One Warm Day!

Yesterday (Jan. 23): 63 degrees outside, not much wind and a bit of sunshine!

The sun peeked over the clouds in mid-morning.

I'm eager to be outside, eager to put my fingers in some soil! I hauled two loads of dark compost in the wheelbarrow up to my newer herb bed, spreading it out to nourish that soil.

The next project I've been eager to do is clean out two little tire planters on either side of our driveway. I planted annuals in them last spring/summer, but they were full of weeds. I also noticed some random daffodils bulbs peeking up in the yard where they ought not be. After cleaning out the tire planters I rescued the bulbs and put them in there.

 The two planters, ready for spring!

Daffodils are also well up around the big fig tree.

 The fig tree looks awful because we've gradually been pruning it back hard. At last all the branches are reachable.
Daffies are up!

 The new branches of the fig tree are loaded with buds.

What was Adam doing all this time, while I labored in the yard. Aside from filling the wheelbarrow tire with air, he was diagnosing my dying washing machine.

It still ran, but agitation was very slow, and it would not spin the water out of the clothes well at all. He took it all apart and discovered a bad clutch. (Who knew? My washer was a manual shift?) He's ordered the part and soon I'll have a happier laundry situation.

I spent some time studying the vegetable garden, planning locations for the crops this spring. Here's a rough diagram, based on rotating plants away from where they were last year:

Monday is Adam's date for getting started in the garden, weeding out the beds and prepping them for spring. I need to get onion sets in the ground soon. I already have my seeds for peas and early greens. And this spring we'll be eating our asparagus for the first time! I can't wait.

Spider Morning

Our days are still hot, but the mornings are a little cooler.

This morning we had fog, so I roamed around the farm and took pictures that hint at the season change. Spider webs. Flourishing loofah blooms. Cedar galls. Green sweet gum balls.

 

 

The open grass was scattered with little spider web pockets.

I visited my old chickens.

 Punkin was camera-shy, so I waited until she turned around.

On their fence is a passion flower vine.

 My zinnias continue to cheer up the world! I've picked so many.

 

 I finally cut most of my large sunflower heads and put them on the front porch to dry, out of the beaks of greedy birds. I grew these to feed my own birds, who have names and give me eggs.

 Tall, bright sunflowers in full bloom are beautiful, but there's something lovely about this dried flower head too, with its curling petals.

 Virginia Creeper is ... well ... creeping, right across our front porch.

 

 I've found one, and only one, ripe, luscious fig this year :(

Today Adam declared that he would back the Jaguar out of the garage and begin the task of putting it all back together.

He drove it part-way to the farm three years ago, so it's not an issue of its not running, so much as putting all its little parts back in all their right places. The front dash is removed, and one front seat, and the wires are everywhere. When he lifted the hood to inspect the engine, he discovered that others had been there before him.

Mice. They pulled in everything they might possibly need for a massive nest in this dark, protected space. Twigs, paper, chicken food (sigh). Well, when that engine revs up, they'll be glad their babies aren't in there trying to sleep!

Last question, friends: We hope to paint the shutters on our house sometime (like ... in the next year, haha). Here's their color now, kind of a bleached-out pale blue/gray.

With the bright red roof, they look all wrong. Should we paint them:
1) black
2) green
3) red to match the roof

Please advise!!

Inklings of Spring

Look what appeared this morning!

I have a handful in the yard. Hopefully I'll remember to cut them and take them to church on Sunday. Fresh flowers in the sanctuary are so welcoming in February.
Our outdoors look like this right now:

See how green that field is across the road? And today's high temperature is supposed to be 80. 80!  I can hardly believe it.
I've started some herbs in trays on the front porch/greenhouse: dill, parsley, basil, thyme, stevia, and sage.

My plants that overwintered on the porch have survived. On the left are some mint plants, plagued by bugs. I'll wash them off today. On the right is a mass of tomato plants, bless them.

Left: forsythia. Right: Japanese magnolia

Everything is eager to burst forth!
That includes Adam. He burst forth into the garden yesterday and started digging. He moved the tomato trellis from this bed and turned it over/cleared it out. Then I planted spinach, kale, and lettuce into it. This morning we also have our first asparagus spear up. So exciting!

The window above is the kitchen window. It used to be longer, a standard window. A massive bush obscured the view, so Adam chopped it way back, as you see.
Below is our fig tree, which has been reduced in height over the past 3 years. Now we'll be able to reach all the fruit! The blooming daffodils appeared beneath it this morning.

I decided to let my young flock of chickens out to free range in the yard yesterday. I'd never allowed them to do that before. I supervised them. I'm worried they will flutter into the dog yard or wander into the road.

They were happy to hunt and peck. You'd think they'd want the greenery, but I'm convinced they spend all their time pecking for bugs, little carnivores.

In the photo above, you see the 3 chicks born a month ago. The one on the left is a little cross-beak. Her beak doesn't close properly, and she has difficulty eating and drinking. I don't want to hand-raise a chicken in the house, but I'm trying to help her out. She's smaller and always hungry. I give her some of our mashed sweet potatoes each morning, which she can eat more easily.

And I got a special waterer for her. Hopefully that will help. She may never lay, but she may survive and have a happy chicken life.
Well, the pasture will soon be covered with blooming clover and buttercups. I found the first one:

Some of you are still facing ice and snow and all that entails. I hope this gives you come cheer! 

When our daffodils are gone and our mosquitoes have arrived, you can then share your daffodils with me, and reciprocate the cheerfulness :) If you want to read about our kitchen remodeling, click over to my other blog. There's a link above on the right, on the picture with the sailboats on the river.
That's it from the farm!