May 17

Wow. Has it really been that long since I posted? Have you all forgotten about me?!?! Ha ha ha!

So, what has been going on here? "Let me explain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

Wednesday the 12th: Still cold out, but a little less of the rain. We made raspberry jam from some of last years' raspberries that she froze. We did the math and I realized that even if she sells them to the co-op to re-sell, there's a decent profit margin on homemade jam. Obviously, it's even better if she can sell it direct, like at Pizza Night. A second group of preschoolers came. We looked in the hoop house at all the things growing and talked about how it stayed so warm, etc. We looked at some of the chickens, and the kids got to pet a couple of them. They wanted to HOLD the chickens themselves, but everyone over the age of 6 agreed that probably wasn't a good idea. Then, the kids had a snack of mint tea (they loved it because it was warm) and rhubarb muffins.

Thursday, the 13th: My birthday, and Pizza Night! The weather was still cold and rainy during the day. We moved all the outdoor chickens to new grassy areas then got ready for pizza. I think the weather scared most people away, but it kind of worked out nice for me. With so few people there, I was able to visit with A&K, and even J and E, who made the trip down, too! It was a GREAT birthday! And, the "kids" gave me some greenery for my room.

Friday, the 14th: After giving hubby the grand tour and the morning animal chores, we checked the asparagus, but there was nothing ready. In the hoop house, we tilled a big section and planted the rest of the peppers that had been started from seeds earlier this spring in the house. After lunch, we made strawberry-rhubarb jam. Yum.

I went home for the weekend and came back late Sunday night.

Today, the 17th: Marty joined us. He is from this area, but currently going to college in Florida. He is interested in learning about organic/natural farming, and will be helping us out a few days a week throughout the summer. We worked on weeding today, the garlic garden, and also several rows each of beets and a salad mix. We also planted some more cauliflower and Brussels sprout seeds. We got about 8 lbs of asparagus today, and could see that there will be a lot more ready soon.

The little chickens had trouble over the weekend. She thinks we forgot to turn the electric fence back on after trying to pick asparagus on Friday, and the evidence suggests that a weasel got into the birds' area. She lost almost 1/2 of them. Most of them were not really even eaten, so I guess weasels kill for sport. Yuck.

The weather was amazingly beautiful today. Sunny and warm! And, it's supposed to continue all week. Very glad for that!