April: Showers, Sunshade, and Chicks

Yes, we finally got a little more rain. It wasn't enough to put a dent in the drought, but at least it wetted everything down and cleaned some of the pollen out of the air. We measured about an inch. And even though the storm was rather cold, the ground temperature stayed over 50 degrees.

 Meanwhile, a lot has been happening. I helped Delina and Jae set up Jae's show at Morning Thunder. Jae's photos are spectacular.

By late March, I had the tomatoes repotted and in the greenhouse.

And at about the same time, the peppers look big and vigorous. I resisted potting up all but the earliest ones. Note for the future; Second week in Feb is about the right time to seed if I don't want to have to transplant.

While Ed and Ann were in Australia/New Zealand, some idiot smashed into their fence and knocked part of it down. We got it fixed as good as new. In fact, since we used old fabric, it looked the same as ever. Ed made us brats for our help.

Delina picks up her loot of tomato and pepper starts.

Lori and I got hair bling, then went for drinks afterward. Doesn't she look cute in her new bling?

We ordered another feeder like the one Rick built. It came unassembled, so Rick traced all the parts so he can make another one if needed. This size is smaller than the first one Rick built.

The really big thing we got done recently was putting up the sunshade to keep the taproom cool. Rick got out the giant ladder.

It took some doing to get it properly positioned. We finally got the right angles worked out. Notice how nicely the shade falls.

We're so happy that it provides the shade right where and when we need it.

Then we hung matchstick shades to further provide cooling insulation.

This whole area has seen some major upgrades.

We decided that we could put our tomatoes in on 3-30, about two weeks before the technical last frost date. We haven't had any frost since December... Rick digs us nice deep holes. I put in organic fertilizer and we got the cages put up also.

I got the peppers in about a week later (4-6).

On April 2, I got our new chicks. I was hoping for Silver Laced Wyandottes, but they were already almost gone. I got the last one that was left and filled out the order with five Delawares. They are in the top tier for good laying/docile and they are very pretty besides. They will look like this:

So I got them on Thursday, and the next Monday, the power went out. I woke up knowing something was wrong, and a minute later Buddy called me asking what he should go about the chicks. Oh no! Without their heat light, they will die very quickly. So I rushed to the farm, frantically thinking how to keep them warm. I turned on the propane heater, brought their box out to the bar, and set it on two chairs. I had to keep turning the box as one side got too hot, but it worked, and it kept them alive until the power finally came back on about three hours later.

Here's what the farm is looking like now. I got all the straw down between the rows. I just have 2 more rows to plant (plus the beans in sector 4, but I'm waiting a little for really warm weather). Left side:

Right side. The lettuces are starting to get big. Also you can't really see in these shots, but the chard has been providing lots of delicious leaves.

I was supposed to have lunch with Nancy on the day the power went out, but of course, I had to save my chicks. So we got together later for a drink at Tres and I gave her the scarf I made for her. It totally goes with her jacket!

Buddy and Rick toast to National Beer Day (4-7).