An Update

Well, I haven't posted in a number of days so since it is raining (hard) here this morning I thought I would play a quick game of catch up. So here is a fast run down of what has been occurring since the first weekend of the new year.

1. Our digital camera got thrown away--on purpose. We have had so many problems with it that I just couldn't stand it any more. So until I get a new one within the next month there will be no pictures :-( sorry about that.

2. We have fenced our garden area of about 3/4 of an acre. That took 2 days of my husband, my son AND me to put in the corner posts and 7 foot T posts. Then another two days for my son and me to finish the corner bracing and pull the livestock fence. We wasted some fence and just pulled straight across where the gate will go. I would like my husband to make me a gate for my garden out of metal, something that looks like branches or vines have gone crazy on it. I know exactly how I want it to look but we need time and we have to order the metal from the metal yard. So for a while we will have to go in through the orchard pasture gate---trudge through that pasture--- and then go through another gate into the garden area.
Generally that wouldn't be bad except I have put the cows and the rams in there to "poop" in all the leaves that were dumped--instant compost (almost). So I have to go in everyday to feed and water them.
They are really really enjoying being there too-- the first day the cows ran around jumping (yes, jumping), bucking and kicking in the leaves and bellowing (deep and low and dangerous sounding) and throwing the leaves up with their heads and horns. Hilarious! You could really tell they were having fun. (And people wonder about confinement cattle HUMPH!)

3. I moved 25 peonies bushes from inside the garden to outside the garden fence and dug up two 5 gallon buckets of iris rhizomes also. Each of my peonies is a different variety and 10 of them had rusted tags that I could not read the name on it anymore so this spring I will have to try and figure out who is who---which will probably fail.
I haven't decided where to plant the iris' yet---but it is irrelevant since we have had rain since the day I lifted them up. Which by the way is not a complaint----we had so little rain last year that I swore I wouldn't say one thing even if I had to trudge through it all winter. Anyways I will get the iris' planted some time soon and when they bloom this summer I will take a picture (with my new camera). They are all different colors and they look very pretty when they bloom. I caught a picture of some of my lambs last year in front of them though you can't see them really well---since of course the picture was of the sheep not the flowers. It's the pic at the top.

4. My son and I have mulched just about every plant and bed on my property with the leaves the city dumped here for us (click the label "mulch/compost" on the side bar if you don't know about this subject)

5. I am almost finished with the lace shawl knitting project I started. With the advent of Christmas and relatives, New Years and then fencing it has had a bit of a crimp in how quickly it has progressed but I am nearing the end.

6. Last but not least I have most of my seeds ordered (any that need starting in the next month or two---which is most) and have transplanted my asparagus starts to a larger pot where they are now putting up multiple stems. I could have a mini dinner with them right now :-)
Out of the original 25 seeds potted up---I have had 23 that actually sprouted. Not to bad. I have more seeds but started with just those as I wasn't sure how well they would do---not having grown asparagus from seed before. It was easy though and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Which I will since I have most of a package left still.

That's all folks---hope things are going well for every one else too.