Getting ready to head out in a few minutes for our evening family walk.  Always such a nice way to calm ourselves and wind down from the day, spending a half hour or so, enjoying each other’s company and relishing the beauty of the landscape aournd us.

Where has compassion disappeared to?  There are chances to teach in almost every situation.  Why can’t ADULTS see this?  Our youngest son is playing his first year of baseball, on the 5-6 youth league here in Fairview.  While most of the teams in the league are fun and even if our team loses, the kids still have a good team, there are two teams in this particular who have coaches who seem to have lost touch with reality, sportsmanship and companionship.  (No, I am not going to name names, but if they read this, I HOPE they know who they are and I’m sure parents of the opposing teams know to whom I refer.)

I do not know how it is in other leagues around the area, but in this league, there is a horrendous unbalance when the coaches choose their team players at the very beginning of the ball season.  They are able to choose their players and know who they are getting, who has played before, how good the players are, etc.  Our coach is brand new to coaching this year and sadly for her, the league stacked her team with the youngest and the newest players while ensuring that their teams were stacked in just the opposite way.  How fair is that concept?  Why do they not do a lottery?  Put all the players’ names in a hat and take turn pulling from the hat.  Then the teams are balanced.  There are no ‘super’ teams in the league.  And then, then if the coach can coach/teach all the ‘hat’ players how to really play, then, hey, my hat is off to them.  But when you intentionally stack teams with the best players, I’m really not at all impressed with your coaching abilities.  Or maybe it doesn’t have to even all a lottery.  I’d even be okay with each coach being able to choose a third of his/her players (so three on a team of nine) off the top and then having the remaining names put into a pool.  And then again, they would be put in the position of actually teaching/coaching their teams into winning teams.

I know this season is getting close to being over.  But there is still time to teach the players some compassion.  When the opposing team is losing 15-0 or worse, why not pull your outfielders (the less experienced players) into the infield and putting the infielders in the outfield.  This MIGHT even the playing field (no pun intended) out.  And in addition, it would give those less experienced players a chance to learn something new and improve their skills.   (Wow, there’s a thought.  Both teams might benefit from the whole experience!) And is it really necessary to continually send the winning teams runners all the way around the bases when the younger, smaller and more inexperienced players on the opposing/not winning team are just trying to learn the fundamentals of catching the ball and where to throw it?  Must you really win by 20 or more points?

This is in NO way any fault of the players.  This is a ‘shame on you’ to the coaches, the ADULTS, who should know better.  Do you really want and/or need these little guys who are playing on your teams to grow up and think this is the way things should be?  Can’t you take this wonderful opportunity that you have right in the palm of your hand and teach them about compassion?

I had the most wonderful Mother’s day this year.  Nothing exotic, expensive or frilly.  Just a relaxing, fun day with my five children and my husband.  I slept in, until 10:30 am, and got up to a spic and span house.  Joe and the kids had cleaned the entire downstairs, including mopping the kitchen floor! I promised myself that I would take the whole day and not work a lick and I stuck to that promise.  (A very difficult thing for a workaholic to do.)

After hanging out on the front porch, sipping my several cups of morning coffee, we all piled in the car and headed over the NC Arboretum.  We took a leisurely four plus mile hike around their grounds.  The weather was just perfect.  Not too hot, a nice breeze blowing through the trees, clear blue skies.  When we got back home, Joe and the kids made a delicious pork roast with potatoes and applesauce.  It was the perfect way, the perfect day to celebrate motherhood.  Relaxing, cherishing and spending time with my family.  Yep.  Life is good.

Started Meghan’s softball tournament in Etowah early yesterday morning. The schedule we were told was that her team would play their first game at 10:30. If they won that, they would play again at 1pm; if they lost the first game, they would play again at 3pm. And that would be it. No mention of playing any other games. Apparently, communication is not a strong point.

Poor Meg. On her very first up to bat, the pitcher threw a wild ball and it slammed Meghan right in the side, hard. The umpire asked her if she wanted to leave to the field instead of taking the base, to which, while in pain, Meghan answered yes. Then, she was taken off the roster for the rest of the game! Apparently that is the rule. If you leave the field, you are out for the rest of the game (this was in the 2nd inning!). Now, please note here that the umpire did not tell her this would be the case if she left the field! After much fuss on my part (mama bear running wild!), she was allowed back in after that inning. Anyway, her team lost that first game In between, we went out to Hendersonville to visit my sister and her family, then back to the ball park. Played the second game and won, 11-0! Behold, because we won, they had yet another game at 7:30pm! Yikes. Long day for these kids and cold last night on the field and none of us were prepared for that. Behold, again, we won the 7:30 game and we’re now going back this afternoon for a 2:00 game. If we lose that, we’re done. If we win, the girls have ONE more game at 3:30pm.

Maybe I’m a very confused person (and that is quite possible. hehehehe) but I always thought tournaments and playoffs came at the end of the season? These teams have had 2 weeks of practice and one week of games, and now this weekend long tournament. Just seems backwards to me.

I’m interested to see what happens today at the game(s). After Meghan got hit in the mouth on Friday night, I was pretty upset with the coaches for not allowing her to have a helmet on during warmups(She’s been the team’s catcher, sharing occasionally with another girl) and I made that clear. Probably not too nicely. Then after the fiasco with her being almost pulled from the first game yesterday after getting hit and asked if she wanted to leave the field, without being told the consesquences, I was upset and again, as that mama bear, I made it it a tad clear. Well, since that second incident, Meghan has not been put back in the catcher’s position and instead has been in the outfield. During the second game yesterday, I thought maybe they were just allowing her a little breather and a chance to chill. But when we went back for the 7:30pm game, she was not allowed to catch again. I told her to tell her coach she wanted to catch and that she was ready again. She came back and told me that he told her no because he needed someone fast in that position! EXCUSE ME? Are you serious? She has been catcher for 2 years. She rocks. Nothing like this has ever been brought up before. And honestly, Meghan and the other catcher are on equal grounds on their catching abilities. And now all of a sudden she isn’t catching. And he actually had the audacity to say what he did to her?????? I did not blow last night although lord knows, I surely wanted to explode. I will see what happens today. If she is still pulled from that position, then I will go ‘nicely’ talk to the coach. If I pissed him off then he should deal with me and not take it out on her. And he certainly should never have said what he did to her. How about, why don’t you take a game or two out to recover from your hits and get more comfortable with the ball? Or something like that. Even James, our oldest son, who goes head to head with Meghan constantly, when he heard what the coach did and said, was ready to raise Kane!
We’ll see what the day brings.

Anyway, enough about that. Here’s to the Scorchers winning the tournament today and bringing home the championship!!!!!

Frankie’s first baseball game was an absolute hoot last night. OMG. Our team got massacred because the other team had players that had played for a year or two and our team has never played before and they had only had four practices. (Normally, the teams practice for at least 4 weeks before they start playing actual games, but for some stupid reason they’ve changed it this year and they only practiced for 2 weeks prior. NOT a good change!) But, being what it was, we just took it as that and laughed and laughed. For instance, Frankie got up to bat, hit a foul and ran to first. Good boy! Everyone told him it was a foul and to go back. But he pretty much ignored that advice and kept on a’runnin’! Ran all the bases while we all laughed hysterically. He was so proud when he got to home plate. Then we just told him he got to hit again! And he did! Got a base hit. That’s my boy! When he got to second, the next boy got to first and decided he should keep running, and he headed to second but Frankie had to stay on second so the other boy got out. One little boy, when told to leave first and head to second, took off into the outfield! Another little boy, when he caught the ball, refused to give it back to the pitcher for play to continue until our coach came and got it from him. He was protecting that ball at all costs! I’m telling you, we all got our laughter quotient for the day. Have another game on Thursday.

Our chicks and ducklings are enjoying their first day in their outside pen and coop! Moving up in the world. A lot more space, covered areas, room to run and stretch their wings and legs. They seem pretty darn happy! What a gorgeous spring day to make their move to the outside world. The kids and I are going to spend our day in the yard doing some more clean up and working in the gardens. Ah, I love waking up from a long winter’s nap and stretching my own wings once again!

LAWNS
• Consider aerating the lawn with a core aerator as early as possible. This will
allow spring rains to soak into the ground more readily.
• DO NOT fertilize cool season lawns (fescue and bluegrass). Nitrogen applied this late is an
invitation for brown patch fungus disease in June.
• Maintain mowing height for fescue lawns at 3 to 3 ½ inches.
• Even though it is a bit late, you might still try seeding those bare areas left by last summer’s
drought.
ORNAMENTALS
• Apply a fresh layer of mulch to landscape beds before summer weeds germinate. Pull the winter
weeds first. Only add enough mulch so that the total depth of mulch is no more than 4 inches.
• Try planting those spent Easter lilies in the garden. Keep them indoors until May, then plant them
about 5 inches deep in a sunny location. They probably will not bloom again this year, but should
be back next summer.
• Let the foliage of the spring bulbs die most of the way down before cutting the leaves. The bulb
needs to absorb that energy for next spring.
• As soon as spring blooming shrubs have finished blooming, it’s time to prune if they have gotten
too large.
• Do not plant frost-tender flowers before May unless you will be able to cover them in case of frost.
FRUITS
• Pull weeds in the strawberry bed and put straw mulch between the rows.
• Fertilize fruit trees, blueberries, grape vines, and brambles.
• Finish pruning brambles, grape vine and fruit trees.
VEGETABLES
• When the soil is not too wet to work, till or turn over the soil for May planting, incorporate lime and
phosphate according to soil test recommendations.
• Set out transplants for cool season crops such as cabbage, broccoli and lettuce. Make sure they
are hardened off before planting into the garden.
• You can still start transplants for warm season vegetables.
• Begin “hardening off” warm season transplants a week or two before planting in early to mid-May.
• Have row cover fabric handy if frost sensitive crops are planted before May.

OTHER
• The first hummingbirds arrive in our area between April 10th and 15th. Get the
hummingbird feeders cleaned and ready to go out.

Garden Chores for March
Lawns
• Considering February’s weather, it was difficult to get the spring fertilizer application out on time. That does
not mean it is a good idea to just do it late. If the lawn does not get extra nitrogen this spring, it’s no big deal,
especially if you fertilized in the fall. If you don’t get slow release nitrogen out by the first week in March, just
go with a half pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet with a garden fertilizer such as 10-10-10 before the
end of the month.
• Have you had the mower tuned up and the blade sharpened? Mow frequently enough to remove no more
than 1/3 of the blade at a time..
Ornamentals
• This is a good time to treat hemlock trees for Hemlock Woolly Adelgids. For information see:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/trees/note119a/note119a.htm
• It is time to make repairs to damaged trees and shrubs.
• Plant trees and shrubs, but be cautious about digging in clay soil until it dries out a bit.
• When the snow melts off of the plant beds, you may be surprised to find winter weeds such as bittercress
and chickweed. Pull them now, before they go to seed.
• House plants that have gotten leggy can be cut back. Cut above a leaf node far down on the stem so the
plant can regain a bushier form.
• Check house plants for insect infestations that can build up during the winter. Insecticidal soap or
horticultural oil sprays can be useful for controlling aphids, spider mites or whiteflies.
Fruits
• This is still a fine time to plant all fruit crops.
• Prune fruit trees, blueberries and grapes. The Buncombe County Extension office has videos available for
loan on pruning grapes, blueberries and fruit trees.
• If you covered the strawberry bed with straw, plan to remove it late in the month when plants begin to flower.

Vegetables
• Planting can begin in early March, if the soil is not too wet to prepare a seed bed. Plant green peas, kale,
spinach, turnips, carrots and onions.
• In the middle of the month you can direct seed lettuce and plant potatoes.
• Transplant broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage late in the month.
• Late March is a good time to start transplants for tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. It takes about 6 week to
have plants ready to set out in early May.
• Start an asparagus bed. For information see: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/pdf/hil-8002.pdf
Other
• Order seeds and plants for the summer garden.
• Check garden tools and equipment. Clean, sharpen and repair everything before you need it.
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in the mountains of western North Carolina. Spring is definitely in the air. We’ve had a flock, yes, a flock, of 7-8 bluebirds hanging out in our yard for the past week. So stunningly gorgeous. The kids and Miss Kitty and I all took a walk down the country road not far from us today. Enjoyed playing in the field, talking with the cows and watching the Canada geese. Spent time sitting out on the front porch on my rocking chair, sans jacket of any sort! James worked at his job for four hours today, moving branches, helping his boss clear out the pond, etc. Getting ready for a nice big pot of spaghetti for dinner and homemade apple crisp for dessert.

On Sunday, we headed out to Edneyville to pick apples at our favorite apple pickin’ place, Justus Orchards. We just love the setting, the atmosphere and the warm welcome we always receive from the owners.

Although hail damage was evident from the severe thunderstorm we had the week before, there were more than enough beautiful apples to be picked. And pick we did; three bushels full of those glorious, sweet orbs. We always pick a large variety, as I like to mix the different types together in my asundry apple concoctions. Adds more flavor, in my opinion.

And so, the apple madness has begun at our dining room table and in our kitchen. For the past three days, and probably for the next four days, apples have been being peeled, sliced and canned, in one form or another. We have done, at this writing, two batches of crockpot apple butter, two batches of stove top applesauce, a batch of ‘apple pie filling in a jar’, and right now, there is a batch of applesauce slow cooking in the crockpot. And, we’ve only worked through half of the apples. Oh, but I tell you, the smell of apples simmering away, mixed with cinnamon and nutmeg; there’s not much that can top that heavenly, autumal aroma!

Joe and I were just sitting on the front porch, in our respective rocking chairs, discussing our lack of storage for all these jars. With all the apples being put up, as well as all the jars of peaches, pickles and grape juice we’ve done over the summer, we need more space. So, Joe is going to build a special canning shelf for the corner of the dining room. Yippee!