Can You See Them Now?

Can you see them now?  My little zinnia sprouts!  

They are so much bigger this morning, so as soon as I got home from work, I moved them to the bed where they will live the remainder of their lives.  I'll probably bring them back inside at least for tonight.  They're saying we could get down into the upper 30s and better safe than sorry.  Sometime tomorrow, I'll put them back outside for good.  Or until we have another frost, at least.  

On a similar note, I gave the basil their first thinning this afternoon.  As you can see, some of the cells have quite a few seedlings in them. 

It would appear, I spilled the seeds into some -- or else I forgot I'd already put some into them and added more.  Whatever the reason, I chose the strongest two in each sponge and removed the rest.  

In another week or two, I'll thin them down to one.   I reckon I ought to get their outdoor bed put together and filled, too, or they won't have anywhere to live once they outgrow the starter tray.  I was going to plant them as companion plants to my tomatoes to try to keep the deer away, along with marigolds to keep the nematodes away  -- or whatever it is marigolds keep away.  Then I'll have to find some way to keep the slugs away from the marigolds...It never ends, does it?  

By the way, it didn't get out of the 40s today, so I built a little fire in the wood box this evening.  I guess I was more traumatized by the ice storm than I thought, because I kept having flashbacks to sitting on that couch in the dark, by myself.  Of course, now that I have a generator, I'll be able to keep my phone charged and will at least be able to watch TV.  Provided the cell towers don't go down or anything...

OK, let's move along to something less maudlin.  Look, I found protein coffee!

Nah, it's just coffee flavored protein shake, but it does have caffeine in it.  I was kinda bummed when I read that, because I won't be able to drink it in the evenings.  But then, now that it's starting to warm up a little, I can take it to work and drink it in the morning.  It tastes pretty good, too.  It doesn't have that slightly sour whey taste like the chocolate does.  

And finally, it being St. Patrick's Day, I couldn't let it pass without an ode to my Irish heritage.  Well, slightly Irish...but it's there.