Les Saints de Glace

Well, here's what I was doing today. My wife took the picture from my upstairs window. I got to use my neighbor. Dede's Massey Ferguson tractor to turn over the garden. I can almost make straight lines now! Last year, I couldn't do this until the middle of May! The turned over ground will dry out for a week then it gets cultivated. Hopefully, I will have potatoes in the ground by next week end! I have Spuntas this year. Once spring starts happening...It's hard to stop, but caution! Here in the country we pay attention to the La Lune Russe, the lunar phase that also dictates the date of Easter...This is the lunar cycle that determines the safe dates for planting. On clear moonless nights, you can have serious frosts that will destroy young plants. This year the cycle started on April 10th and will finish on May 9th. We also pay attention to Les Saints de Glace, The Ice Saints. They are three saint days  in the beginning of May that traditionally mark the last days of a frost. They are  Saint Mamert, Patron of May 11 who died in 474, was Archbishop of Vienna. St. Pancras, Patron of May 12, died in Rome at age 14, as a martyr. Servais, Patron of 13 May, bishop martyr who died in 384. Last year had such a warm winter that many people ignored this ancient wisdom and then had a big disaster when the big freeze happened near the end of April. I have flowers on my strawberry plants already and many seeds starting in the little green house. It's been a slow, but pretty normal spring here. I hope you all are putting your gardens in now!