Has it really been two months since my last post? Sometimes it seems there is barely enough time to come up for air, especially in the spring when so much is happening and so much needs to be done. Part of the garden is in and already sprouting, chicks and goslings are growing like weeds, and the flower garden has progressed through most of the spring and early summer blooms already. It has been raining off and on for the last two weeks so the lawn looks like a jungle!
Chicks? Yes, we have chicks. We picked up four chicks back in April – two Rhode Island Reds, and two white Leghorns – and, somehow, also brought home a pair of Toulouse goslings. I am happy to report that after several weeks of noise, smell, and dust – plus daily gosling baths followed by bathtub scrubs – they are comfortably housed in the coop. I actually miss them. The goslings bonded quickly and are just so sweet. It was definitely time to get them out though. The morning we planned to move them we found them out of the box and waiting for us by the kitchen door!
There are still two chicks under the lamp in the mudroom. In May we picked up a couple of black Jersey Giants. Another week or so and they’ll be ready to go in the coop too. I expect fresh eggs by fall. Then the race will be on to see who is the best producer. Once we get the outdoor pen ready, they’ll be semi-free range chickens. Fresh eggs! We’ll probably add another half dozen next year and then there will be fresh eggs for sale too!
The garden has been a struggle this year, mostly because of the rain. There just hasn’t been a long enough break in the rain. With our soil being what it is, we can’t work it until it is reasonably dry. When it rains most nights or heavily every other day that makes it impossible. We would just have a hard, compacted plot that grew only weeds. On the bright side we have a whole row of mesclun and a bit of green leaf lettuce coming up. I am looking forward to all that lovely garden fresh lettuce for salads.
The onions all came up, and it looks like the purple carrots are sprouting here and there. They’re a little picky so we’ll see what actually comes up. I managed to get potatoes planted just before the rain started, but haven’t seen anything coming up yet. Hopefully they aren’t sitting there rotting in the ground. We do have about six pumpkin plants, so as long as nothing gets to them we’ll have plenty of pumpkins for Halloween.
I am really enjoying seeing all the flowers outside the kitchen window. The flowering quince was first, in early April. The white Rhododendron came next. The lilacs bloomed just in time for our daughter’s birthday and were overlapped by the Golden Chain trees. The huge canopy of golden blooms catching the early morning sun was just beautiful. The pink Rhody missed Mother’s Day, which is unusual. When the bearded Iris bloomed (early too) some of the stems reached over five feet tall! Then the rain started and beat them down and took off the rest of the Golden Chain blossoms.
The deep pink/fuchsia colored Rhody outside the breakfast nook is now blooming. It is one of my favorites, but still crowds the sidewalk a little. I’ve been judiciously pruning it the last few years, but eventually we’ll have to move it. I’m waiting to see how the roses do, as we pruned them pretty heavily last year. I was hoping they would be in time for father’s day, but I’m not sure that is going to happen. I’m also waiting on the honeysuckle. I see a pair of sparrows have built a nest in the arbor, so I’m looking forward to the flying lessons sure to come this summer.
