Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Trellis

 Today, Elijah helped me move the trellis.  It was over here:

But now, it is outside the fence and in the newer, expanded side garden:


I'm planning to plant pea pods there very soon.  Next to the trellis will also be a strawberry patch, and more plants will surround both.  I'm very excited to have this increased sunlit area since Nathaniel took down a couple of trees for me.  

And we have daffodils blooming everywhere!




Sunday, March 10, 2024

Growing

 I've been growing lots of seedlings in the sun room.

The flats are strawberries, which are hanging out and looking good until I can transplant them outside.


Overall, I've got lots of tomatoes, tomatillos, peppers, cabbages, lettuce, kohlrabi, broccoli, and tons of flowers.  I am very excited to get these all growing up well and ready for spring planting next month.  I also planted carrot seeds in my garden cart.  I need to chit the seed potatoes I bought the other day, so I can plant those in my new potato garden soon.

In other news, Lydia got a haircut:

She's been wanting one, and my mother-in-law took her this weekend.  It's shorter than she wanted, but the layers are exactly what she wanted, so overall, she's happy.



Wednesday, March 6, 2024

February Egg Totals

The egg count is steadily increasing.  For February, we had 187 eggs.

We have 15 hens right now, and 1 rooster.  Of course, Harry the turkey also resides with them.

Today, I planted carrots in my garden cart.  I hope that works well.  The new potato garden is coming along, and since Nathaniel took out two trees for me, I have big garden expansion plans on the side yard.  Photos coming soon!

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Poultry Parade

 

In the last two days, we've let the poultry roam about the yard.  Notice that the white chicken in front of Harry the Turkey is a rooster.  What a size difference!


Harry tends to just walk slowly around the yard.  He looks regal and truly impressive.  The chickens are more interested in scratching for bugs and other goodies.
None of the poultry is fond of Maple, but they aren't too worried about her, either.  She doesn't bark or chase them.  She is more interested in finding out what they're eating.  She desperately wants to eat the chicken scraps that I feed them daily.  Acorn is perturbed when I let the chickens out, since she knows that they belong in their yard.  After looking at me questioningly, she just went into the house.  If she doesn't see it, she doesn't have to deal with it.  

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Weekend Fun

On Friday night, Nathaniel, Emry, Gyunay, and I participated in a fun library program.  Each family created its own mini golf hole.  This was ours.
The boys practiced on it several times.


Then they got to play all 9 holes.

The boys had a blast. 

Nathaniel received a swinging camp chair early for his birthday.  Gyunay loved it so much that he bought one for himself.

And on Saturday, we went to the zoo!  Lydia, her friend, the younger boys, Nathaniel and I had a good time.

It was cold, so there were practically no people around.  We were pleasantly surprised to get to see the fairy penguins:









Friday, February 23, 2024

Updates

The kids had some fun with the camera on my phone when I asked them to take a picture of  some sign-up sheets at church.

Around here, everyone is hopefully fully healthy again.  I'm hoping we can stay healthy for a while.  Emry's basketball season ended with no tournament games for him due to forfeit, but he's looking forward to a new league.  Practices start in a couple of weeks.  Lydia's still enjoying parkour, youth group, and violin.  Gyunay has been making real progress with his swim lessons.  I'm beginning to think it's not crazy to hope that he might be able to swim by summer.  Elijah stays busy with school and work, and Malachi and Pilot are still at NKU, but they are looking forward to spring break in a couple of weeks.


 

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Book Review- The Irish Matchmaker by Jennifer Deibel


I've read Jennifer Deibel before, and her books do transport you to Ireland.  I loved the setting, and the matchmaking festival itself was a fascinating idea.  I just feel that it could have been explored more fully, instead of the very predictable story that unfolded.  I did love the characters of Donal and his daughter Sarah.  I wanted to like Catriona, but I didn't feel that she was as well developed.  The faith element was well-done.  Overall, this is a clean, sweet romance set in beautiful Ireland, but I was left wanting something a bit more.  

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, but all opinions are my own.