Springing Up

Gina above, the yard below.

Crookneck squash below.

Northern beans below.

Garden so far...

Close up of the greens.

Mid April garden joy and the redone wire on coop

Whew, 80-something degrees out and just by chance a little raincloud passed overhead just before I snapped this picture. It felt so nice, the cold drops of rain on the hot and parched ground. I'm really excited that the garden crops are doing so well. I have two variety tomatoes started indoors. A plum and a small tomato.

I used staples for now. I had my nails but forgot the washers, doh! 

I need to secure the perches and still secure the outside run. (On the far side in black)

Wild flowers

Thought I'd post several native wild flowers I see I'm my yard. Such a precious surprise to happen upon them.

Sanguinaria canadensis aka bloodroot.

Sectional next steps.

Today I cleaned and straightened, organized seedling rows, removed debris and weeds on lower step.  i also added an arrangement of parsley, arugula, and thyme.

Upper step I planted frost hardy flowers, and two types of carrots.

I also prepped my squash mound for several special crookneck seeds I aquired.

Planted northern beans with a trellis. Tho they say they are Bush beans, they still need a support.

The past week we had over 4" of rain, in my first couple summers of gardening, I would suffer from rsoil run off due to the natural slope and exposure of my yard. So, I've learned that I needed to have raised beds. I've upcycled old window frames and pallets, and even bamboo poles, to help me. Every year I am pleased with myself as I build something bigger and better.

These bags are doing my composting. Left over from feed or seeds, they come in handy after their initial use is over. I love giving things a second life. So, it was time to shovel out the coops, for winter may be great for the deep liter method, but you still need to clean it out come the soggy rainy spring!

Every bag is 3/4 full leaving room for shutting the top and then flipping it over on itself. I gave them the southern facing view. The bags are still warm well after dark!

Tapping trees and the production of syrup.

Not an easy feat. Took about 30 hours of simmering in a crock pot to get two tablespoons  full of syrup. 

Below is my set up. I'm using a jar and lid used for pickling. The vinyl tubing fit perfectly. No mess!

Garden is alive!

I took advantage of the warm February days and prepped a section of my garden beds. I seeded and covered them up. And I now have everything except the beets sprouting .

top: 4/2

Bottom: 4/8

Five months old

November these little ones hatched. And now five months have passed. Try are now upgraded to the large coop with the rest of the flock.