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!

Another post- photos of the weekend

A few photos of the weekend.  We were busy....
V installed a new window in the shop office.  Now we don't have to turn on the lights in there...

Our dairy neighbor was 'spreading some sunshine' to make hay!

 And dinner from the farmer's market and freezer:

 Butternut/sage pasta primavera with local parmesan cheese.  Mmmmm....

And, what happens when you send an 11 year old outside for an hour?

A tower of corner protectors, of course.  These are from the cabinet packaging.  There were 8 of these per cabinet box.  We've been slowly putting them in the recycling so as not to overwhelm them.  They are fun to play with!
Little plants on the porch:

 And the first daffodil!

 Last but not least- the bluebells are beginning to bloom.  It must be spring!

Warm!!

Oh my, what a weekend!  The weather has been fabulous.  Windy today but with temps in the low 80's.  Yesterday was calmer and almost as warm.  I didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped but some things got done.
J16 and I did get to the farmer's market yesterday.  The city is doing a trial run of an indoor market that may go year round so I wanted to show my support. I was amazed at how many people were there- it was heartening.  There were 38 vendors present and we, of course, made a few purchases.  We got some fabulous handmade pasta (roasted butternut squash and sage) a few cheeses (a fabulous gouda from Frisian Farms and cheese curds and parmesan from Acoustic Farms).  We treated ourselves to a pair of handmade dark chocolate truffles and picked up a rosemary plant since mine died over the winter :-(
While at the herb table, J16 made a discovery.  The lady running it is looking for an intern to help her out.  J16 jumped at the chance.  She has been looking for work but at 16 with no job experience in this economy she hasn't found anything.  An internship, while not paid, would give her some valued experience and a job reference.  She has always been interested in herbs and herbal medicine and has quite a bit of knowledge about herbs. This lady not only grows plants to sell but she evidently harvests and dries them and makes several herbal salves and such.  She and J16 exchanged numbers and they are going to chat to see what she thinks.  Probably to J16's benefit, as we were selecting our rosemary plant to purchase a friend of ours stopped by and was asking about rosemary (the herb lady didn't know that we knew Robin already) and Justine was able to answer questions and make suggestions of what foods rosemary complements.  Impressive.  The flier J16 picked up says that the internship would include transplanting, weeding, harvesting, drying, and learning about herbs and herbal remedies.  It also involves manning the table at farmer's markets in the area.
When we got home, J16 and I started transplanting little tomatoes into bigger pots.  I pretty much spent most of my afternoons this weekend transplanting little plants.  We did 67 tomato plants, 40 peppers and a variety of other seedlings (eggplant, tomatillos, litchi tomato, romaine and some herbs).  The cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and kale seedlings are on the porch to harden off.  As windy as it was today I'll have to check them for water before it gets dark.
I need to get going.  I spent so much time on garden stuff I didn't get any laundry done this weekend.  Oops....

No prize...

 J16 didn't win one of the prizes at the art show last night.  But she wasn't really disappointed.  The winners clearly deserved the prizes!
Here is she and one of her friends with her picture.

She was a bit disappointed that her piece hadn't sold yet by the time we left the show.  But, the show is up through May 2 and we left about 7 to go have dinner out.  There were 14 students from her school in the show and they went home with 6 of the 10 awards.  One of her friends won best of show and clearly deserved it:

 Isn't that an amazing painting!
Still, it was a fun evening and quite well attended.   J16 is already thinking of next year now that she has seen the competition.  Her friend above is a senior this year so that competition is out.  Whew!

Random babbling

Whew!  What a couple of days.  Yesterday I left home at 635 am (my usual) and didn't get home until after 8 pm.  Blah.  I had to serve at a soup supper.  It was fun but tiring.  Today, work was just brutal and I'm not looking forward to tomorrow since we had lots of discharges- leaving many empty beds which usually means a whole bunch of new referrals.

But, J16 finished her trial run dress last night and wore it to school today.  In order to meet school dress codes she had to wear something under it but you can get the idea:

 Her actual prom dress will be in black satin with the contrasting band at the top in an eye-popping red brocade.  It should be great. (and, can you tell by looking at her pink nose and cheeks that the pollen count is up ?)
And, thank goodness for southerly winds today:

Our dairy neighbor to the North/West is cleaning out his barns after the winter and spreading the deep bedding/manure on the pasture just to the North of us. While I don't normally mind the scent of cow manure, it's a bit intense. There is manure spread only 30 yards from the house.  I'm glad it's raining lightly now so it may settle into the grass a bit more.  I'm also glad he didn't spread it on the slope yet or it would be washing down into the creek.  But, I must say, I'm pleased that he is using sustainable methods.  He harvests multiple cuttings of hay off this field every summer so it's nice to see those nutrients going back to the soil to continue the cycle.  Much, much better than chemical fertilizer!  Some day I'm going to have to try to have a chat with him.

And it is finally beginning to feel like spring.  Oh, we have another month or so before the last frost but the temps have been warmer.  I'm planning to set my little cabbages, kale, broccoli and cauliflower plants out on the porch soon to begin hardening of before planting them out.  Also on my list for the next few days is transplanting all my little tomatoes.  The peppers are growing more slowly and I should be able to wait a bit more for them but the tomato and eggplant seedlings are getting desperate.

Tomorrow night, J16, V and I will be going to the opening reception at the Chait Galleries for the Next Generation Juried Art Show.  J16 is one of 65 young artists from the area featured.  If you're in the area, stop in sometime to see the show.  It runs at the gallery until May 6th. There should be some excellent art there.  J16 is one of 14 students from City High.  The art will all be judged by a panel of gallery owners and the top artist gets a $350 prize.  There are also several other $100 winners.  All of the art will then be  offered for sale with the students getting half of the proceeds.  It's a great way for young artists to get started and we're quite proud of her.

The chicks continue to grow.  Soon we will need to put the hardware cloth on the outside of the dog kennel so we can take them out of the cardboard box they're in.  They seem to think they need to try out their new wing feathers and I'm afraid one of them will make it out of the box and not be able to get back in.  Not only would they be without food and water but they would be an easy mark for Spaz who continues to be fascinated by them and seems to think they are tasty morsels meant just for him.

V got news this afternoon that his Aunt Yvonne has died.  She has been battling cancer for 10 years and we thought she was doing well but it evidently spread to her bones and moved quickly.  He isn't sure yet if he will be going out to PA for the funeral and to see his mom and sisters.  He would like to but he is feeling so stressed with deadlines for work.  And he has to have all the images for his book ready by the end of the month.  EEK!

Now, I've gotta go.  I've got 50 things on my list and only time for 20 tonight.

Two in one night

It isn't finished and she had to hold it together in the back because she doesn't have the zipper in yet.  Or the contrasting band on the top.  But here it is.  Not the best picture.  There are tiny quarter inch tucks in the bodice front.  The pattern is strapless but for everyday wear she will be adding straps.  It has a full circle skirt so it twirls.

And if you couldn't tell from the grin on her face- she is quite pleased with herself!

Meet the chicks

 I thought I'd share some new photos of the girls.
First:  Micah, our Barred Rock

Next up comes Buffy, the Buff Orpington:  She is the friendliest and likes being held.

 Then, our biggest chick:  Claudia- a mystery breed.  They were labeled as 'Rainbow Layers'  I'm thinking maybe an Easter Egger??

 Last and smallest but definitely the most adventurous:  Eddie   She is also a mystery breed rainbow layer.

Eddie doesn't have the chipmunk stripe down her back as Claudia does but she has a little dark streak down her head and a darker patch on her back.  But it does look like her feathers are coming in a buff color.