a little bit of rain at the end of the day = perfect !!

Blessings to you - thanks for another lovely post ~ Linda

p.s. We just finished watching the entire series of Downton Abbey and the movies and loved them so much. We also love the Walton's, the Ruth Goodman Farm series, and a few others that you mentioned Donna. I also love Jane Austin and the Bronte Sisters, plus am obsessed with Jane Eyre :) !!! we're all so similar !

I confess, I watched the Waltons about 2 weeks ago. :) I just love it.

Grandma Donna wrote, hi everyone, I am enjoying the comments and reading about where you live and what you are growing and the shows that you enjoy watching.   Joan S, we do not know the name of our apple tree, the first year we thought it was dying but left it there and we were surprised that it came improved the next year.  We thought the nursery had a record of the name and recently had them to check their computer but then we realized that we had purchased it at Lowe's garden center and I still have not found the tag it had on it.  I hope one day we can find out what type of apple this is.   

It looks wonderful.  I love your sheets and pillowcases.  Florals are my favorite.  I like how you have potted up the volunteers.  Am hoping for some apples on my tree this year.

It amuses me to think there are some other people out there in the world who have a similar watchlist to mine.  My son pointed out not that long ago that I only watch things set in the past which I think is mostly true.  Although Star Trek Next Generation and Star Trek Voyager are also long time favorites; I think perhaps what I enjoy is character driven shows and movies (and books).   But I find some of these shows are a respite from modern life and a reminder of my time as a young person in my family that I appreciate having.

I loved this post. I live in Tennessee, so our weather is a lot like yours. I lost one of my blue berry bushes from the freeze so I will need to replace that one. I love your "watch" list. All of them are on my list too. I also watch Land Girls and Father Brown. I have been using a notebook for many years now because I'm a list person and having many pieces of paper doesn't work, the book works much better. 

Your garden looks wonderful and nice to hear your reflections. Here in Va Spring has arrived but not enough to put my tomatoes out, probably first of May. They have been growing in my hoop house along with my annuals and herbs. Some of my herbs have been put in their permanent places and I have increased my medicinal herbs. This is the busy time of year for us as this is when I clean out my freezer and can most of my meats, making room for any deals I will find in grocery. Pantry gets cleaned and organized, winter clothing is washed and packed away, every room is assessed and cleaned up a bit, chicken coop is cleared out of deep bedding from winter and put in gardens, new blueberry, strawberry, and blackberry plants have been added, and many more 'to do' lists then I can think of now. I think one of my favorite things to do in Spring is to sit down in the dirt and listen to the birds while I clean up the gardens. The sun is warm, its quiet, and the birds are busy. I hope you and Charles are well!

ANN E, I am also in Tucson and I share your thoughts on doing everything online.  I still get paper bills, write checks, keep receipts for awhile, and reconcile accounts on paper.  I do not like reading things on screens, it burns my eyes!  I get books from the library and get annoyed when the only version of a book I want is an e-book or audiobook.  So, I am right there with you!