Surprises

I LOVE surprises!  Especially free ones like these...

Chives, in a spot I didn't plant. 

The first buds of my Lady's Mantle....

My first Iris blooms...

I can't remember it's name, but it's darling. 

And, the crescendo, my first Iceland Poppy.  It's 

so shockingly red and beautiful!

Anyway, these were all beautiful surprises that I found after returning home from Spokane, this weekend.  You leave for one 80 degree day, and look at everything that happens!  Not to mention, I'm sure that the grass is another foot taller!

At Farm Chicks, I had a great time with friends Emily and Julie, hunting for treasures. We each came home with a favorite find, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  I can honestly say though, that I found as much pleasure in seeing these surprises as I did finding the treasures I bought this weekend.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend too!

One section at a time...

I'm gradually taking my garden back... very, very slowly, from the 3 foot high grass hay that dominates it.  We in the northwet (intentional typo) have the unique challenge of our grass getting out of control (especially if the previous property owner planted grass hay everywhere) before it's dry enough to mow.   So, before you know it, my grass is 4 feet tall and far too wet and unmanageable to mow.  I'm working on it though, and gradually, I'm taking my garden back...  one section at a time.  My next experiment is to mow the grass very short, cover with 10 layers of news paper and then mulch.  It should be interesting... stay tuned.

Check out the little helper I found in my garden today.  Too bad they don't eat more.  I heard him nibbling and decided to settle down on the ground for the view from his angle.  He's sooo cute!  I'm glad my cats were nowhere to be found.  

Here's hoping you find some delightful little surprises in your garden too!

Waiting for Lightning

I'm frustrated to admit that I have no photos to accompany this post. I accidentally deleted them from the card.  I spend the day with my little friend Kelsey who hung out with me while her parents moved.  At one point, just as we were headed out to ride the tractor (It takes a great deal of thought to keep little ones entertained by the way), thunder rumbled and lightning cracked!  It was so exciting to hear it echo over our little valley.  The next 1/2 hour was spent waiting patiently for the next crack and roll of thunder.  The light was beautiful and I had a wonderful picture of Kelsey sitting on the porch, watching and waiting for the next flash!  These are the moments I want my life to be filled with.  There are many such moments actually, and I can recall them all vividly.  I wonder what my connection to thunder and lightning is?  There was the time that I was at Leach Botanical Gardens for a cooking class, we were sitting listening to the instructor, the doors were wide open to the garden, and suddenly CRACK!  Lightening split the sky and the thunder rumbled for the seconds following.  Then there was the time I was in Utah with my friend Jennifer.  I remember hearing the first lightening strike and firmly planting myself on the porch to watch the display.  Then tonight, watching Kelsey get so excited over the next roll of thunder and crack of lightening, was wonderful.  This is what I value in life and I'm so grateful I had the time with her today.

More Signs of Spring

Today I realized how much I love the sound of lawnmowers humming around the neighborhood.  It means the grass is finally dry enough to cut! 

  It means that summer is on the way, or here. It means I can give the cows a treat; they absolutely love the sweetness of the freshly mown grass.

 It's another reminder that we're getting closer to escaping the hibernation of the Pacific Northwest winter!  Cheers!  I hope you had a wonderful sunny Sunday!

Spring

Spring has sprung!  We moved the cows to the lower pasture today to graze and they had an instant welcoming committee.

It was pretty cute.  They stood there and mooed at each other for the longest time. 

Our boys are older, so they stood there looking and mooing at the little ones across the street.  It's almost like you can see their curiosity though.  

Here is the other little sign of Spring.  The neighbor's goat had her kids about a month ago and I got to go over and visit them today.  I can't remember their names, but what little cuties.  They're so curious!

Yes, Spring has sprung! Hope you have a wonderful week!

Lessons from an everyday "chic"

Hopefully this won't be too philosophical for a farm blog, but it's what came to mind, so thanks for humoring me.

So, the lesson I learned from one my little chickens is this...

They all do the best they can and don't worry about how much more or less they accomplish than the other "chics" in the barnyard.  

Earlier in the week I was going to post this about the above picture, "Apparently I have an overachiever and a little newbie!"  No judgment was intended, after all, they're only chickens, but I realized that I really was summing up the picture in a very judgmental way.  I noticed this because it's how I often view myself.  See, I have recently become a runner (in the last month) so you could definitely call me a newbie.  That is often how I refer to myself when telling others that I'm a runner.  I realize now that I don't have to qualify myself that way.  I am a runner.  Yes, I just started, so I haven't run a maranthon, but I give every bit of effort I can and I will continue to develop the skill.  

Just like with the chickens, they don't look around at the other chics and think, "oh goodness, my egg is so much smaller than the other chics".  They jump in the little nest box, they give it all they've got, lay an egg and go on about their day.  That's how I should see my running.   Give it all I've got and go on about my day.  Don't over analyze it, don't pick it apart, just appreciate what is.  And what is, is that I ran my personal best yesterday in a 5K race and I intend to continue running more and enjoying life. After all, it's all a "chic" can really do!

Dirt + water + manure = MUD

So, I started the weekend off right with some good clean, 'er dirty work. 

Like I said, dirt, plus water, plus manure = mud.  It's an eventuality when you have animals... unless you have a sacrifice area.  We need to create a sacrifice area, no, not an area to slaughter the cows, an area where you don't grow grass, you just spread ground cover so the livestock can be there without creating mud.  So, the only solution I could think of to try is "hog fuel".  I had a unit of it delivered this morning and spread it out as much as I could stand.  That's a good work out on the abs!  So, this is after... 

I should have taken a close up picture, maybe later.  I will say, the cows thought the new pile was a little "mattress" just for them.  It was cute.  

One of our cows looked like he was turning into the Grinch with all of the alfalfa stuck to his head.  They sure love that stuff!   

Road runner?  or Lakenvelder chicken?  Nope, just a Lakenvelder.  :)  

Hope you had a bountiful productive weekend too!