Farm Birthday Party

Once again, Monday is when I get caught up with the doings. First of all, I was sick all last week, so I wasn't able to take pix or publish on the blog. I was almost well by the party, but fortunately, everyone pitched in and it was a great time. First we took Tom and Nancy to the pub.

Once we hit the farm, the guitars came out.

Catherine got the cake, which was lovely and delicious.

Nancy brought us this wonderful, wacky flamingo.

This was the "before" poster, so everyone could see how much we've done.

Here's the food table. I grilled up a couple of tri tips, made fresh rolls, and bought some sliced cheeses for sandwiches. I also stuffed peppers with bleu cheese, and had some brie and other spreading cheese. Karen and Glen brought their delicious baked beans.

Even in daylight, you can see that the moon is almost full.

We just kept playin music...

Sunday it was back to work. Rick had finished painting the pole barn.

And he finished the chicken pen! The doors on the south side will help keep them warm and dry, as well as make it much easier for us to get in and out.

The food and water bins fit neatly under the nesting boxes.

This view from the back shows the perches.

Cherry Blossom Time

The cherry is in full bloom and looking great.

It's just covered in blossoms.

Making the bees very happy.

Rick and Rick finished the plumbing, at least the shut-off valve and anti siphon valve part. We still need to add another standpipe.

Yesterday I got Karen's starts to her. They are nice and big and should do well.

Rick has been diligently making more land for us.

Here he is again, a day later, while Catherine bones up on local bugs.

The gopher traps I ordered came, and Rick shows one off. He found a gopher run and put a trap out.

The chicks are about a month old. I got them on the 23rd, but they'd probably been in the store for a few days.

I couldn't stand it, so I planted more peppers: some Sonora (an Anaheim type) and a couple of Habaneros. It might be too late to be starting them, but I thought I'd give it a shot. By next growing season I intend to have both heat mats going. That will give me twice the space, which should be about enough.

More Fantastic Weather

The weather continues to be glorious, and we're making the most of it, knowing rains will return. We went to the farm every day this week. Amber is looking over her crops here. Notice the cherry tree in the left background. Since this picture was taken on the 15th, the cherry has burst into full bloom.

The cabbages are heading up finally.

Rick and Catherine have been putting in a ton of work.

And Catherine demonstrates her new gloves.

The rouge gren lettuces are thriving.

Bill came and cut up the wood and stacked it all nicely.

I keep taking pix of the glen area, because it's so great looking right now with the forsythia all in full bloom and the nice thick green lawn.

And I'm already thinking about summer days whiled away in the tub.

Did I mention that the weather is glorous? Look... on St. Pat's day, it was 88 degrees.

I finally got the sign back up. I used shellac and glue (separately, not mixed!) to stabilize the old paint as well as I could.

And today, I took the chicks out for some fresh air and sunshine (and to let me clean and air out my bathroom!)

I planted a few more pots of both rouge gren and blushed butter lettuces this week, and put them right into the cold frame. I'm pretty sure it's warm enough for them to germinate without the heat mat. I also moved most of the tomato seedlings over to the cold frames, so I have room to start more. It's kind of late, but I think I can start a few more tomatoes, tomatillos, and peppers. I haven't started ANY tomatillos yet, and I'm pretty sure I need more peppers....

Great Weather Weekend

It was nice to have a weekend of good weather. We got our mannequin dressed nicely. We talked about what to name her, and Buddy stated the obviously perfect name: Amber. After all, this is Amber's Glen.

The cherry is finally blooming. The ornamental ones at the park bloomed fully 3 weeks ago.

Catherine and Buddy enjoy the spring weather.

Catherine even brought me flowers for my birthday, and also some great gardening tools.

I had to run home Saturday afternoon to "attend" Sarah's wedding, via Skype. I felt like a head-in-a-bottle from Futurama. But it was really neat to be included.

I planted baby carrots in the box. On the left are Little Finger and on the right are Short and Sweet.

Here's a good shot of the farm with Amber in the background.

Rick and Buddy worked hard on the chicken coop.

Here you can see it actually standing on its own legs.

By Sunday afternoon it was pretty much set up.

Rick C got to work making more ground.

Which I immediately planted in spare radicchios.

They are big sturdy plants with great root structure.

Titus and Reny came over too. The forsythia is really spectacular right now.

Billy came over on Sunday. He's always ready to ham it up for the camera.