Day 3 of Spring

On the drive down the mountain from town. 

Snaps on front porch in my 50% off pot holders with 

matching birds top and center. 

I added 4 more hens for a total of 15 layers 

Mr. Newman (my roo) is delighted!

Grabbing some rays on the beach by the creek. 

Yes It Is Spring - Why Do You Ask?

Yes it is apparent many areas of our country are experiencing "Spring Interruptus"  so to speak. The mountains of the central California Sierra Nevada's in my little county managed to avoid any cases of the virus making the rounds now but not the periodic disappearance of Spring.

I happily plodded along with visions of my first garden in my new home even with the wood stove blasting sometimes or just pushing around a bit of wood to "take the chill off." All the time starting seeds while wondering if they would see light of day or eventually make it to the garden I have planned.

 In the beginning.

 Looking better

Then veggies on steroids appeared

Then suddenly literally overnight the zucchini explosion 
requiring the babies to each have their own red solo cup.
Everyone sing along. And if you missed the reference
just ask me.

Next the cukes were giving me a run for the door. 

They were issued blue solo cups. For easy distribution 

with the zucchini to unsuspecting family and friends.

Trust me no one needs 12 zucchini plants if they live alone!

This is the salad bowl planting of lettuces that Genna and I started the day before she went home.  They are coming along and are currently at 6 days taller and wider. Looking forward to having some nice greens the next trip she makes up to see me.

The trouble is it is still too cool for any of these lovely's to hit the above ground garden even if I had it organized tomorrow (fat chance) I will not take a chance on it until we get warmer nights consistently . Hopeful that after Moriah visits this coming weekend we will get the garden framing done and the  hardware cloth put under the frames. Then filled with a foot and half of fill soil from my pile and a top foot of mixed soil and garden soil added to the top.  I am hopeful I will find some worms to add as I have found some in the soil but not as many as I would like to see. This first garden will be a learning experience to be sure!

Look what packed up my  hill to the top by the barn! Can you say "hay!"

Yummy , 120 pound three twine alfalfa. Sixth cutting in late October it is soft, well stored and the goats love it. 

The two fellows from the feed store made short work of it and returned at seven the next morning with the rest.  I was able to purchase 80 bales of it so we are set for at least another seven to eight months. I like very much the fact that this feed store has a long time relationship with this particular grower. It keeps continuity and limits surprises of the not so nice kind .

End of the post cuteness. The orange and white are males and the two grays are females. It is a long story but the two girls may end up on rodent control sometime in June. They will be spayed and properly contained for a month or so . Want them to be capable of  taking care of themselves , being good mousers and establishing a working relationship with Tabby . Tabby has been a barn cat for 14 years beginning with the first move she has a lot of knowledge to pass on.  

Next Generation

Pastor Anthony tuning up on Easter morning at my little country church. Genna , grandgirl number four , and I attended outdoor drive in services. We sang , prayed and enjoyed the service from the back of the vehicle. I am imagining that a lot of small churches in small areas got creative to stay within the limits of  what is to be believed by their local governments.

Action shot. Tossing that sourdough out! Genna's first loft of sourdough ever with Gammie's supervision. This is a sourdough starter no yeast recipe and it takes about 36  hours from feeding your starter to finished product. It turned out amazing and yummy now this girl has a new skill to feed herself with.

Meal number one chicken /cheese enchiladas with pilaf and guacamole. All from scratch .

Pizza anyone? Another lesson in how something great can take more time than calling "take

out".  Pizza with ground beef pepperoni, cheeses, olives and home made crust. Prep time including yeast crust  roughly 6 hours. In addition baked on a pizza stone new concept for my girl. Critique ? Delicious ! Four  slices went home to her family to share as did the sourdough loaf.   

Next new skill is weaving . I have a small wooden mug rug loom that is used with a plastic needle as the the shuttle. Genna enjoyed the steps in this one from choosing colors (she is my design girl and already has good sense of color) to learning why she won't be washing this rug in hot water as it is 100% wool in the weft. She learned about how a soak in cold water created fulling making the finished project looking great!  A small project such as this gave her a chance to decide if next visit she wanted to try a  more advanced project on either a table loom with multiple reeds or perhaps a rigid heddle.  And she does!



What else did this Next Gen girl do? After a sit on the porch for a beverage and snack and wiggling those bunny socks. Took the string mower and the weed eater for a spin I must say she was a natural. We planted a salad garden in one of my big red cattle mineral container recycled  for this project. Collected  eggs , cared for house dogs and chickens. House work too.

And last but not least prepared , fueled up the burn and attended while burning . It was a great week at Walnetto Farm for the Next Gen girl! 

Veggies on Steriods

Easter morning 

Monday morning 

This morning .