Spring Equinox

Now that it's finished snowing... it's officially Spring. And we're getting a more typical, wetter spring, after a very dry winter. The garden is thriving. Here, Rick weeds the onions. All the alliums are doing exceptionally well.

I've seen the first beans on the favas at our house, although we haven't noticed any at the farm yet. The favas at the farm are a battleground between the black aphids, and their ant protectors, and the ladybugs. We're trying to squish aphids and otherwise let the ladybugs do the job.

The apricot branch on the plum is fruiting.

The cherry tree is in full bloom now.

And the peach has just the last few blooms, and lots of new leaves. All over town the trees are wrapped in that chartreuse haze of new green leaves.

The ceanothus is blooming.

And the irises are none the worse for the snow.

Johnny jump ups are so cheerful.

And, it's official. We've become a two jug family.

Snow!

Because the new iPad went on sale last week, they dropped the price on the old one. So Rick bought one for Catherine, then he had to have his own. And of course, if they both had one, Technogirl can't be far behind... so I got one also. And Buddy got wireless internet, so the farm has a hotspot now! Yay! Does it look like Rick is having fun?

So last Sunday (3-18), we were hanging at the farm, playing with our iPads, when... it began to snow. Ok so it was probably hail or slush, but dammit, it's as close to snow as we get here.

There was enough precipitation to put down a pretty good layer.

But we're not afraid of a little snow. We just went into the bar, and brought the heater. Hey, we have drinks, iPads, and interesting weather. What fun!

Because snow is a rarity, I had to take a lot of pics. It's odd to see the garden covered in snow.

There was snow on the fava beans.

Snow on the peas.

Snow on the blooming borage.

Snow on the firebricks.

Does this make it Iceberg lettuce?

These irises are just about to bloom.

Catherine and I play with the reverse camera.

While Rick shovels snow.

And Buddy throws snowballs.

Soon it clears up, and we head out to assess the situation.

The snow made neat patterns in the straw.

And coated the umbrella pretty thickly.

Buddy built a snowman.

Later the sun came out.

Although the storm was still blowing through.

Back at our yard, the favas are looking a bit beaten up, but they rebounded.

 

Sarah and Nathan's Visit

Sarah and Nathan traveled up to Chico to visit and look at the house. They arrived on Monday, and since that was the very last of the nice weather, we took them immediately to the farm.

Rick shows them the pizza oven, which comes with "some assembly required."

Here we hang out. Notice it's pretty cloudy compared to the day before.

Tuesday we had a little get-together so folks could meet them. Also, it was a good plan to be inside.

There was lots of food. I always worry that folks will starve. Catherine was the cake fairy.

Donna regales us by listing all 10 of her dad's wives! Here she's up to number 8.

Wednesday was still gloomy, so we spent the day inside baking bread. We tried various techniques. Nathan looks over the rising bread.

We decided to make some braided (or plaited) bread.

Here it is all risen, brushed with egg wash, sprinkled with seeds, and ready to pop in the oven.

We also made a beautiful oblong loaf. We misted the oven with water to keep the humidity high and make that nice glossy crust.

Later we ate... bread! We had bread with a bunch of good cheeses and meats, veggies and dips. BMC lives!

Of course, we took them over to the house on 9th Street: their future home. The camillia is in full bloom right now, and just beginning to fade a little. I need to keep up with getting the fallen blossoms raked up.

 Nathan takes a film tour of the house.

Second Weekend

As usual, I'm behind on posting, but it was a busy week! I'm splitting the posts so they aren't overly long. This bit covers the second weekend in March.

The blue-eyed grass is blooming profusely. Here is a stretch of lawn on Mulberry and 17th.

The flowers are tiny, but en masse, they are wonderful.

Also that weekend, we worked on clearing out the back of the house more. We've just about found that corner.

The chickens give us a hand of course.

I finally found a technique to make signs for the garden. I wanted to be able to use printed out designs that were still waterproof. Turns out (after trying various other techniques) is that lamination is the way to go. So I got some row marker signs up.

 Yes, you are SUPER nerdy if your rebus depends on heraldry. At least the 4A sign is just a pun.

 We planted the chard that Rick C. started, then filled the rest of 6b with carrot seed.

We tried the Mokum, which is little earlier than Scarlet Nantes.

I also ordered a new coldframe unit from Gardener's Supply Catalog. We had used the old one for years, and it finally fell apart. Now we are ready when the tomatoes need that extra month of warmth before going in the ground.

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Weather Note
It's the usual unsettled March weather. By last weekend, the sky was getting cloudy around the edges, and by Monday, it started raining. Really raining, with lots of moisture, not just a few spits.

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The days are longer and warmer, and all the plants in the garden are thriving. The lettuce is starting to make small heads. The arugula is all gone to seed, and we're pulling it up to feed the chickens fresh greens. The borage is blooming. The onions and garlic are huge and sturdy, and the fava beans are in full flower. We're seeing some big black aphids on the favas, but also seeing lady bugs, so we're hoping it balances out.

The peas are up in row 1B and all the little starts in 3A have "taken" and are doing well. Here's how the farm looked on the 10th. It's still sunny, but we have tarps over the wood.