Status of the Aerogardens for those who are wondering

The Aerogardens are chugging along. The pictures above are from late January. All the herbs (above) did quite well, although the basils seemed particularly happy. They are still going strong, although the purple basil is getting somewhat odd looking leaves. The dill also did well, but a few weeks ago it just died, although it had not gone to seed. The mint has more or less overwhelmed the parsely at this point.
In January the tomatoes were not up to the light, and had started growing fruit, although none had ripened. Now we're getting the second flush of ripe tomatoes, and more are coming (both the yellow and red cherries seem to be inderterminate). I personally think the red are much tastier, but hey, fresh tomatoes in Barrow in April.....

Spring arrives on the wings of snowbirds

Well, it has been a while.  But the sun has come back and the temperatures are above 0, and the snow is even melting a teeny bit every now and then, so in a month or two, the TundraGarden will emerge.

But I know it's spring, because the snowbirds are BACK!!!!  They are really snow buntings, but everyone here calls them snowbirds.  They are the first birds back (except for the ravens that spend the winter) and they are the true sign of spring.  The males sing, loudly, from high perches, and I often hear them a couple days before I see one.  I'd been hearing them for a few days, and then saw one driving home from work a couple of days ago.