A Week In Recap

What a week this has been. It started last Sunday when I was informed of the surprise 50th anniversary party we are throwing next weekend for my in laws. ( don't worry they don't read my blog!!) Yep, I had a fourteen day notice.This is something I love doing but would prefer a little more notice. My precious in laws were blessed with three boys and so two weeks was probably not so bad after all! The first part of the week was spent ordering flower arrangements, menu planning, list making and finally ordering the cake. Of course it must be spectacular and covered with violets (the 50th flower). Any marriage that lasts 50 years is cause for great celebration and so I want it as special as possible.


Everyone needs to throw a large party once a year!It certainly makes you look at everything with a critical eye! And so the yard work marathon began. Flower beds cleaned out and weeded, pots filled with pansies, trailer after trailer, full of leaves hauled away. A good lick was made this week and final touches will be made next week with mulch spread, grass mowed and the last of the pots planted. One full day will be dedicated to house cleaning as well.

On the critter front.....


We sheared Friday evening. Or should I say our shearer came! They are actually a sweet young couple who both shear. They did a lovely job and the ewes looked exceptionally well. All but one had nice pink eyes membranes, so deworming was minimal. Several girls looked to be only a couple of weeks out for lambing, so that is right around the corner. I saved a few of the best fleeces and hope to send them off to be woven into blankets at some point before fall. Of the three goats left to go, one kidded yesterday. Marta is my older alpine. She had twins, a beautiful doe kid that will definitely stay here, and a nice buck. All of the other kids are doing very well and growing like crazy. I am milking some and still letting them nurse, but also have introduced the bottle. Each evening I let everyone have a "snack" and it has made them all easy to handle and friendly. I hope to get into a better milking routine in the coming weeks.
On the garden front.....
FINALLY we got some things in the ground! We were able to turn part of the garden yesterday
and got onions and potatoes planted. I bought several different varieties to plant this year. A purple fleshed one called "All Blue", a "Cranberry Red' that is pink skinned and pink fleshed and "Rose Finn Apple Fingerling" to name a few. My husband was most unimpressed and wanted to know what was wrong with the "regular" ones. We'll plant those too :o) ! I was also able to get the raspberry bed weeded and a few more bushes planted (they have lived in pots all winter, poor things) and will get them mulched this week as well. The plum trees are just about to burst open and if fruit sets we will be covered up in plums this year. The blueberries that we planted last year look like they are doing well and have lots of buds, so we may actually harvest a good many from them. I also got the grape vines weeded and plan to prune them this week. I replaced most of the herbs that got zapped by the cold winter. Yes, it was a busy week, but hard days working , bring good nights sleeping.