My Poor Garden

By early May, my garden is tilled, mulched, and cold weather crops are planted. Until this year. We've been doing so much stuff with the farm that my is sitting unused. Be patient, my friend, I'll be out soon (but not this weekend).

On Saturday, we're planting the new trees and raspberries. On Sunday, we're shearing. It's another big weekend for us.

We have managed to find enough time to pick the asparagus!

Happy Birthday Lukey!

It's my youngest son's birthday today. He's two. He's way more excited about it than the dog...

Home Sweet Home

I had to go to Orlando for business this week. The trip was okay. I know, Orlando is a great place to vacation, but it was the last week in July (over 90 degrees and terribly humid), and my family stayed home. The meetings were okay, and I got to see my best friend from college (Hi Pen!) so the trip wasn't a complete loss.

Things you've missed:

-Our raspberries are done for the year. I don't get it - last year we had berries coming out of our ears. I made 2 batches of jam, and froze over 20 pints. This year, there was one batch of jam, and only 2 pints put up.
-We are still on cria watch. Sabetha is due August 11th, and there is no news to report. This is our first cria, so we're a bit anxious.
-Nature trails in Wisconsin do not have signs that say "Warning - do not touch poisonous or dangerous animals such as snakes or alligators". There IS a silver lining for our terrible winters.
-And finally, it's good to be home. This was my first trip away from my boys, and it seemed like an eternity.

Ahhh....

My job can be pretty intense sometimes.   Today was easily one of the crummiest days I've had in well over a year.    One of the things I'm really enjoying about the farm is the physical labor.  I sit at a desk (or in meetings) most of the time at the day job.   Oh goodie - today I made some more spreadsheets.   Where's the joy in that?

So, I was fried when I got home today.  It was the perfect mindset for weeding.   I needed some way to vent my frustration / rage, and feel like I make a difference in the world.    Ripping out that *&#!(@* crab grass just felt good.    My watermelons, peppers, beets, and other veggies are now beautiful again.     I also made baked fish, wilted beet greens, and potatoes with fresh dill and scallions for supper.  Mmmm - maybe this day wasn't a complete loss....

Talk about intense jobs - my husband is a stay-home dad.    I wouldn't want to trade with him....

Little Farm Boys

Here are some pictures of my real boys.   Why do little boys like tractors so much?

The curse of the purple coneflower

I know this is a little off topic, but I need to vent.      A few years ago, I decided to rip out the old, overgrown juniper bushes in the flower beds in front of my house.    I replaced them with lots of perennials, including stargazer lilies, peonies, columbine, clematis, butterfly bush, and purple cone-flowers.   To make the beds look pretty, I also laid down a few cubic yards of shredded wood mulch.     It was a beautiful thing.

Flash forward 5 years, and 2 kids later.     Did you know that purple cone-flowers shed thousands (millions?) of stupid seeds every year?   Do you know what those seeds do in pretty shredded wood mulch?   I wound up with flower beds of nothing but purple cone-flowers!    Argh!    I want variety!   And, with 2 little boys, I don't have time to weed!

So, early this spring, I dug out ALL of the old wood mulch and purple cone-flowers from the 3 beds around my house.    I had a few wheelbarrows full of the stuff.   (The other perennials remain).    

I am an avid gardener.  Where did I put the old purple cone-flowers and spent wood mulch?   In my compost pile.   Life was good.     I dutifully spread my compost on my garden, and tilled it in.    My garden was doing okay, even with all of the rain and cool temperatures we've had.   

However, there are these peculiar weeds growing all over my garden.  It almost looks like someone sowed them, there are so many weeds.   And, it's not crabgrass, creeping charlie, or any of the normal culprits that inhabit my garden.    Imagine my surprise when I realized what they were - those stupid purple cone-flowers....