Haircut, Anyone?

With the planting finished,

I finally had time to tackle a few more items on my Spring chore list.

Yesterday was "haircut" day.

With the arrival of warmer weather,

clipping the Littles and the donkeys is imperative.

These four equines seem to hold on to their wooly winter attire much too long.

So, for everybody's comfort...

I got the clippers buzzing yesterday and gave all four of them a makeover.

Chloe held still like a perfect little girl.

We took a break for sniffing the fur on the ground.

Almost finished....

Next came Daphne.

If you read my blog a year ago, you might remember that Daphne was not as cooperative as

Chloe was when it came to clipping. 

 In fact, we ended up with Daphne having quite a bit of belly fur left in the end.

This time she was very well behaved.

The funny thing is, these two seemed to enjoy all the fussing over them.

Chloe acted disappointed when she was finished, 

and kept nudging me while I shaved Daphne.

The Littles are a different story.

They behave well, but only tolerate the fussing over them.

Typical boys!

Red, with his new do....

Ollie... before....

Ollie... after....

He's actually looking quite svelte!

Four well behaved equines all got extra treats when they were finished.

Now we are officially ready for warmer weather.

PS.... I give just one type of haircut....short on the sides, and a little longer on top.

The horses, dogs and Hubbs all get the same haircut!

Surprisingly, they are all quite well behaved!

When All Else Fails....

Yesterday was a marathon gardening day.

The garden is (re)planted.

The end.

Ok, well, not really the end, because of course I have to tell you what is planted!

And...

I have come to the conclusion that Mother Nature is schizophrenic.

Sorry Mother... but you are a bit erratic, no?

Yesterday as I gardened it started out cold, then warm and sunny,

then cloudy, then cool and rainy, then warm and sunny again.

It rained so hard that Maddie sought shelter on the front porch of the playhouse!

(Maddie is our Newfie who gets shaved for summer every year...

making her look more like a poodle.)

In the span of 8 hours, I removed and reapplied my sweatshirt at least 5 times...

and amongst all that a raincoat came off and on a few times, too.

But the bottom line is this...

I am done.

Finis!

So here is the final tally:

27 heirloom tomatoes

15 hot peppers

15 sweet peppers

30+ broccoli

cauliflower

Romanesco (Christmas tree cauliflower)

30+ kohlrabi

kale

rainbow Swiss chard

lettuces

spinach

sweet corn

purple sweet potatoes

onions

sugar peas

carrots...red, orange, purple

beets, 

spaghetti, acorn, butternut, yellow and zucchini squash (not looking so good since freeze)

4 varieties of eggplant

watermelon

cantaloupe

pie pumpkins

green beans

cucumbers

pak choi

ground cherries

oodles of basil, dill, cilantro

(I am sure I am forgetting something... but you get the picture!)

And when I was all done, Ollie and Donnie Brasco thought they would entertain me a bit!

A bit of Ollie wisdom...

"When all else fails....bite him in the butt!"

My Love/Hate Relationship With Mother Nature

Today's post might be shorter than most.

At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I must share with you...

I am despondent.

I awoke to a heavy frost yesterday morning.

(We're talking ice in the goat's water buckets...that's how cold it was.)

Apparently, we sustained 30 degrees for several hours.

I fear that my strawberries, blueberries, grapes and maybe the fruit trees

will all be rendered fruitless this year.

Even the vegetables that were covered took a hit.

All of our plants are showing evidence of cell death....even the cold tolerant plants.

I realize that in the grand scheme of life, this is nothing.

Truly.

This is not flood, famine, earthquake, tornado, hurricane.

And my house is not sinking into a hole in the earth.

No... this is small potatoes.

But, still, to me.... it is very sad to spend months tending to tiny plants and seedlings...

watching their progress...

and then have one icy night all but wipe them all away!

Luckily, I still have more in the greenhouse to plant.

So, I will be spending this whole week in the garden.

Planting.... planting.... planting.

With an occasional break for this....

(I can't tell you how nice it is to have a potty at the barn!)

and this....

and this...

and this....

And I will be wearing this...

You, too, could wear this if you like.

I ordered it from Ink Pixie (.com).

They have several designs available which you can personalize 

with the name of your farm

or mine.

They also have t-shirts, embroidered caps, etc.

(FYI....they run just a little small.)

So... time to pick my self up by my muck boot straps and get to work!!

Such is life on a farm.

Thanks!

Thanks all for the rhubarb advice.

That nasty blossom is history!!

The mini greenhouses that Hubbs and I constructed in the garden have done their job.

Fickle Mother Nature has cast her last icy stare across my garden.

From here on out it's to be seasonable...much warmer at night.

I can scarcely believe that yesterday I had to wear a winter jacket all day long,

as I turned manure piles...

Wouldn't you love some of this rich brown compost for your garden?

mowed pastures...

and weeded flower gardens.

The rock garden that I built last summer is a blanket of violas right now.

These happy-faced little flowers are my new favorite, as they re-seed and

mass-volunteer with each new year.

Of course, as I have shown you countless times, no task is ever done in a solitary manner.

I am always surrounded by friends.

Moll Flanders, our last barn kitty addition, has finally put down some roots.

Over the winter she would come and go....

usually returning with nasty wounds.

It seems she has finally decided to call the barn home,

and frequently accompanies me during gardening chores.

She is the bravest little kitty ever...

undaunted by turkeys,

or dogs.

This week, our picnic pavilion is getting a coating of weather sealing stain,

(the post on the right has been sealed with a walnut brown stain.)

making the pavilion blend in better with the surrounding woods.

Oh how I love cooking this time of year...

every night's dinner made with something fresh from the garden.

Last night's dinner included kale and these radishes...

Kale is one of those super good-for-you foods that you can chop up and put in just about anything.

Well, maybe not in cupcakes....but just about anything else!

Green, Green Everywhere

Well, Mother's Day weekend was not all I had hoped it would be.

Yes, little man spent the weekend with us.

No...no pictures were taken.

Our animals visits were from the shelter of the gator as it rained almost the entire 

time Tyler was here.

And if we had taken pictures it would have showed a 

little man with green goo in his nose, green boogers in his eyes that were

somewhat glassed over, a fever, cough, and general malaise....

not such a good picture for sharing!

We spent a quiet weekend inside the house playing puppets, trains, puzzles, etc.

As luck would have it, the sun returned after Tyler left us.

We are getting a taste of just how fickle Mother Nature can be.

Last night and tonight, temperatures are predicted to dip into the 30's...

with the scary possibility of frost.

Leaving nothing to chance, we decided to be proactive and cover

any tender veggie plants that might suffer from the chill.

Of course, all work is done under the watchful eyes of two turkeys,

and several horses.

(We humans are such a curiosity to them...
their curiosity centered around their next meals, I am sure!)

As you can see, the garden is progressing nicely.

We are feasting on asparagus daily.

The radishes are soon ready to be plucked from their earthly home.

And everything green is growing....

(cauliflower, kale and brussels sprouts)

growing...

(sugar peas and onions)

growing...

(lots and lots of broccoli love!)

I am counting on the broccoli, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower tolerating the cold,
but everything else has its own little plastic greenhouse for the next two days.

This is one of the hardest parts of gardening, and farming as a whole...
the inability to control or even bargain with Mother Nature.
Nope... she's the boss, and will be the first one to demonstrate that!

Lastly, I am wondering where I have been the last several years....
because I could swear that the rhubarb has never flowered before.
This year....

an enormous stalk of a blossom that started out red and turned white.
I'm sure I would have noticed this before!
How about you...
does your rhubarb flower like this every year???

PS....don't plant a little horseradish root and assume you will get a little horseradish!
No, within a few years you will have horseradish plants coming out your ears!

Just a month ago we harvested two foot-long horseradish roots...

and still more keeps growing (and flowering).

A Little Barnyard Drama

Fred:  "HEY!!  Oh, whew, I finally got your attention."

"Look over there...it appears that Smilin' Jill is in a little distress.  She's not smiling!"

Jill:  "Gaaaaack!  I've thwallowed my beard.  Help me, I'm choking!!

Gaaaaaack!"

Jill:  "I've tried everything, and I jutht can't get thith hair out of my throat!"

Jill:  "Thith ith tho fruthtrating!  Help!!!"

Jill:  "Any thuggethchionthz?"

Me:  "Try a little tongue action, Jill." 

"Ahhhh, that's so much better!"

"Now for this itchy leg...

it's driving me crazy!!"

Me:  "You are such a drama queen, Jill.  Be careful...

you might get more hair stuck in your throat that way!"

************

This week marked the much anticipated return of the hummingbirds.

This little fellow has been hanging out at the feeder.

It appears he is all alone.

In a couple weeks, the rest will return to make nests and raise their brood,

before their Autumn return to the Caribbean.

**************************

This Sunday is Mother's Day.

I would like to join the critters in wishing you all the best for Mother's Day!

As for me...

my little buddy Tyler is coming for the weekend,

so Mother's Day is bound to be perfect!