Wishful Thinking with Dirt

We enjoyed two lovely warm days. (((sigh))) Sunday and Monday afternoons were shirt sleeve weather -- balmy air, nourishing sunshine. Sunday was windy, but Monday was calm.
I could wait no longer. I had to begin my attack on the backyard moonscape.
First, I had a handful of flower seed packets I bought for almost-free last fall at Dollar General. I put fresh potting soil into three long planters and put in nasturtiums, salvias, and zinnias.

This unslightly back stoop gets full, bright morning sun, with the brick helping the warmth.

The three new planters are on the top ledge. The pots below have herbs: thyme, mint, chives, oregano. I want them (well, not the mint!) in the ground. They've been in pots long enough.
Bermuda grass is a bear to dig through. First I wanted an L-shaped bed for herbs and some tomatoes. I had an old stinky tub of kitchen compost sitting outside. As Adam and I dug deep into the dark soil, I poured in some compost, held my nose, and thought of how rich the soil might be later for all my little plants I'm planning.

It's not much of a bed, but it's a start. Something is better than nothing! Digging in dirt feels so good after a long winter inside.

We had a bit of rain last night, with temps in the low-mid 40s. This morning dawned overcast and windy, and cold.

Tonight will freeze. So I brought the flower seeds indoors by my kitchen window.

They'll keep company with my other plants that have over-wintered beneath this window and done rather well.

I'd been putting off those flower seeds, thinking I was premature in planting, but then I saw hundreds of tomato plants (well, the pots with their seeds in dirt) at my farmer-friend's home. She's keeping her babies upstairs in her house, spread out on the bedroom floors. It gave me courage. So February cold -- I spurn your advances, and look to spring! The next warm day (next week, we hope?) I'll put those pots and planters back outside for another dose of sunlight.