Mild days. Still I cannot work the ground. The garden plot is appearing slowly from underneath its white blanket to reveal sodden, matted vegetation brown and gray after a winter of death. Which makes anything living a surprise. In a corner, just visible, are eight bright green shoots. I've been waiting for these, hoping. This was the first corner of the garden to appear a week or more ago during our first warm spell. I chose this part of the garden to plant some garlic cloves last fall because it was the closest to the house. I don't know what they will do. They are "supposed to" grow in the spring after a winter's work underground. So far, they have grown but here is a surprise for me, although not such a surprise after all. The snow was a blanket; the little sprouts after having been exposed for these days are less bright green, less lively looking. They have not grown at all and appear to have shrunk and dried. I will keep watching them. I expect that they will gather strength when they are ready to and grow up to the sun's warmth.

Do rabbits like garlic scapes? I never did get any peas last year but the rabbit was fat. This year I have a new plan. Fencing. I will have fresh peas.

Speaking of new plans. Our chickens have not laid more than one or two eggs for weeks. After losing one to an accidental strangling and then spending an hour in the muddy bean field being frozen by a chill wind while chasing and herding the blasted 5 remaining escapees, AND discovering now that the problem has not perhaps been a lack of egg laying but a newly acquired taste for raw egg and shell, I made the call. Only I don't know who will butcher only 5 chickens so the "call" was an email to a friend who might know where to find someone locally who will do it. Privately, I hope she will offer. I'd rather not have to drive an hour away to have 5 chickens killed. It's the plucking and innards that are the problem. My boys are eager to try their hand at beheading a chicken.....does that sound awful? I think it's the desire to see them still "alive" without a head. Apparently somewhere once upon a time (read it on the internet!) a chicken "lived" for 18 months without a head.

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