The beds are filling out quickly

With the recent rain and warm weather, the beds are filling out quickly and the change from week to week is rather startling.

We removed the metal hoops and Reemay row covers from the tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and carrots, and it's exciting to see that the tomato seedlings already have flowers. Everything is so evenly spaced. Farm equipment (specifically the transplanter) is a wonderful thing.

Apparently the weeds have been enjoying the same growth spurt as the vegetables. The rows of Napa cabbage are full of lamb's quarters, a common edible weed that's supposedly similar to spinach or chard, and something else that I can't identify -- maybe left-over winter rye that was used as a cover crop. Hand-weeding is slow-going but it's gratifying to see the before-and-after as we work down the length of the bed.

No sign of the foxes for the past couple of weeks. I wonder if the kits have already grown up and moved on. Or maybe they're less active in warmer weather? After deciding to brush up on my fox facts online, I learn that they're nocturnal or crepuscular, and that the kits remain with the mother until they're about seven months old. I hope to see them again.