It's raining...it's snowing!!

Well, this morning I woke up, looked outside and there was snow on the ground.  I freaked out because I did not cover my plants and vegetables last night.  Thank goodness they made it through the night, however tonight is another cold one, so I better cover them or I won't sleep a wink.  It is the end of April and it feels like January.  I am so frustrated with this cold weather.  This should be the last cold front we see until Fall, however I am not going to hold my breath.  I bought rose bushes last week and luckily I haven't planted them yet.  I am waiting until the weather is steady being warmer, but who knows when that will be!

Our property has so many weeds that it is almost unbelievable.  Everywhere you look you see weeds.  They are out of control and to be honest it will take a few years just to get them under control.  Also, the previous owners planted perennials that spread easily.  I am not a huge fan of that because they end up taking over and being everywhere.  Now that Spring has arrived and plants are starting to pop up out of the ground I am discovering a lot of different plants and they are everywhere.  I am going to have to learn how to keep them from spreading all over and if that isn't possible, I will have to get rid of them all.  I like being in control of my plants instead of the other way around.  Well, the weekend is in full swing and we have lots to do.  Bye.

Much to my chagrin...

Good Morning.  This week hasn't been too eventful.  We had a really cold night this week, so we had to cover up some vegetables and plants over night.  They all survived, but last night was just below freezing and I didn't cover any.  I have to go see if they are okay this morning.  Today is going to be in the 70's and sunny, which is a nice change.  While I was walking around the property the other day checking on plants I noticed something sticking up out of the ground.  Much to my chagrin it was asparagus.  It grows wild around here and sure enough on our property.  It just started popping up and I took a picture to show you.  I was able to harvest enough for dinner last night and boy was it good.  I have never eaten fresh from the ground asparagus and it was yummy.  We are planting some this spring too, so in a few years we will have lots of asparagus.

Henrietta is still doing good being back with the other chickens.  When I have to separate her I give her the dog house with some hay in it for her to sleep and lay her eggs.  I have kept it in there and all the hens seem to like it.  Yesterday there were five eggs in there and in the afternoon, Rosa was sleeping in the dog house.  It is funny to see a chicken in a dog house.  They seem to love it, so I am just going to leave it in there for them.  Well, have a great day everyone.  Bye.



wild asparagus




my harvest for dinner





Lots of pictures


Good Morning-

Today is another rainy day.  This week I spent a lot of time working on putting up edging around the house and deck.  There was some edging up, but it was ugly and all overgrown with grass.  I am laying down bricks and rocks for edging...however, I ran out of bricks that we had, so now I have to figure out how to find some more.  It is looking nice and makes the house feel more feng shui.  My husband laughs at me with my feng shui, but there is truth to things needing to be in a certain place to feel comfortable and good.  I posted some new pictures so everyone can see what is going on lately. 

Henrietta is still in isolation.  Her eye is looking so much better, but not healed enough to put with the other chickens.  I read you can put roofing tar on the area the hens keep pecking because they won't like the taste and it will get them to stop.  I am going to give it a try...I will let you know if it actually works.  I think she is ready to be with the others, so we will put her back with her "friends" this weekend.  Easter is tomorrow so we get to color our eggs with the kids today.  We have over two dozen in the fridge right now and we will probably get at least a half a dozen more today. 

This weekend we are going to stop and smell the roses.  We work so hard every day and every weekend, it is time for a break.  I am sore from working the past few days, so my body needs a break anyway.  Have a happy Easter everyone.  Bye.

The boys on the tractor




Ducks visiting our farm




Spring bloom




Spring flowers




Henrietta with her bad eye




our rows in the garden



Garden

Well, the weather stinks today, so I am stuck inside.  I am tired and so it is a good day for me to sit down and relax.  After I finish my blog, I am going to drink my hot tea and read.  This weekend we worked on the garden.  I added some more strawberry plants and the ones I planted a few weeks ago are starting to green up.  I planted 14 broccoli plants and three brussel sprouts.  I also planted seed for three different types of lettuce.  This year I am going to do succession planting, so we have constant vegetables throughout the season.  I have made a chart to keep track of what I am planting and it will also help me remember what I did this year.

Our chickens are doing good and egg production has been steady.  Henrietta's eye is doing okay, but it does look infected.  I am hoping it heals up this week, or I will have to separate her out from the others again.  They keep pecking at her and I guess it is hard to reverse that once it starts.  She may end up being our first dinner.  My boys really enjoy the chickens and they have fun visiting them throughout the day.  I think the chickens enjoy their company too!

Not many of the plants I ordered online are greening yet.  I feel like I am watering sticks...and truthfully, I probably am doing just that.  A few are starting to have green buds, so hopefully that is a good sign.  I can't believe it is the middle of April already.  I love seeing all the trees getting leaves and flowers blooming.  Bye.

Henrietta

Well, to my surprise, Henrietta the one eyed chicken is now Henrietta the two eyed chicken.  I have been going back and forth about whether her eye was really gone or not, but today I am sure.  She didn't loose her eye and I am so happy.  The area around her eye seems to be healing up nicely too.  The chickens are all doing really good and laying a lot of eggs.

It was the day after Sharky our fish died, that my oldest son asked where he was.  Whoops, I wasn't expecting him to notice so quickly.  I told him he died and I flushed him down the toilet, he then proceeded to tell me that he wanted to get another fish.  No more fish in this household, at least not until the boys are old enough to take care of it by themselves.

The yard is starting to come together nicely.  We got our irrigation water now and so I am able to water my strawberries, fruit trees, raspberries and blackberries easier.  The sprinklers aren't working yet because my husband has to fix a part of the pipe that he crunched.  This week the weather is going to be sunny and warm, so we will be spending a lot of time outdoors.  Bye.

R.I.P. Sharky

I don't think I could express enough how much hatred I have for the wind.  Spring time in Western Colorado is always windy.  It kept me up all last night and it is windy all day today.  Go away wind!  It isn't just a light breeze...it is full on 25 mph wind.  The kind of wind where in the middle of the night you wonder if the big trees are going to fall on your house. 

Well, about two years ago we bought our oldest son a beta fish.  No, it wasn't my idea because I knew us getting a fish meant one thing...I would be taking care of it.  My prediction was correct and not one person in this house (except for me and that may be a slight exaggeration) even remembers he exists.  Well, he has been sick the past couple of weeks.  Okay, I am not a fish expert, but he wasn't eating.  A fish that doesn't eat equals a sick fish (in my professional opinion).  I actually was telling my son just yesterday that Sharky (our fish) isn't well.  I was telling him how sick he was and that maybe we should flush him down the toilet.  Well, as you guessed that didn't go over so well with a four year old.  So, with tears in his eyes, I dropped the subject.  Who would have guessed that today was the day he decided to die.  I just found him dead as dead can be.  I have decided to not tell my boys because they never notice him anyway.  If they ask then I will disclose this day to them, otherwise my lips are sealed.

Henrietta the one eyed hen is doing better.  Her eye healed up and we put her back with the other chickens.  Max, our rooster was happy to have her back.  He wasn't such a fan of her being separated.  The other hens have been good with her so far and I haven't seen any further injuries.  Boy are we getting eggs now.  It is great and they are so yummy.  Usually one night during the week we have waffles and eggs and that is the boys' favorite meal of the week!  Well, that's all for now.  Bye.

an eye for an eye

Good morning.  Yesterday was a weird day.  I went outside early afternoon to check on the chickens and clean out their hen house.  While I was cleaning the hen house I noticed Henrietta's eye looked strange.  So, I checked closer and realized her eye was gone!  The poor hen got her eye pecked out and the side of her head was missing feathers.  I separated her from the other chickens so that her face can heal.  If you leave an injured hen with the others, they will peck her to death.  So, probably tomorrow I will put her back with the rest of the clan.  Max, the rooster isn't a fan of her being separated.  This morning when I let them out of the hen house, he wouldn't let the hens come out. He kept fighting them to stay in the house.  I am not sure what that is all about, but he isn't happy with the change.  We did get seven eggs yesterday which was great.  The warmer weather should help with the egg production.

My husband almost has the garden fence done.  He has a little part left to put up and then the doorways.  We should get irrigation water by next week, so I will be able to plant and seed once that happens.  Once the fence is all finished, I will take a picture of it.  It is really big and I can't believe we are going to have such a large garden.  Well, a nice day today and then cloudy and rainy days are headed our way.  Bye.

Rain and Wind...URGH!

Well, this weekend hasn't been very great.  My youngest son hasn't been feeling well, the weather turned rainy and windy and the father of one of my good friends passed away.  Yesterday we got some stuff done, but it got really windy in the afternoon, so my husband couldn't finish putting up the fence for the garden.  Today we have more rain and lots of wind, so it will be an indoor day today.  Hopefully, we can get some projects done in the house today.  The rain is good for all my new plants, so at least that is a positive out of the yucky weather.

Our chickens are doing good.  We got five eggs yesterday, but I am anxious to start getting five most days instead of just one or two.  They are really enjoying having the extra space to peck around in and it is fun to watch them out there.  My oldest son has really taken to the chickens and he goes over and visits them often while he is playing outside.  Sabrina had to remind me the other evening that I hadn't given them their afternoon snack.  She is so funny and has such a personality. 

Well, not much else is going on with us.  Have a great Sunday everyone. Bye.