Blooms

 I planted yarrow from seed in the front beds last year.  It did grow, but it was just a few feathery stems, like these but smaller:

But this year, it is big and blooming:

And I have some tiny cucumbers growing!

Summer

 It really feels like summer now.  We've been pretty busy.  I bought some new balls, which Gyunay and Emry have particularly enjoyed on the trampoline.

We also culled 3 cockerels yesterday, so we now have 5 cockerels, 4 pullets, and 10 hens.

The beautiful black roosters pictured are now in the fridge, along with one of the buff orpingtons.  I plan on keeping one of the barred rock roosters.  They are the striped black and white ones.  

Beardless

 

Puzzling

 Gyunay was very proud to complete this 100 piece puzzle that is about as tall as he is!

Book Review - A Lady in Attendance by Rachel Fordham

 

This book settles the reader into the 1890s very well.  I love all of the historical details.  Gilbert is a lovely character, and I liked him very much.  I also enjoyed how his character's life changed and expanded after meeting and befriending Hazel.  Hazel was well-drawn, and her back story slowly unveils over the book.  She is an easy character to like.  Their romance was very sweet, and the mystery surrounding Hazel added a great backdrop.  The forgiveness themes are believeable and sincere.  Overall, this is a very good book, and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher, Revell, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.

Graduation

 Not only is my oldest child 18, he is now a high school graduate.  

We had a great celebration with lots of family and friends (and tons of food).  

Fortunately, it didn't rain, so we had people both inside and out.  The kids had a blast playing with cousins.

And just to make the day even crazier, it was Pilot's birthday, so we celebrated that, too!

May Harvest Totals

 We harvested all 19 of the meat birds, so that is added to our May harvest totals.  We were excited to get so much meat (and of course, the kids loved the hearts!).  

Chicken - 108.3 lbs

Eggs - 228

Radishes - 21

Turnips - 7

plus general grazing of mint, pea pods, and strawberries