thisclose

I haven't been entirely lazy around here, even though I have neglected this space. After winter, a switch was flipped in typical New England fashion and we find ourselves in summer.... at least thisclose to it. Proof from the gardens:

garlic scapes almost ready to curl

 strawberries turning blush

 these are gooseberries - delicious in pie and preserves

 beans, kale, lettuce

 red currants got decimated by the rain, I think

 the wild strawberries I grow as a ground cover

 the first few cherry tomatoes are forming

 

 blueberries will need netting soon

a gratuitous flower show of the front yard. The spireas are about to bust out in pink and I am seeing a few more hydrangea buds than last year.

S'isch zum Baimschneida.

This is how you say you're just about to lose it, in my Southern corner of Germany. It is also how I feel about the snow. Yes, yes, we're nearing spring, and we sprang forward and hope springs eternal.

But that snow, it is hard to remember how much of it there is. I took my kids to the sledding hill, and went to look for the bench to sit on. As it turns out, a person with a daintier behind than mine could just about perch on the six inches of its backrest that stuck out of the solidly packed white mass.

Back to the title, it literally translates to 'It causes one to prune the trees' and that is just what I did this weekend. No ladder needed, I could get to the 10 feet tall branches of our old apple tree that needed a trim.

OK, in the end things were a little sketchy, but the job got done, nobody got hurt, and the tree is in better shape than before. I am calling it the official beginning of the outdoor gardening season.

Sewing and sowing

What does one do in this season, too cold to go out, to snowy to play ball?

You sew and you plan. The Babee sewed her very first garment, the simplest of skirts in the simplest of fabrics - fleece. Suited to the arctic temps out there! Think she looks a little bit proud?

Last Christmas, the kids received a 3/4 size sewing machine, it has seen a lot of use by little hands, making the littlest projects...

The biggest kid creates the tiniest projects.

And sowing - is of course not happening yet, but in the planning stages. My order to Baker Creek Heirloom seeds went out yesterday. Spring has got to be on its way.

Taking stock of the ever building inventory...

Two little crafties

We have come a long way since moving into our 'housie' in the suburbs. When we first moved here, the lot looked like this:

and we had a lot of what we simply called The Vine. The Vine was the villain in our landscaping efforts, always working against us, and sprouting seven new sprigs any time we ripped out one. We were very united in our hatred of The Vine. 

Now, 10+ years into this journey, I had to stop on the side of the road to clip a few branches of what we have since learned is called 'bittersweet'. Not sure about the sweet aspect. Even in winding this wreath, the juice of the fruits stung my hands. Wear gloves if you can stand them (I never can, except in beekeeping). 

The other offender does have a redeeming quality more obvious to the eye: Rose multiflora. The weed of roses, an invasive species of dubious ecological value. Grows everywhere and is almost as hard to tame as bittersweet, plus it has thorns! Its redeeming qualities include flowers, which can be made into delicious rose petal jelly, and cute little red rosehips in fall. Which I made into a wreath for the kitchen entrance: 

please ignore the filthy window and screen, I'm more crafty than cleansy

view from the back through the screen

How's that for making those invasives work for me, huh? Haven't I shown them who's boss?

Oh hi, remember me?

It's been a bit of a hiatus, but not for any dramatic reasons. I just decided that this year should be all about spending time with the kids, and blogging can quickly become another time suck in the day.... but I missed it! This post is just a pictorial catch-me-up on the state of the homestead. Maybe later I'll write a bit more detailed about what went well and what didn't with the chicks, the bees, the gardens this year.

So here we go for now:

In a microburst of a 4th of July-weekend storm, we lost half a tree, and had to take down three more. After renting a log splitter with friends for a day, this is where we are. Warm and toasty as soon as those logs have seasoned a bit more.

The tomato tunnel in the new front garden, still doing its thing! Matt's Wild Cherry Tomatoes, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: Sweet. Blight resistant. Grow like crazy. Fun for the kids.

The scarlett runner beans were a late season winner. In the spring our resident robin ate all the red flowers. Seriously? But once the bean bushes had more foliage, they cranked out beautiful beans all summer and fall long. My favorite 'magic' trick is to ask a visiting little girl her favorite colors, to which she invariably answers 'purple and pink'. Then I open one of the mature bean pods to show her the beautiful speckled purple and pink beans :-)

My oldest harvested some amaranth yesterday and is in the process of processing it, as we did last year. Though it did not grow as plentiful or tall this year.

The bees - I had made a split, and maintaining three hives through summer. I did not pull honey, will write more about what I think the reason is in a dedicated post sometime. Sadly, the hive to the right superseded/swarmed/absconded/got robbed to death in late September. But thanks to the split, I still have 2 viable hives ready to be insulated for winter soon.

The back gardens are mostly bare, save some late carrots, and garlic was planted and is sleeping below the surface.

The hen house is a busy place right now. This was a stellar chick year for us, not a single loss, and beautiful layers just about cranking up production. Unlike in 2013, I love chicken keeping this year. I had to install an extra egg box and extra roost space, but even with 11 hens in a place designed for 8, we have had no bickering or pecking. A lovely bunch of ladies we have.

First, and last, in the season is always the herb garden. Keeps my cooking fresh even as the dreaded root vegetable season starts....

Thanks for catching up with me a little bit today, it's nice to be back in this space.

Pictorial Update

This season is busy but not. I'm feeling more inclined to be outside, work in the garden or be spontaneous with the littles than to sit at the computer and tell you (all three of you) about my oh so exciting suburban little life.... and isn't that just how it should be in summer? 

Just to let you know all is well, a few updates in images. 

The babies have grown up. We gave away three older laying hens, and our cockerel (young rooster) to a nice person who is trying to hatch eggs and needed more hens ... it was a blessing to have found a place where Cuckoo could even attempt to live a life as a real rooster. We wish him well! May he wake other people every morning at 4:45 :-) 

The pullets are 11 weeks old now. 

First tomatoes (Sungold) and cucumbers (no idea what kind): 

The beautiful scarlett runner beans and some eggplant flowers

Just another gratuitous flower picture: My favorite sunset colored rose.

The promises of raspberries and even a handful of blackberries on a vine that seems to be recovering from The Evil Mildew (not pictured).

The red currents that are left are starting to look mighty promising. Sadly have not harvested a single red strawberry (except a lot of wild ones....). 

We have harvested a bunch of lettuce, garlic scapes, kale, snap peas and herbs thus far. 

And we close with yesterday's ghostly, ghastly visitor: An Eyed Click Beetle!

Garden Survey

This week is nuts between music recitals, gymnastic shows, preschool graduation and assorted other end-of-year activities. There. See? I said the word activity. It never means anything wholesome or fun. I'm planning to avoid the A-word all summer long.

Here's a long overdue garden update in pictures. The spring has been soooo slow for me, especially in the cucurbit section. We're only just getting the first strawberries to turn pink, at least 2 weeks later than last year. But hey, the garlic is going strong and the wait for scapes should be almost over now...

The snap peas are about 3-4 feet tall, and have no flowers. Spontaneous potatoes have cropped up, indicating that I did a poor job digging them up last season. I'll take it, though, potatoes sans the work.

Promises, promises, on the berry front:

Gooseberries looking good. 

Red currants looking - well - eaten. By whom, you wonder? They are so sour when green!

Lots of strawberries are setting in the back patch where I didn't get a single one last year. Maybe the new and improved fencing has helped... Blueberries are looking OK, but not as nice as last year. The later bush has sub-par pollination, must have rained at the wrong time :-(

These peonies are my favorite.

The first tomato flowers on a Sungold plant, gifted by a friend. Baby kale and dward marigolds, too.

The 'three sister' planting of corn, beans and squash. The beans are ahead of the game and needed stakes because the corn is not tall enough yet! 

Fraises de bois (wild strawberries) make an excellent groundcover. They also feed the chipmunks which feed the .... wait. Chipmunks are fairly useless to me and I wish I could still keep cats...

The pullets are growing rapidly and spend their days outside now. The enormous comb and wattle on 'Cuckoo' have us a little worried, but so far we haven't seen any struttin'..... or other boy-ish behavior. 

Built some trellis while I had a nail gun on loan from a friend (really meant to assemble bee hive frames but that is a separate update...). 

The preschool class planting pumpkin seeds so the incoming class in fall will have pumpkins. 

Dragonfly hunting is a lifelong pursuit, not an activity. A certain member of this family plans on doing it full-time this summer.