April Showers

Things are rather quiet and uneventful around here these days.


We've been sitting back watching the rain, rain, rain...


taking a little time here and there for bird watching,


and relaxing.


(Yes, Maddie is sporting her summer haircut.)
(It took me 3 hours to shave her!)

In between the rain storms, we have been tending garden,
building flower boxes,
and planting, planting, planting.


After so many months of greyness, I just cannot get enough of flowers.
And so I asked Hubbs to build me another raised box
by the long side of the greenhouse.


(When the rain stops, I will paint this box grey to match the greenhouse
and the outhouse which is right behind it.)
I have begun planting flowers, but plan to plant a whole lot more!
I want to have oodles of flowers to cut and bring in the house this summer.

I started planting my salad table with an assortment of herbs,


and decided that this might be the perfect place for another fairy garden.


This is just the beginning...I have a few secret plans for this particular garden.
I'll share it with you after I have spoken to the fairies!


Many thanks to Joyce, a friend in Pittsburg,
who sent me a surprise box of fairy garden accessories.


In the vegetable garden the asparagus is starting to emerge.


Oh, how I love this time of year...
when I can pick dinner right out of the garden!

Hopefully the sun will come out in the next few days
so that we can get our picnic pavilion finished.


Weather sealing (a combination sealant and walnut stain) for both
the pavilion and the picnic tables will be the finishing touch...


as well as a few strings of white lights and a gas grill.

And last, but never least....
my chicklets are no longer chicklets,
but have turned into henlets.


They are almost fully feathered now...growing by leaps and bounds.


They have begun flying...
giving them access to the roosting perch.


Like all youngsters, they don't stay little long!

Comments

Lynne said…
Living life, living the land, living love, living the fullest . . .
Gone Country said…
I miss rain. I don't think I'll be seeing much of it out here in the Mohave Desert! You & Hubbs do exactly what me & my Hubby do when it rains... sit on the porch relaxing and enjoying the rain.

What a spectacular picnic pavilion! The contractor does beautiful work. I envision lots of family gatherings there and sweet memories made under those eaves!

Can't wait to see all those flowers in bloom this summer (another thing I'm missing. Oh well, I'll enjoy yours!)
Stephane said…
So do you think you ended up with any new baby roosters? I broke down and bought nine Amercauna and 3 Austrolorps. At a month old, they are supposed to be all pullets. We shall see
Junebug said…
My chicks are now teenagers. Love watching them try new things. They are all out in the coop now but still separated from the old gals for another week. Then we will see how it goes.

Love Maddie's summer cut, 3 hrs - Wow did you knit a sweater from all the hair, LOL!

I can't believe you - Sitting relaxing??? I guess strange things do happen! Enjoy the day! Hugs!!
I can imagine sitting under your pavilion with the grill going and a gentle rain coming down. You have built such a beautiful farm.
Unknown said…
Oh, your little girls (hopefully) are so cute! I can't wait to see them in their full plumage.

Your beautiful farm is just waiting to bloom, I can actually feel it. Everything is so lovely and just waiting for a bit of sun.
jaz@octoberfarm said…
can you send some of that rain back my way? we got a little but are still soooo dry! glad you are liking your new toys! the second box is on it's way as of today!
This N That said…
And it just keeps getting better at BHA...What a wonderful life you have..So happy for you..I love the flower box along the green house..Hugs
Unknown said…
Your farm is always so beautiful - even in the rain. And your picnic pavilion is gorgeous!
Anonymous said…
Can you give a little backstory on how you and Hubs came to buy your land and build your home, barns, stables, and decisions for your collection of animals,etc? I'm relatively new to the blog. Thanks.
My entire garden looks like that asparagus right now. This week, everything is popping up. So excited to see some of the new plants we put in this year.
Country Gal said…
Everything looks wonderful there ! Oh my how they have grown . Thanks for sharing. Have a good day !
Bee Haven Bev said…
To answer the question posed by "anonymous". We found the farm about 14 years ago. It had a contemporary house, the present barn, and a guest house. We bought it with another couple to use as a weekend retreat. Eventually,the other couple decided to buy a home on the Chesapeake, so we bought out their half. Owning two homes was too much...money, time, work, etc...so we sold our home in town and moved to the country. We had to tear down the contemporary home as it was in disrepair, and a nightmare to heat. So, we had the old home taken away as salvage and built a log home in its place. The outbuildings around the farm, as well as the animals came slowly over the next few years....to where we are today.
Anonymous said…
Do you have rich black soil there or do you purchase soil for your flower boxes?
Anonymous said…
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. It is interesting that your acquisition of the land and animals was a gradual process. I did wonder. Thanks for sharing country life with the rest of us.
Joy said…
Good morning Beverly,
I agree with you about the devastating effects a groundhog can have on the safety of a farm...BUT I did want to tell you about something useful I have learned about groundhogs. They do perform two useful duties in our ecology: 1. by burrowing they bring up trace minerals from deep in the earth, making these trace elements available for growing plants. 2. They provide dens for skunks (which as you know eat many nuisance insects); skunks apparently are "lazy" when it comes to digging out their own dens and groundhogs happen to be very generous and will either allow them to bunk with them or the skunk will simply use an abandoned groundhog den. I learned this information at a recent sustainable farming conference; the speaker was referencing a county in Kentucky that has eradicated groundhogs via competition hunts, and unfortunately this eradication of groundhogs has had an unintended negative impact on the county's skunk population. It is so interesting to me just how interconnected all creatures are, even the creatures we seem to be so annoyed by.
Thank you for your beautiful posts and letting us in on some of the special moments of your life.
Joy Goode, D.V.M.
Baltimore County, Maryland