Just another week on the farm..

We got some apple trees!
My mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas
and like any good farmer/homesteader, I said
"Apple trees!!"
And now here they are!
Granny Smith, Wolf River, Gala,
Arkansas Black and Early June!
I have set it up so that we have apples ALL the year long!
First.. Early June for eating and pies, then
Gala for snacking,
then Wolf River for apple butter
followed by Granny Smith for more apple butter
(because there is NO such thing as too much apple butter)
and Arkansas Black to store away
and last until the Early June bears again!


We are planting the Gala and Wolf River
on the south side of the house
to shade the house in the summer
and the others to shade the barn .
All are full size, around 30 ft,
except for the Gala and Granny Smith,
which are my two pollinators.
We are thrilled!

And here are some blooming type things...

A Walking Onion. This ball will fill with little onions and droop over
to the ground and new onion plants will come up.

A Buttercup.. a pretty noxious weed.
A Snowball bush.

My beautiful, gorgeous, oh, so helpful Comfrey bed!

Great as animal feed. Great in the compost,

especially if you ferment it first.

Great as an ointment or balm for booboos!

Nothing heals faster.

We swear by it and I use it on humans and critters alike.

Perhaps I will make a batch with you all this year.

The Lemon Balm is just starting to come out.
It will be a monster in about a month!
I use it on my arms and face and put a sprig
in my hat to keep away bugs when I am in the garden.


And in addition to the apple trees we have some more newcomers on the way.
I have ordered some heritage breed turkey eggs
and they will be here today or Monday.
I have Narraganset, Bourbon Reds and Blue Slates on the way.
This should be an adventure and I will share it all with you.
Yep... it will be interesting.
Thanksgiving, anyone??

And I have Cayuga Ducks on the way as well.
Perhaps they will be willing to eat
the pillbugs that plague me.
The chickens aren't interested.
And I hear tell that the ducks will follow me
into garden and work by my side.
They even pick the mosquitos off of your arms and legs.
Again, this will be an adventure. I don't like ducks.
But if we don't get along.. I'll eat them.
They will be the responsibility of Simon.
He is 6 and has been wanting some livestock of his very own.





And this is me - as seen in the garden ball that doesn't scare away the birds...
Oh, and I forgot to mention that we have 80 more
chicks hatching on Monday. Sigh