Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Snapshots

I finally got around to taking some pictures outside yesterday.  It's too bad I didn't get to it the day before yesterday when it was gorgeous outside.  Instead, I dashed out between showers.

This is one of my very favorite times of the year (I have many).  The grass is green and lush.  There are pops of color (finally!) here and there thanks to the daffodils, tulips and hyacinths.  And, while the weeds are rearing their little heads, they haven't taken over completely yet, so I can enjoy my flowers without bemoaning the little weed-weasels that have the audacity to spring up right beside them.

On Monday, it was glorious here.  Windy, warm and lovely.  We opened windows wide, ate supper outside and walked our yard loop with Miriam over and over and over- first up to wave to the chickens, then down beside the raspberries, down the little hill, between the barns, up the driveway, stop and smell the flowers, then back up to wave to the chickens and start all over again.

There are two things I'm not so fond of currently.  One, is the fit Miriam has whenever we have to bring her back into the house again.  And two, the ants.  Yesterday, they showed their minuscule little faces in the house for the first time this year.  Ants + an old house + three crumb-dropping children + a mama who can't stand the buggers = a whole lot of angst on the mama's part from spring to fall, unfortunately.

Back to the loveliness (I'll do my best to contain the angst from here on out)...




The prettiest little purple flowers and wild lettuce (which Jamey has been eating) has taken over our sunflower bed.  What to do with this plot has been narrowed down to red raspberry bushes or sunflowers (for sale) again.


(Lettuce and spinach and in the cold frames, just above shows carrot bed on the left and broccoli on the right.)

The main garden (this is the right side of it), still looks pretty dismal, but if you look closely, life is coming up.  Jamey has planted garlic, onion, garden peas, snow peas, lettuce, spinach, beets, chard, carrots, white potatoes and broccoli.  The strawberry plants look healthy and promising.

 Red raspberries


 All four of our peach trees are in bloom.


 The sour cherry tree is in bud.


 The pear tree is loaded with blossoms.  You can see the back of our house and smoke house behind.


 What looks like rain damage is actually chicken damage.  They just love to take their dust baths right in front of the asparagus bed.  We think they're as excited about it coming up as we are.  And, while they don't try to eat the asparagus, they do love to scratch around it, so we have to protect our precious spears.



 Maybe most exciting is that almost all of our young apple trees are holding a few blooms each for the first time.  Being patient for fruit is hard, but one day, it will all be worth it.





We also planted a 2-3 year old nectarine tree this past week, but I forgot to get a picture of it.  It just looks like a stick in the ground at this point.

 Our chickens really don't like being told where they must roam.  Every spring, it's like dealing with a whole flock of stubborn toddlers.  We clip their wings and have to devise all manner of trickery to get them to stay put.  Above you can see that not only is a gate required, but we've had to top it with barb wire AND wire the gate to the fence because those little buggers try to squeeze past.  Don't feel bad for them. They still have the whole orchard to free range in.  But, like toddlers, they want to go where they're not supposed to.

 The first spring we lived here, I thought the grape hyacinth leaves were weeds and it wasn't until I pulled out a few handfuls did I notice the little bulbs attached and thought better of it.  The little fragrant flowers spread like crazy and that's just fine with me.  I love them.


 Speaking of spreading like crazy, my lily of the valley are threatening to take over my large flower bed.  That's okay with me, too.  I love them even more than the grape hyacinth.

 Somersault was begging to have her picture taken the whole time I was outside.  She's such a good kitty.



So, there you have it- what spring looks like around here. Tonight we dine on the first batch of asparagus.  Did I mention I love this time of year? Pin It

15 comments:

  1. Yum, yum, yum! Asparagus! Please tell me, do you need a very large veggie patch to grow asparagus? How close are yours planted to each other?
    I long for them, but I'm not sure it's a wise way to spend our small lot space- since perhaps they don't produce much food per square foot. Hmmm.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RootandTwig,
    Our asparagus patch is more of a long, narrow row along a fence. Since they come back every year, it's nice giving them their own space instead of trying to incorporate them into the garden. Each crown (young plant) is planted about 12-18 inches apart. They take a few years to start producing, but become more prolific the more established they are. They can produce 15 years or more. I highly recommend them if you have some space:-).

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love spring flowers. Tulips are my personal favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I received my first dandelion bouquet of the season yesterday. Daffodils and hyacinths are open, tulips are slowly coming on... we planted some peas and beans about 10 days ago, sowed directly... Need to get pumpkins, and some flowers started indoors this week... Hubby will do the first mowing of the season this coming weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Everything looks so beautiful in bloom! I love grape hyacinths...and lily of the valley...so pretty and delicate. I'm cracking up about the chickens...mine are acting all frantic and desperate to get out into the rest of the yard when they have more than enough space in their new run. So dramatic they are...

    And I love how Somersault is acting all non-chalant...like she didn't KNOW you were snapping her photo...so funny.

    ReplyDelete
  6. We're having our first asparagus for supper tonight, too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was just telling my husband that spring is one of my favorite times of the year- just because of asparagus! I love it!
    Thanks for sharing your shots. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've planted asparagus two times but to no avail. Which is a shame because we both love it. But I haven't tried for several years now and our soil is in much better shape so I really should try again.

    Thanks for all the spring time pictures. You're WAAAAYYY ahead of us!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your garden is beautiful! We love this time of year as well...
    Blessings

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hello..........just what my eyes needed to see after a long cold winter...........pure loveliness!!!!!!! Thank you..the colors are gorgeous. Can't wait to see some of that here in Kansas soon. Our asparagus is growing and my sweet peas and snow peas I planted together are doing wonderful also. Waiting on the color. The wild sand hill plums are in full bloom.......praying that the frost that is to be here on Sat. won't kill them.......anyway thank you so for the time you took on this post.......it blest my heart!!!!!

    Have a super day, Linda

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have such unrighteous asparagus envy right now! Here in the Pacific NW we'll have to wait another month or so! It's going to be a long month...
    Everything is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just beautiful! I truly enjoyed these pictures- such color. We also have to limit our chickens' roaming area during the spring planting- stubborn little gals, aren't they?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love the photos! And I'm glad I read this because I have a question about clipping chicken wings. One hen has been insistant on getting out, and our main concern is the garden, too. We just clipped the first "set" of long flight feathers, and ended up clipping both sides because she STILL got out. And about an hour ago, she came waddling up to me as I was weeding around the berries! So...do you know if you can you clip more than just that first set of feathers?

    ReplyDelete
  14. The pictures were inspiring. We're starting to enjoy asparagus also. It grows wild around our place, so we haven't taken the time to put in our own bed yet.

    Here's a little trick I've used to keep ants away, at least for awhile. They don't like the smell of cinnamon, so lay cinnamon sticks on your counter or where ever you see them or sprinkle ground cinnamon around. It won't work for ever, but it's nice to be able to chase them away when company is coming!
    Cyrstal

    ReplyDelete
  15. bless you-you certainly are blessed but only because of your devotion and hard work apples are my favorite-so i LOVE THE LITTLE APPLE TREEE

    ReplyDelete

Just a friendly reminder, if you know me personally please try to refrain from using my name. There are those who may try to locate me, break into my pantry and steal my pickled beets. Thanks:-).

Please choose the Anonymous option if you prefer not to sign in to comment.

Related Posts with Thumbnails