Sunday, March 25, 2018

Will Spring Ever Come?

I know that, technically, Lady Spring has arrived, but it doesn't feel like it. We still have lows in the 30's! In spite of this, on Friday Adam put the plastic back on the hoop house.
 This year he added PVC rollers on the bottom edges so we can roll the sides up and cool the house that way, when need be.
Adam snapped the plastic in place with this brilliant wiggle wire:
 The four large, leggy tomato plants from the front porch were moved out there right away. I don't care if it was 38 degrees last night -- they have overstayed their welcome on the front porch!
 Adam is building a new door for the hoop house. He used the old one on the chicken coop. Chickens first!! Haha!

Our greens are slow but doing well. Can you see them in the bed? From left to right, a smattering of spinach, red kale, lettuce, and more kale.
 The peas are up and looking great, about 25 of them, too short for their trellis.
 The apple tree in the orchard is blooming. They are the loveliest blooms.
 I let my younger chickens free range today; I feel so sorry for them with no greenery in their run.
The three hens didn't want to eat. They wanted to dust bathe.
 I want them to free range, but I lost one of the young chicks to a predator about a month ago while they were free ranging. A second chick died because of its cross-beak. The third chick, Cassie, is the lowest of the low, on the Chicken Totem Pole. It's so sad. They make her sleep on the floor of the coop, on the other end, while they all sleep on the roost. I feel sorry for her.
Speaking of birds, these friendly fellows perched near us on the ferry yesterday, as we returned from the flea market.
 The gulls were particularly active. Some have white heads, and some have jet black.
 We went across the river Saturday morning just at sunrise -- the 6:15 a.m. ferry.


 Those of you following my weaves, here's the finished shawl/scarf, for sale. It came back home with me. It ended up being 12" wide and over 70" long.
When we drove into the driveway, Trixie trotted up to greet us. She was not supposed to be loose! Trixie was left in the fenced farm pasture with Ned and Baby, to play for the day while we were gone. She should have been behind that fence, but she had somehow escaped! It was horrible to think of what might have happened, but evidently she's a smart cookie, and knew to stay on the back porch waiting for us to come home. Phew! Adam was mighty relieved.

That new market across the river is wearing us both out. I think the verdict is still out, whether we will do it long term. But yesterday was good. However, this not-a-morning-person girl finds it a challenge, that's for sure!

You will probably read this on Palm Sunday, or afterward. Please have a blessed Easter week. It's time to think about Jesus, about His mighty sacrifice and His eternal, persistent love for us. We're having a Seder Supper at our church on Thursday evening, a "recreating," if you will, of the Last Supper, which was, of course, a redoing of the Passover, and simultaneously the first Lord's Supper/Communion. Adam walks us through the dinner, explaining it all, and we break half-way for our own covered-dish supper also. It's a great evening -- if you're local, please come! All are welcome at 6:00 p.m. Have a blessed week.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Video Tour of the Herb Garden, Etc.

Hello, all. I finally made a little video for you, touring our sunny side yard with the herb garden, rose bushes, and other things. I successfully loaded it into Youtube.(That is no small feat!) Here it is:

I also took photos of various wildflowers blooming on the farm right now -- mid-March. Here they are:
a bright buttercup

sweet little violet

I'm uncertain of this flower's name.

happy dandelion

a different variety of buttercup, I think

Henbit is this weed's name.

 This weed is purple deadnettle (above and below). It is edible. I think I'll pick some for my chickens.
 This is chickweed.

Sweet little chickweed flower

I'm hoping this is calendula, but will wait for its flowers to aid in identification.

Broad-leaf plantain is a wonderful weed.
I have more of the narrow-leaf variety.
 Our Japanese magnolia continues to bloom and hasn't been zapped by frost yet this year.


 Adam made headway with his fencing yesterday. He's about halfway done.
 I sold a shawl at the market on Saturday, so I'm weaving another one.
That's it from the farm!

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Circles and Such

 I'm still spinning. Combing, dizzing, and spinning are calm activities.
Plying, dying and wrapping the yarn into skeins are exciting activities.
These two skeins are in an avocado dye.
 On the other side of the stove my homemade chai is reducing.
 Instead of throwing out this celery stump, I'm growing it in the windowsill. I did one last fall and now have a large celery plant, waiting to be transplanted into the garden this spring.
 I can't take much credit for the Bee Balm that is my small business's best seller. Everybody loves it and wants more. I'm shipping five tubs off to New York City today.
 The concoction below, however, is a new product: Healing Herb Ointment. It's a bit greasy, and it smells earthy. But oh-my-goodness ... is it full of good stuff!
 In addition to all these lovely oils and butter and wax, it's infused with plantain, yarrow, and dandelion.
My baby thyme plants are growing.
 One more circle from my house -- this large plate. My mother gave it to me. It was gifted her by an elderly lady whose parents were missionaries in China long ago. The plate came from them, and who knows how old it is and where it came from before that.
 If you don't follow my other blog, here are a few shots of the nearly-finished kitchen. All the shelves are up on the stove-side!

 One more long shelf will go up on the sink-side (below). But the shelves are full now, and the kitchen looks homey.
 Our local thrift store is rearranging for spring, but I found these jars amid the chaos. Those are 1/2 gallon Mason jars, at 50 cents apiece. I was chuffed, as the British say!
Otherwise, farm life is slow now because it's still cold. Freezing temps (just barely) at night, and windy during the day, and cold. I'm eager to put all these herbs in the ground ... but not yet. Not yet.