Is it spring?

NO not quite yet, however we have had 3 or 4 days of exceptionally fine weather. Exceptionally being the operative word of course. It has been so nice in fact that I have been tempted to scrap my idea of making cold frames to start my veggie seeds growing in, and just sow the little buggers straight into the garden. I have been forewarned by concerned neighbours who tell me horror stories of how they planted early a couple of times when Mother Nature tricked them into believing Winter was really over. Their dire warnings are rife with stories of stunted tomato bushes, deformed mushy beans, still-born strawberry plants and corn so weak it couldn't hold it's own head up.....ohh the humanity. So, I think I shall continue on with the cold-frame plan and keep my little offspring sproutlings warm and comfy under glass until Mother's Day, which is the usual time of year around here to put things unprotected in the ground. Oh for any non-gardening types that means we should have had our last FROST in the middle of May.
In case some of my 3 followers out there(isn't it great to be popular) don't know I spent a LOT of time last September and October collecting apples from generous friends, neighbours and complete strangers. These red, green and golden fruits (the apples not the neighbours) gave me countless hours of fun making such things as apple sauce, apple butter, apple pear chutney apple juice....and har har har HARD APPLE CIDER. I made four or five seperate batches and bottled them in 1 gallon glass containers. Some of the batches I brewed were to be sweet some dry and some medium. They were all supposed to turn out perfect buuut with this being my first attempt at home brewing some of them had to be poured down the sink after the first tasting, bleuuuhhh yeuuch. Enough of them came out right that I could actually give them as presents to people or even have guests drink them when they came for dinner. Cheri of course sticks to that California grapevine rubbish that people like Mondavi et al have been putting out for the unwashed masses for nigh on a hundred years, HA what do they know about wine making. Anyhow , earlier today I was at the local hardware store giving some of my Sweet Cider to one of my neighbours and he introduced me to another local feller named Charlie. It turns out that Charlie was in the store buying buckets to catch the sap from his Maple trees. He's tapping his trees to make Maple Syrup!!! Guess where I am going to be tomorrow night about 6 o-clock, thats right , learning about maple syrup. We happen to have 4 Maples in our yard and I remember seeing them seeping last year , hmmmmm.