Planting seeds (with Little M)

Over the past week and a half I've planted peppers (March 1st), and onions (March 6th). The peppers I got started on a beautiful sunny Wednesday afternoon after work and right before picking M up from daycare. I started 3 varieties I grew last year - Golden Treasure, Chocolate Beauty, both from Seed Savers, and Marconi Rosso from a friend at work. Unable to resist the pull of new seed packets, I also started one new one, a combo packet - Hot Pepper Combo, from Irish Eyes.

Like last year, I have them sitting up on top of the fridge & freezer, centered over the warmest spot. I can see a couple that look like they have germinated, but nothing definitive popping up fresh green leaves.

The onions weren't so easily started. It was after supper on a night the mister worked, and Little M and I decided we needed something exciting to do. I'm not sure if she really realized what we were about to do, but to her, doing something on the sunporch sounded fun. Whew. Prepping seed starting mix, repotting a couple of houseplants that were rather potbound, and planting onion seeds was a challenge for her and I! Luckily we made it through, and got 4 containers of onions started - Cipollini and Walla Walla, both new packets from Irish Eyes.

I set them up on the new grow unit out of the reach of small fingers, and started getting some reused plastic containers set up over them to keep the moisture in. Then I noticed what I at first thought was a bat fly out over the eaves and towards the tree row between our property and the field next door. Mid-flight I realized that it was far too large to be a bat, it was an owl!

It was a great horned owl, sitting in one of our trees, listening for mice! I got a couple of tolerably clear shots, but it was basically dark, so it was hardly more than a silhouette. It didn't stay on the tree very long (can you see how it obviously grabbed onto a thin branch to sit on, and bent it over with its weight?) but it stayed there long enough for me to run and get my hoot flute, which of course Little M then wanted to play with.

That worked fine for me, she blew on the hoot flute and I finished setting up the light unit over the new seeds to get everything adjusted to the right level. I also put new batteries in the temperature sensor we have on the sunporch, since I hadn't bothered replacing them last time they ran out. This way we can monitor the temperature over night to make sure it isn't too cold for them out there. In fact, the next morning I wasn't very happy with a low of 48, so I might see about getting a heating pad. Or bring them inside for a little bit until they germinate. We'll see. What about you, getting any seeds started? Seen any owls lately? Have a little one running around underfoot who likes to 'help' sprinkle onion seeds & call in owls?