Blooms and bluejays

This morning I heard the unmistakeable caw of the bluejays and I felt my heart leap a little. One landed on the terrace just outside my bedroom window, catching the attention of my cat Minnie.
I just love to see the jays. They always come at this time of year to signal the beginning of planting season.
And we're ready to go. Last weekend, the hubs and I visited friends in the suburbs of New Jersey and made a bee line for a nursery near Morristown.

We picked up two blueberry bushes. We had bad luck last summer in our first attempt to plant blueberries - a heatwave fried the young bushes that we mail-ordered from Miller Nurseries. This season we're going with more mature plants. Hopefully, they will survive and thrive!
Along with our berry bushes, we bought strawberry seedlings. We have some growing in a pot, but they aren't terribly productive. Here's hoping the additional plants will solve that problem. It will be nice to have mixed berries for breakfast!

Meanwhile, the hyacinths are in full bloom. Ah, springtime...

Arugula surprise!

What a surprise I had last week! Arugula sprouting in the window box! Despite rain and freezing cold, there it was, green and gorgeous, and tasty too.

And last year's lettuce has also reappeared. It was all the inspiration I needed. On Saturday I headed to the green market and bought two packs of starter lettuce plants -  red and green leaf varieties. Can't wait to add the tomatoes, peppers and herbs!