February 2026 Update

It has been a quiet month here when it comes to gardening. The weather was cold and snowy early in the month, and harvesting was minimal. I was able to cut some curly kale from the greenhouse, which was a mix of Scarlet and Starbor. It has held up well in the cold, and usually does well for me in the winter greenhouse. I lost some of the lettuce I had planted in there, but over a dozen plants survived and should give us leaves in a week or so.

curly kale

I used the kale and one of our Purple sweet potatoes from storage to make kale and sweet potato hash one night for a side dish. I cooked it in my ancient cast iron skillet that is well-seasoned from years of use!

kale and sweet potato hash

Earlier in the month I cooked up some ‘fried’ collard greens from the last of the leaves I cut back in January. I sliced the greens into fine shreds and cooked them in olive oil, and seasoned with a bit of salt. The leaves are so flavorful they don’t need more than that to suit my taste buds.

fried collards

It has been a busy month at the bird feeders. The big Pileated Woodpeckers have been frequent visitors, and I spied one sitting on the ground one day. It flew up to our fence for a bit before flying off, giving me a show for sure.

Pileated Woodpecker on ground

woodpecker on fence

I have been busy with seed starting activities, and I will have more on that soon. I hope you have enjoyed this update, and I’ll be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!



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