Oh it has been busy around here! I'm about to do an update of our animals and garden but first I had to share some very beautiful things I had the fortune to enjoy over the weekend. I travelled back to Maine to attend my 20th high school reunion (!) and while there took time to visit with some family and old friends and was lucky enough to visit an amazing. garden store and a fabulous garden I look forward to seeing every time I visit.

First up is Snug Harbor Farm in Kennebunk, Maine. My cousin has worked here for years and has told me so many incredible things about it but I never was able to visit until this past Saturday morning. It is incredible. Incredible.

These green houses are HEATED in the winter -- can you imagine?

The following day I went to a lovely garden in Gorham, Maine. Maine blows my socks off really. It is so lush and the lilacs! Oh the lilacs! This is Friend's Corner and it is sprawling and perfect. Truly amazes me the amount of work that goes into this.

The hostas and bleeding hearts grow so easily here. Stunning.

First Day of Spring

I just realized today is the first day of spring, although you wouldn't know it with the wind and rain here this week. I'm glad to have some bonus rain as we tend to be dry nearly all summer. As I lumber out of my blog hibernation (the last post was winter solstice? Really?) and settle in for the first post of the "official" growing season, I thought I'd share what I've brought inside today from our garden and spare the camera a soaking outside. In my hiatus we have remodeled our kitchen (almost done, everything goes more slowly with children) so while my husband took the boys outside in their rain gear I had some quiet time inside to make dinner and play around with the lighting in our new setup. What a very lovely way to spend the afternoon. Ahhhhh.

Happy First Day of Spring!

I made a batch of stinging nettle compost tea this winter and fed the entire garden with it last week, I look forward to showing you how well it all went! I'm about to don my rain gear and go join in some splashing while harvesting a new batch.

Happy Winter Solstice

Goats!

Oh we have been busy. Quiet blog, busy life. Or so it tends to be around here. We have been working on fencing and teeny barn building (with all reused materials except for the screws!) and.... we have goats! Yes! Our friend, Jamie of Serendipity Farms, was downsizing her herd a bit so we were fortunate enough to get 3 young Nubian beauties ready for breeding. And you know what that means! Cutie baby goats and after a bit of solo baby/mama time... fresh, raw goat milk!

This is the best photo of this journey: An abandoned back-carrier for the youngest of our human brood, along with a half dug water station. Yes, this is how WE roll. Little bits, as the littles in our lives allow.

How cool is this? 3 generations of fence builders!
Forging new ground: We expanded our chicken "pen" (they can get out, but the neighbor dogs can't get in) to nearly an acre. Or more than one, we aren't certain since the perimiter meanders here and there around certain trees.

Just for fun, the 2 hens who share these 4 chicks. They are amazing little co-mamas and a true demonstration of something I strongly believe which is FAMILIES COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.

Gratitude

For this beautiful life I get to live, for my little boys who are so eager to learn and help, an amazing husband to share this journey, and for the chance to raise some goats for fresh raw milk! We're building their shelter in preparation for new life on the ranch. Exciting times, so very grateful.

Cuteness

The one day old chicks came out to soak up some warm sun this afternoon and enjoyed their first meal: Figs and amaranth from the garden.

Goings on

Last night it hailed and stormed and hailed and stormed complete with thunder and lightning which is sooooooo rare around here. My husband and I sprang out of bed at one point last night just to turn on the light outside our bedroom to see how big the pellets were! They sounded HUGE and it was dumping!!! Very fun for us Californians who nary get a peck of solid weather :)

This morning the boys and I headed out to see if we could find any residuals and they got to play in this one little pile hidden on the shade fabric which is protecting my seedlings. (all the seedlings were just fine!)

Even the snap peas, who didn't have much protection, were just fine.
Since it was such a cold and rainy (and sunny, sometimes) morning, of course I just had to bring in some flowers. Such a juxtaposition this time of year is. It's cold and hailing outside, but the fall/winter garden is gaining and growing and there are still flowers about. I even still have sunflowers!

I started sweet peas much earlier this year. I usually wait until late December.
Baby chicks! Born this morning. This one is just breaking though her shell.

And look! Thanksgiving turkey, oh so fresh. Last year I brined and then we bbq'd the turkey and it came out great. I'm going to brine for less time this year (12 hours, 1/2 cup kosher salt and 1/2 cup sugar or other sweetener per quart of water, plus all the herbs you want... go BIG on the herbs so they don't disappear in there, that's my advice ;) and we are going to do it in a clean cooler instead of buying a special brine bag.