We have a nice long holiday weekend and are really enjoying it.

We have had a really late spring this year, which is probably just as well, because I’ve not really had time to do much gardening. I usually start seeds inside the house in March so I have everything ready to plant outside in May. This year I did start all the seeds, but because it was so cold, they got cooked from our radiators. It was 6 boxes full of really good seeds — ugh!

Today I did the biggest part of the prep for our herb and vegetable garden. There is nothing like digging in the dirt and hauling wheelbarrows full of dirt around to get rid of that out-of-shape winter feeling of sitting behind the computer too much. I know I’ll be paying the price tomorrow, but it was a good first start. Sometimes I feel like all I do is haul dirt around. Maybe I should just be content with a nice dirt garden!

Now I just need to find where I can get already started plants. I’m afraid I may be a little late for the local shops here, but have yet to find a good on-line shop to buy them from. I wish I could find something like www.burpee.com, but have yet to find it. Kind of strange when you think of how big the horticulture business is in Holland. Probably I am just not searching on the right thing.

If any of you local folks know of a good place that still has a lot of vegetable and herb plants, or know where I can buy on-line, can you let me know? Thanks.

Jane the young Jack Russell is still very fascinated with gardening tools. I think she learned last year that spades full of dirt hurt when you get biffed on the head with them. Unfortunately, she still has not figured out that rakes hurt too, until today. I would never get anything done if I catered to her, so I just keep on going, half the time with a dog hanging off the end. She definitely helps with making it a good work-out. Today she somehow managed to get stuck on the rake, and one of the tines got lodged between her teeth. Luckily, she is okay, but I hope she also learned her lesson about going after the rake too.

We finished the day with a nice dinner of white Asparagus Hollandaise, with egg, ham and salmon. We topped it off with crème brûlée that Rob torched up with his new crème brûlée torch, and shared a nice cognac. As you can see by his face, Rob really likes his new torch. He said  “it’s a hit!”.

Things are coming back to a new normal, and we are also enjoying some good memories of Rob’s dad, who is missed very much…