Wow, that's what you call a cold front!  Warm this morning and then about 3pm the front blew through and things changed quickly.  A cold couple of days is in the forecast with  temps tomorrow night predicted in the teens.  I would prefer it stay in the 20's but I wasn't asked.  The Strawberries and Ranunculus are covered which should mitigate any profound damage from hard freezing weather.  The Tulips will love it! 

Lets see how the next few days shake out but I would not be surprised to be announcing an Farm Opening in two weeks.  Get ready! 

    A lot to do and not much time to do it in .......... or in reality ........ a lot to do and we don't feel like there is enough time to do it in.  We are guilty of making this long list of things to get done and then going in panic mode by its length.  If we just pick one thing at a time off the list it all gets done with ample time to spare.
    
    Seeing Tulip sprouts gives us the jitters and puts in a time crunch.  Those shoots should mean we are within three weeks of flowers, warm weather advances the plants and cold weather retards them. At the moment, our best guess is too be open by the end of this month Yes!  Yikes!   We moved the Tulip field to a another part of the farm where we could increase its size by 2/3rds over last year.  This means setting up check in/check out barn and places to wrap the flowers.  Then there is the issue of getting the rest of the Farm ready to open while dealing with nuisance freezes.

    This year is playing right along with the last few.  A very cold spell (two weeks ago), followed by a big warm up (last week), followed by "is going to freeze tonight or not?" (this week).  The Strawberry fields are loaded with blooms so we are not taking any chances.  Most of the fields have frost covers on them for the rest of this week.  The forecast for the next few days flirts with 32 degree nights. 

   As mentioned, the Strawberry plants are in good shape and loaded with blooms that should equate to early March berries.  It is going to be a great year, especially if you can make it out.  We will start posting more often to keep everyone informed.