Nothing unusual, same with the weather

 Flat pale grey/white cloud layer to the horizon today. Not as warm as yesterday so it's very pleasant and perfect for wearing just a t-shirt. Barely any wind as well but the hawks have been calling as they fly around, no crows other than in the distance. (Just confirmed that the pictures on my phone won't sync unless it's on wifi and open to the gallery. Stupid samsung phone.)

Sunset last night was beautiful. Zoomed in picture and regular view. At least the colors turned out close to actual. Sometimes, not so lucky with camera phones.

 

And on to this morning. Clouds are a lot more flat right now around 2:30 than they were around 11 but still good weather overall and gives the plants some much needed warmth and light to do their thing.

Still untouched. Where the heck are all the bugs? Maybe I should have put leaves under the plants. The biggest of the potatoes I keep itching to pull but keep pulling my hands back. The biggest one I got from the small plant was only palm size. I want enough potatoes from the other two plants to last me a week of cooking. The tiny one in the corner hasn't grown much, that's a russet piece if I remember correctly.

Almost getting big enough to pick on those first pods, plenty more coming in after them for sure. There's one that's curled which I seem to recall means poor fertilization for that flower. Or maybe that was the cucumber?

At least that cauliflower is growing faster. The other four, not so much. This one in the west bed at least has a second set of leaves. The radishes are doing great too, so now is the time for everything to start leaping and growing faster because of the weather. Just needed a good soaking rain and now some sunshine like it's spring or something.

 Wish those lettuce would pick up the pace. Still nothing but tiny things almost the same size as when I transplanted them. Not very many of the Red Sails lettuce in there and it is impossible for me to separate them out now. I'll take any at this point.

Overall I'd say it's a successful winter so far. Keep needing to remind myself that it is, indeed, winter and not spring no matter what the weather says.

Even the thistle is getting ready to bloom. Soft leaves at the top but as you go down the stalk of course, they get stiffer so definitely a gloved hand needed to handle it when it's digging up time. If that stalk is any indication that must have a tap root for sure but according to my reading not a very deep one thankfully. Where it's growing has a good deal with how it looks obviously because I suspect in a sunnier location it would have tougher leaves and less glossy.

I was triple checking to see what this is exactly and it's kind of hard to do a positive ID because it's been growing in the shade, I have never seen a stalk like that on Prickly Lettuce, and this is definitely Prickly or Spiny Sow Thistle. Not a pretty flower but since the bees like dandelion type flowers I'll leave it until it flowers then dig it out before it forms seeds. Absolutely.

So that's the round up in the garden. Compost is cooking, plants are growing and more rain on the way next week but not nearly as much as previous storms. Spring swinging in!