Apples!

The first official harvest from the orchard we planted.  The trees have grown well.  We got a single 'Crimson Crisp' and a pail of 'Goldrush'.  They need to have a little algae scrubbed off (darn that cool, wet weather!) but they are totally orgainic and oh, so tasty!!

Next year I hope a couple of the other trees start producing.  Our big tree was pretty much a bust since we had a late frost while it was in full bloom.  But it probably needed a year to rest after all it produced last year.

And I think I need to plant another pear.  The tree we planted is pretty big but nothing set on so I think it probably needs a pollinator.  I had hopes that there would be a pear tree near enough but it doesn't seem like it.  Oh well...

Apples and bands and all such nonsense

Yeah.... I've been absent for a while again.  My bad.
But it's been super busy here.  Work has been stressful and hectic, the garden is beginning to wind down as the greenhouse winds up.  Fall tasks have been much to the forefront of my mind.
A few photos of the past two weeks to tide you over....

 Last weekend, we went to the Little Hawk Marching Invitational.  Our school hosted a band competition for schools from around the area.  Above is the daughter of a friend of ours from a neighboring school. Isn't she lovely?
Not to be outdone by I16.:

 I love a man in uniform- even if he is my own son.

 I must say, their uniforms are sharp.

 While we were watching, we noticed the bees were all over a lost Starburst.  They moved it several feet in the time we were there.

 And V, looking quite dapper.

Bur fast forward to this weekend.  K13 and I paid a visit to my parents today.  V didn't go because he has an article due on Monday that he needed to work on and I16 was still asleep when we left (he had state marching band competition all day yesterday).

 We picked apples today!  Where to start??

 The trees were absolutely loaded.   Not that we really need any more apples after picking all from our tree, but variety is good.. right?

 And I got to visit my favorite tree of all time- the huge cottonwood on the farm.

 My parents supervised while K13 and I were up the ladders.

That's a LOT of apples!

Mom gave me a juicer so now I can make some cider.  Evidently, my BIL, Dave got it and didn't like it- so he gave it to them.  They didn't like it either (at least not as much as their old one) so, Mom gave it to me since we don't have one.
So, I know how my evenings will be spent this week.  I've got apples to dehydrate, cider to press, applesauce to make and still, I need to find room for storage for apples.  
Oh, what a dilemma....

I hope you all have a productive week as well!

The local plate contest- the last day and other nonsense

Today was a busy, busy day.  We picked apples- probably about a bushel.  Not bad from a neglected and totally unsprayed tree.  And the apples are huge and delicious.

 K13 and I wrangle the big pole apple picker.

 V climbs a tree.

 Look what we've got!!

And today is the last day of the local food challenge.  Here is my submission of the day:  Lunch

Bread from the New Pioneer Bakeshop.  Chipotle chevre from Triple Creek Dairy and fresh tomato slices (German Pink) from the garden.  Plus one of our fabulous apples.  I could get away with a light lunch because V and I went to the food co-op (the one's sponsoring the local food contest) for the local vendor's fair.  They had lots and lots of vendors of local produce and products there handing out samples.  Yum!

After lunch, I froze some tomato sauce I cooked up yesterday and worked to process some of the dropped apples since I knew they wouldn't keep.  An apple crisp was baked and a pot of applesauce made.  These really aren't cooking apples as they hold their shape too well to make good sauce.  But it is tasty anyway.

And finally, my favorite creation of the day.  I used some of my frozen raspberries to make raspberry/ghost chili jam.  Oh My!!!  This may actually be he most delicious thing I have ever made.  It is the perfect blend of sweet, fruity and HOT!  Definitely not for the faint of heart but oh, so yummy.

A new level of decadence

We achieved a new level of breakfast decadence today:  Chocolate chip/Raspberry waffles.  Absolutely heavenly!  They taste like they are bad for you but really aren't.  Good thing we have a gallon and a half of raspberries in the freezer because I see this as a popular item this winter.
It has been a bumper crop year for berries here.  In addition to the berries in the freezer, I made a batch of jam and we ate many, many raspberries.  I think yesterday was the last picking I'll get until next year.  There just aren't enough out there to bother picking again.  But the blackberries are just starting to ripen.  Mmmmmm......
We also picked a gallon of red currants last week and made a big batch of jelly.  This is the first year we've had enough to actually do anything with and the jelly is wonderful, the perfect balance of sweet/tart.

I baked bread yesterday morning.  Yeah, baking bread when it's 90 isn't the smartest thing to do, but I was the person responsible for bread for church today so it needed to happen.  But, let me tell you, fresh baked bread with homemade jam is DA BOMB!

V has been putting up ceilings in the basement so things are finishing up in construction... not that I think we'll ever actually be finished but it's getting closer.

In other garden-y stuff, I pulled the last of the onions this morning.  This has been the best year for onions I think I've ever had with lots of lovely, large onions, now happily drying on racks.  We've been eating a few peppers and the tomatoes are getting big but aren't ripe yet.  I can't wait for the first tomato.  I've got tomatillos planted this year as well so I'm seeing some salsa coming up.

I know I've been pretty lax on posting here. I'll try to keep up more often but things have been busy.

Foraging!

I've been foraging recently. I took V out with me yesterday afternoon to go berry picking.  I discovered that much of the west fenceline is filled with raspberries that are just now starting to ripen.  It's amazing how much is coming up now that the property hasn't been overgrazed.  We picked a few cups between yesterday and today.  I also discovered several gooseberry bushes that, while supposedly wild, are absolutely loaded with respectable sized berries, many the size of my little finger tip.  So, I picked only about a cup of those so far.  The best bush is actually over the fence on our neighbor's property but I don't think he would notice or care if we picked them.  I also discovered some wild blackberries. Although they are still hard and green I'll keep my eye on them!
All of this foraging plus picking the first of the red currants and rhubarb from a friend has led to cobbler heaven.   I still use the same recipe I used as a child.  This was the very first thing I ever made totally by myself as a child.  And it's still as wonderful now as it was then.

Time to find some ice cream to go with it....

Planting and harvest

Oh, I like the sound of that.... planting AND harvest.  Now if only I could hear the sound of rain I'd be in seventh heaven.
I got the children all up early and we had a planting festival of sorts.  We planted the new plum tree, all 4 blackberries and a forsythia bush I also got on discount to replace the one that V accidentally backed over with the lawn tractor last fall (oops).  The weather this morning was lovely- mid 70's, slightly overcast and with a breeze.  Great planting weather.  With all of us working it didn't even take us that long.  We were done in less than an hour.  Now we'll just have to make sure we keep them well watered until they are established.  The soil was powdery dry as deep as we dug the holes.  Scary!
V, however, missed out on all the fun this morning.  He had to make a run into town to reboot our friend Mike's servers.  Mike lives out of town but still has his web hosting service here.  There was a power outage downtown yesterday which messed things up and V is the resident troubleshooter for Mike's business.  But Mike gives us comp tickets for Silver Dollar City so it evens out.
This afternoon I pulled all the rest of the onions and have them safely into the shop to dry off.  And... drumroll please..... The first ripe tomato of the year!!!  I was pulling onions and glanced over at the nearby tomato plant and there they were.  THREE little yellow cherry tomatoes.  I ate one on the spot- following my usual 'ritual of the first tomato' and brought the other two inside where I shared one with V and promptly ate the other. And no, there were no photos- they didn't last long enough!  It looks like a few more are starting to turn- even some of the big tomatoes.  I can hardly stand the wait!
I noticed that I've got another summer squash out there that needs picked, the Long Island Cheese squash vine is growing rapidly and I've got a honeydew melon about the size of a softball already.  Hooray!!  I'd better get out there and fill my water jugs to keep them all going.
With the drought we're having this year I'm going to try to stash away all I can since I can envision food prices climbing even higher this fall.  Makes me glad we've got a freezer full of beef.  Maybe I need to pick up another 25 lb sack of flour.  At least we'll be able to have homemade pasta and beef all winter.  Mmm... spaghetti and meatballs. Yum!  That's making me hungry- I'd better start thinking about dinner.

I hope you all have a lovely week ahead.

Garden center score!

This morning, V and I needed to make a run to the bank for some business.  Across the street is a garden center that was having a 50% off end of the season sale.  I've been kind of looking for a peach tree but so far, none of the places I've checked have any left.  Apples, yes, and lots of pears but I don't want apple or pear trees.  We wandered around but didn't really see anything I wanted to took off.
Knowing that I want to make ice cream tomorrow, we stopped at our local grocery store for cream and half and half.  The garden center there is having everything at 75% off.  They didn't have my peach tree but we did pick up a HUGE Burbank plum tree for $9.25.  This tree is about 9-10 feet tall and is quite healthy looking.  How could I pass it up?!  So, tomorrow morning, I'll set my alarm and get up early, wake the troops and go dig a hole to plant it out near the apples.
I did my research and, fortunately, the wild plums we've got in the fencerow will act as pollinators for it.  It is a big enough tree that I'm looking forward to fruit from it soon.  Of course, it will be another 'mouth to feed/water' in this hot weather since we will definitely need to keep it watered until it is established or until we get more consistent rain.  I've also finally decided where to put the blackberries so maybe I'll plant them tomorrow morning as well. I can't plant my hydrangea bushes until we move some dirt in the back to level off the shade garden.  I'll dig a hole in the ground but I'm not really up for moving wheelbarrows of soil up hill in this weather.
I did get a little weeding done in the garden and some straw down under the melons that are starting to vine.  I'm excited to see little melons on the vine.  And my 'billiard ball' zucchini also have little fruits on them.  Too much fun!!  And I harvested the first of the peppers a few days ago to saute with onion for our burritos.  Heavenly!

This afternoon, since it is brutal outside, I'm hoping to do a little sewing along with some laundry.

I'm contemplating a run to the farmer's market late this afternoon to see if I can find some early sweet corn. Hmmm... fresh corn...   The field corn is already starting to tassel.  Amazing.  Hopefully this hot, dry weather won't affect pollination for the farmers.

This and That

While things have been busy, I don't really feel like I've got much to write about.
The garden is growing but not much to report.  The tomatoes seem to have grown about a foot over the weekend while I was gone and are blooming like mad.  The peppers are blooming and I've finally got little broccoli heads forming in the plants.  I replanted most of my vining crops due to a germination failure.  I'm not sure if it has been too hot and dry or if there is something else going on.  The one thing that germinated well, amazingly enough, was the ancient zucchini seed I planted.  This is seed left over from 2008 or 2009- the little round ones- and every single seed I planted came up.  The new stuff- Long Island Cheese Squash- had only one seed germinate.  The new luffa seed had nothing.  I also planted two kinds of melons from last years seeds and got no germination there either. I planted bush beans and scarlet runners (saved from last year) about a week and a half ago, so far I've got 2 beans up.  sigh...
This evening V is off at the Coralville Public Library.  He is the featured speaker/ local author at a summer reading program for teens.  Show and tell with ghost stories is always fun.  He will also be participating in the Iowa City Book Festival in mid-July.  At least he no longer has law suit stuff hanging over his head so he isn't afraid to appear in public and talk about his book.  I guess I never explained that whole situation- it wasn't something we talked about until it was wrapped up.  Another local author who has written extensively about the Black Angel accused V of plagarism because V presented the same historical facts in the same order as he did (duh- I thought facts are facts and history is usually presented in chronological order!).  He went so far as to involve a lawyer and make numerous legal threats.  It was all unfounded and V was vindicated but it was still an expensive, stressful process that really turned V off promoting his book.  This guy seems to think that he owns the facts surrounding this story and, I hear, has taken legal action against others who have written about the angel.  Actually it strikes me as pretty sad that he seems to have so little else to hold onto.
I'm hoping for some sewing time soon.  I'd like to finish Justine's quilt before she goes off to school.  And I've got a shirt that I cut out that I'd like to be able to wear this summer sometime.
V and the children finally got the pool set up yesterday.  Of course, it now presents a water hazard for the frisbee field.  Just another challenge.
Back to gardening stuff, the raspberries are starting to ripen.  The strawberries were a bust. A late frost got most of the blossoms and the few we did get were small due to lack of rain.  That and I was fighting a losing battle with chipmunks over the ripening berries.  But, I noticed in the grocery ad today that there is a big strawberry sale this week so I'm hoping to pick up some to make some jam.  One store is also having kiwis at a decent price so I'm thinking strawberry/kiwi jam.  Mmmm... I'd much prefer being able to make it from my own produce but this has been such a bad year that it's not going to happen. Maybe next year.  Even with purchasing the ingredients it is still a cost saver and I much prefer homemade to store-bought jam anyday.

Wednesday rambles

Time for a little Wednesday night stream of consciousness ramble.  My little broccoli seedlings that I planted on Monday is already up.  And it's warm enough in the back room that I didn't even use the heat mat.  I will probably start my tomatoes and peppers soon.  I still don't trust this lovely weather.  Even though the forecast for the next 10 days is still calling for warm weather I have a hard time believing we won't get cold weather still. After all, it is still March.  My seed potatoes are scheduled to arrive the first week of April.   Usually I would be worried that the ground would be frozen.  Now, it will be quite warm for planting them.  Go figure.
Not much else is happening here.  Work has been busy, the weather has been warm and the boxelder bugs have been incredibly annoying.  I must say I really, really dislike finding floaters in my coffee in the morning.  And those darn bugs appear to be feeding on my little seedlings and my experimental celery start.  I've never had a problem with them before but I wonder if it's because they have come out so much earlier than usual.
A fruit update: My bush cherries are blooming and the big apple tree is ready to explode into bloom.  I haven't checked the little trees yet but I'm looking forward to getting a little bit of fruit off them this year.  They have now been planted for 2 years and I'm hoping for a little reward.  At least off the pear that is now probably close to 12 foot tall.  It really grew like mad last year.  The blueberries are leafing out slowly but the currants look pretty good- at least 2 of them.  The third bush looks like quite a few branches died.  It wasn't looking too good last fall already- it lost a lot of leaves early.  I'll have to see how much I need to prune out after it gets its leaves.
And speaking of plants that don't seem to be coming back- of all things, I think my sage died!  I has survived every winter since we've been here- even with blizzards and sub-zero temps- so I can't imagine that it would have winter killed- but it isn't leafing out at all. I'll give it some time yet before I decide that it is a goner for sure.  I'm hoping that with this early spring I'll have plenty of time to get the herb spiral constructed this spring.  Then I'll get a new sage bush.  But, the lavender is growing like mad.  Of course, everything seems to be growing like mad- except for my cabbage seedlings.  sigh....

More goodness arrives!

All I'm going to say is YUM!!
Look at the size of those things!!
Not too many this year but we planted it as a single cane last year so it's not done too bad.

Gearing up

Tomorrow is the start of my staycation.  I can hardly wait.  This afternoon/evening was busy.  Lots of running around. First, I had to work today but I had to get everything done by 2pm so I could leave early.  I actually drove to work today and parked in the ramp (not supposed to do that as staff but... since I ride the bus my car isn't registered). It cost me a small fortune to park there but I had to get out of work, get home and pick up the boys so we could be to the dentist by 3.  All three of us had appointments.  I'm happy to say that none of us had any cavities.  Yeah!
Then we headed to Roger and Sharon's house.  Sharon went to Waterloo today to help Roger get settled in at his rehab facility and was worried about the dog being left inside all day.  So, the boys and I took Dixie for a walk to let her do her business and burn off a bit of energy.
After walking the dog, we headed off to the mall to a game store.  Both boys have been pulling weeds for me to earn some money since there are games they would like.  So, this evening they cashed in their earnings.  We picked up a pizza and headed home.  Then the fun stuff began.
Our first blueberries ever!

Not many but they're good!  Notice my stained fingers?  There is a reason for that:

1 pound, 12.4 ounces of black raspberries.  Even more than on Monday.  So, tomorrow I'll be jammin' in addition to the other tasks I've assigned myself.  I've got a mix of inside and outside things planned so can stay cool in the heat of the day.  There will be some weeding, some mulching, some kitchen stuff and some general cleaning.  Hopefully my list is manageable.  I have a bad tendency to overload my days.  But I've got 5 days coming with my to-do list spread out over all of them.
I'll keep you posted.

Sunday scenes

Happy Independence Day Weekend to those in the US!  It's been busy here at the Troll Bridge.    I was at work yesterday so not much got accomplished. And V and I stopped at a housewarming party for a young couple from work after he picked me up.  So, yesterday was a day of rest.
Weeding has been done around the homestead this morning with I14 and J17 both assisting.  I harvested a most of the broccoli.  Not quite 2 lbs so it wasn't as productive as last year.
But a few photos were taken as I was out and about.  I think I may start doing a series of Sunday photos.
First, my favorite photo of the day.  The purple coneflower is beginning to bloom:

 As is the Anise Hyssop:

 And a sunflower:

 A few sunflowers came up volunteer at the edge of the garden and have been allowed to remain.  I didn't manage to get any planted this year so these brighten my day.
The first female cucumber flower!!  See!! (and, I know, there are weeds)

 And the first blossom on the Scarlet Runner Beans (and yes, MORE weeds):

 Below, the summer squash that came up volunteer (the pattypans tried to take over the world last year) is threatening my poor, pathetic chard:

 And no matter how many times I see them, the walking onions are still just too much fun:

 And finally, the black raspberries are absolutely loaded.  Tomorrow should be a big picking.  Mmmmm...

I hope you all have had a safe, wonderful weekend and have a good 4th of July.

Stuff

It has been a long, emotionally draining day.  I didn't manage to get up to see Roger before surgery- today was really busy at work.  But I did get to spend a little time with Sharon, his wife, not long after she had met with the surgeons to learn the outcome.   Sadly,  none of Roger's foot was salvageable.  He ended up with an amputation about mid calf.  Sharon was looking shell shocked.  They had known that this was a possibility but had hoped for the best. She is feeling totally overwhelmed.  Unfortunately, there is little I can do to make things better.  They had relied mostly on Roger's income and with him not working, even before she got laid off her job, it was a struggle to make ends meet.  She is panicking that they may need to move (they live in a split foyer home) but I urged her to wait to see how he progresses in rehab before she makes any rash decisions.  And even after the amputation, they still have the cancer diagnosis to deal with- which hasn't really even been addressed.
It looks like the weekend is shaping up for better weather than I had hoped.  So, I think, we plan to go to their house, as a family, on Monday morning to weed the garden.  Anyone in the IC area interested in a charity weed, let me know- we would be glad of the help.
It about broke my heart when Sharon was going on about needing the food from the garden, especially if she can't find a decent job.   She was asking about drying tomatoes and if they would store that way, or if she could freeze them.  Roger is the gardener and canner in the family and she is feeling a bit out of her element-- but realizing just how important that stored food has been in their lives in the past. I did volunteer to come help with canning tomatoes if they need it.  I'm not sure how I'll be able to do that- can my produce as well as theirs- but I'll give it my best shot if necessary.
But on a brighter note- I picked the first handful of black raspberries this evening.  They didn't last long enough to make it into the house to be photographed.  V and I shared them outside in the heat.
Yes- it finally feels like summer!!  It made it over 90 today!! and mid 90's tomorrow... with high humidity, of course- it wouldn't be summer without it.  Not much work got done outside this evening with the weather.  However, I14 has decided he wants to earn some money.  So, tomorrow morning, he is going to weed the iris bed for me.  He's figured out that he needs to work for 3 hours to have enough money to buy a game that he wants. Definitely doable in his  eyes.
I feel like I've been a bit of a downer these past few days.  I'll try to be more upbeat in the future- I'm just beat.

News that's currant

Red currant, that is.  Ha! You thought I misspelled.  I do that on occasion, but not this time!

I picked the currants this evening.  6.7 ounces or just shy of 1.5 cups.  Not too bad.  The bush I planted this spring, while huge, didn't produce.  Not surprising.  But the two year old bushes- the two I planted shortly after we moved in were loaded.  I'm excited to see what they produce in the future.  It will just keep getting better and better. Maybe someday soon I'll have enough to make currant jelly.  Mmmmmm......
But tonight, I just made some sauce.  I know many people don't like the seeds and strain the juice but I really don't mind them- they are kind of like gooseberries.  The sauce is setting up nice and thick and I think we'll use it as a jam over the next few days.  I'm definitely seeing some cream cheese and currant 'jam' on my toast for breakfast.
Now, I'm off to read the article in the new edition of National Geographic on "How heirloom seeds can feed the world".  It's called Food Ark.  Let's see if I can stay awake long enough to read it ;)

Sunday Scenes

I'm tired.  I didn't sleep well last night and have been busy all day.
V and I visited Roger in the hospital this morning for a bit.  He isn't doing very well emotionally.  The cancer was a 'surprise' discovered when he was hospitalized for something else.  He has a terrible infection in his foot that has been cleaned out (down to the tendons!) and they are hoping it doesn't continue to spread.  He is worried that he may lose his foot.  Add onto that the new diagnosis that was  found and he is a wreck.
Of course, like any gardener, he is worried about the weeds in his garden that he hasn't been able to tend.   I wish I had a better handle on the weeds in my own garden or I would go weed his.
But, on to more positive things.  It was a lovely, sunny day today after it dried out this morning. I spent the afternoon outside in the garden.  Here are a few images of the day
Chickens doing chicken-y sorts of things in the temporary run:

 Broccoli peeking our of its leaves-

Purple cabbage: as beautiful as any flower-

Raspberries beginning to ripen-

 And blueberries, too- our first!

 Red currants ready to pick-

 The first tomato!  Black Krim

 Peppers- Volcano (hot hungarian wax)

My asiatic lilies that I planted this spring are blooming- at only about 8 inches tall!

 The Goth Garden:

 Grrr- bugs were on my basil!

I hope you all had a peaceful Sunday.

Happy Birthday big sister!!

Wet Wednesday

Today was wet, drizzly and cool.  Yuck.  But a few things brightened my day.  I had a 'sidewalk find' on my way to downtown to catch the bus.  It was just beginning to rain (again) when I noticed this lying on the sidewalk:

 A bookmark.  LOVE IT!  So I had to rescue it from getting wet and ruined.
I got off the bus before my usual stop so I could meet V at the grocery store (sigh) to get more milk and some dog food.  On my way in I noticed the sign announcing that all plants were 25% off.  I know they will mark them down even further but the selection gets worse and worse.  So I indulged myself and got this:

It's a Black Lace Elderberry.  I had seen it earlier and thought about it for the goth garden. It has nearly black foliage and will produce edible fruit- I checked.  I noticed that we have a 'wild' elderberry growing near the wetland last spring.  I purposefully didn't harvest the berries hoping it would spread this year.  But these we can plant near the house... and they will look really cool!
Not much else going on here.  V is nearly finished with his book.  Children are eating me out of house and home and work has been rough since we have a bunch of really ill people in right now.
I'm looking ahead to the weekend.  It looks like Saturday may be my day to spray the tomatoes with the copper mix.  And maybe do some more weeding.  My brother lent me his flame thrower (I said I wanted one!!) so I can burn off the weeds along the garden fence and border (and maybe where the vining crops haven't vined to yet.  I'll see how far I get.  Don't worry- I'll be sure to have photographic evidence for all of you.

Mmmmm...

The first strawberries arrived today.  Enough for one for each of us.  Oh, they were tasty!!!  There are a few more beginning to ripen and I, for one, can't wait.  A few are misshapen from frost damage but, I'm not going by appearance here!
I had to work today.  It wasn't a bad day.  After I got home, I did manage to get the flooring glued down in the coop.  Now, we can't walk on it for at least 12 hours but tomorrow, I hope to put up the final interior paneling to 'poop proof' the walls and V wants to finish the interior 'wire wall' that will separate the chickens from the storage area.  Soon... soon.....
It seems that we are hosting quite the family get-together tomorrow.  My parents are coming up, as is my oldest sister and her husband (visiting from CO).  My brother and oldest nephew are coming as well (we're not sure his wife is coming yet).  I'm only missing one sister (wish you could be here!!) for the entire family.  Mom said they will bring some hot dogs, buns and Mom's famous macaroni salad.  We will supply some local brats (maybe some burgers), beverages, coleslaw, chips and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  It should be a lovely picnic.  We hope for some advice on the tree situation as well as just time to visit.
My sister has asked if J17 has access to chives or parsley with her job.  J17 isn't working this weekend but I told her that I can fix her up with chives, garlic chives and walking onions if she wants.  My parsley is looking rather pathetic (as is most of the garden!!) or I would offer her some of that as well.
Now, I've got to go get a few things done before the big day tomorrow.
Have a fabulous Sunday.

Rainy day nettle wars

Not much happened around here today.  It was a rainy, cool day- perfect for sleeping in.  After our late evening last night, V and I got the children off to school and then went back to bed, sleeping until 1030!!  Unheard of!  I guess we needed it.  After the last few weeks, having a day to rest felt really nice.
It was way too muddy to do anything else in the garden and it was also a bit too muddy to work on the coop without wearing 10 pounds of mud on each shoe.  I'll post pictures soon since you all are asking.
I did manage to get laundry done and catch up on dishes and inside cleaning- things that have been a bit neglected with the outdoors push of late.  But, one thing that did happen outside today- NETTLE WAR.
Now, don't get me wrong-  I have nothing against nettles.  They are nutritious both for us and for our compost. However, nettles growing where they aren't wanted are a nuisance.  And in the middle of my raspberry patch is definitely not where they are wanted.  Raspberries are enough of a prickle hazard without the added sting of nettles.
Since the latest round of storms and rain has ushered in some cool weather (low 60's) and all the recent rain has made the ground quite soft, today was the perfect day to don a thick sweatshirt, heavy jeans and gloves and pull the offending nettles.  Nettles have an incredibly dense, fibrous root system that is usually a real pain to pull.  I'm sure I didn't get them all and they'll be back, but hopefully after the raspberries are done.  The black raspberries are loaded with flowers!  And they have spread wildly since we planted them.  Last year, I planted some red raspberries that have grown a lot but I didn't see any blossoms.  I also planted some pale purple ones that are still looking rather peaked.  I think they are too far back in the shade.  Maybe I'll move them sometime since they aren't doing very well in that spot.
My raspberry patch is on the south end of the garden, where the grove of Boxelder trees shades the corner of the barnyard.  They seem to do well there.  They don't get burnt up by the hot summer sun and it tends to be a pretty damp area so they get plenty of water.  Last year we had only a few berries and the year before none, since we had just moved the plants.  I've got high hopes for this year's raspberry crop.  Mmmm, raspberry jam.....
Tomorrow I go back to work for the day, then I've got a 4 day weekend.  I could definitely get used to this work schedule. It has been so nice being home.

Grrr... Chipmunks

I was sorely irritated this afternoon to arrive home to this:

@#*$&! Chipmunks!  And the photo was snapped after I had done triage to get little roots into the soil.  Those annoying chipmunks had been digging in my seedlings and had uprooted 14 of the 32 plants in this flat.  Evidently, it had happened recently since only one seedling was slightly wilted.  I would have been thoroughly devastated had I arrived home to uprooted DEAD seedlings.  At least I had more pots so I could replace the pots that weren't salvageable.   They got into the broccoli and cauliflower seedlings    and, of course, at this size, trying to quickly identify a broccoli vs a cauliflower seedling was beyond my ability- so we will have a surprise row in the garden.  At least they have similar requirements.  Now I just need to figure out how to keep those little critters out in the future. I really don't want to have to do this again.
But on a better note, my last plant I ordered arrived today.  Another red currant bush.  After V backed into one of my two plants with the lawn tractor last fall it wasn't looking too good and I honestly didn't think it would survive the winter.  So I ordered another one.  Well, the one that got hit is looking great this spring so now we have three.  But best of all, this plant is HUGE!  Look:

 It is easily as big as the two out there that we've had for 2 years.  I'm impressed.  And I got it safely planted in the ground (after I repotted seedlings).  Today is probably our last nice day for a while since it is supposed to rain for a few days.  Good thing this plant arrived today, I hate digging holes and planting things in the mud.
And, lastly, an obligatory chick shot.  They are about 2 weeks old now.  This is Claudia.

Isn't she beautiful?  I'm a bit worried that she may be a Claude since she is already getting quite a little comb on her- but time will tell.  She is one of our mystery 'rainbow layers'.   Any ideas from the chicken 'experts' out there?  She has lovely wings.

The latest additions

 We had some new arrivals today and over the weekend.
First, today's newcomers:

A pair of cranberry vines.  They don't have to be grown in a bog. They get only 10 inches tall and spread out to be 2-3 feet wide each.  I LOVE cranberries but never thought I could grow them here.  We'll see how they do.
And then, over the weekend, I made a few plant purchases.  Two for the Goth Garden.  One is a red climbing rose that we plan to have vine up over an arbor and then this really cool guy (or gal):

It's a twisty rush.  J16 really wants a Devil's Walking Stick bush but they are so expensive.  This looked like a less expensive alternative to add some interesting texture to the garden.  It is perennial and should form a 2 foot tuft of spiral grass.  Pretty fun.
I actually had some time to get outside today to enjoy the weather.  I woke up this morning about 3 am with a migraine so didn't go in to work.  After some drugs and sleeping until 10 I felt much more human and was able to get out and clear off the herb beds, goth garden and the hostas along the garage.
I also did some measurement and planning for the chicken coop.  The current chicks (The Fab Four!) are almost 2 weeks old so we really need to get that coop built.  The new batch of chicks arrive the first week of May so we need to get a move on.  I did get the rough plan made and I'm happy with it.   I just need to sit down with V and finalize the plans and figure out how we will run the roof lines since the coop and run will be right up against the west side of the shop.
Now, I'm exhausted.  I'm still nursing a nagging headache that the sun today didn't help. I had to wear my sunglasses because the brightness made my head spin this afternoon. But, it was worth it to be outside in the spring.
I have so much to do here- I don't want to go to work tomorrow!