Ten Things

Our life- much like everyone else's, I suppose- ebbs and flows with down time and lotsa lotsa stuff going on. Right now, we seem to be in the midst of a stint of busyness. I am not writing to glamorize being busy (a personal pet peeve); I am offering this as an explanation for why I have only written one blog post so far this month (which will then make me feel less guilty about my blog neglect). Here are ten things that have been distracting me:

1. The garden- I have been working to improve the "soil" out in the garden, mostly by removing the black stuff that we started with and replacing it with decomposed leaves, native topsoil and sand, and rotted horse manure. Into that I've been dropping heat-hearty seeds and the few remaining transplants that I can grab on sale at local feed 'n' seed stores. Ironically, the stuff doing the best out in the garden right now are the volunteer plants that have popped up from compost or left-behind chicken treats. The above pumpkin vine is one prime example- let the record show that the first ever successful pumpkin I'll grow is something I didn't choose, plant, or tend. It's growing all on it's own, and it's by far the most successful thing out in the garden right now. Not sure how I feel about that. Also, I'm pretty sure it's growing those little ornamental mini pumpkins. Are those good to eat? I'm going to have to figure that out, because there are a lot.

2. The other gardens- I spent the better part of Sunday revamping a portion of the southern half of our front flower beds. I ripped out some dead things, transplanted some unsuccessful things, and finally got the two yuccas we bought a few weeks ago tucked into their forever homes. I'm digging the end product (har har, catch what I did there?).

3. Kid spa party- So Audrey was invited to an 8-year-old spa party this weekend, too, and it was amazing. Fifteen little girls having a full spa experience (complete with fluffy robes, slippers, fancy drinks in champagne flutes, manis and pedis with hand and foot massages, three different make-your-own beauty products, and a dance party), facilitated by a spa professional and her staff, and lunch provided? We couldn't pass that up.

4. Ag exemption- We've figured out the best way to get all our land ag exempt is through beekeeping (trust me, we've run through every possibility, and this is the best one for us). The process by which we reached this conclusion was disappointing, infuriating, and frustrating, but I think we're resolved now and we've started drawing up a plan. In our state/county, we have to prove up on whatever we're claiming for five years before we can be granted the exemption, and going this route means we've already got two years down. Included in the plan for the next three years: more hives, a honey house, and some extensive pollinator-friendly landscaping and land management. More on that later.

5. The peeps- Our girls are growing at a dizzying speed (I always forget how fast they turn into real chickens), and they are developing twelve distinct personalities in the process. I can't help but sit a spell in the coop while Queenie-Five-Toes perches on my lap and I watch Turmeric and Paprika chase flies, Ursula and Yzma dust bathe, and the others try to play Queen of the Perch. It's the best timesuck ever.

6. Wild edibles- All around us, the wild things are growing. We've had a crazy-bountiful dewberry harvest, and there are way more lamb's quarters this spring than I can ever remember in years past. We've been picking both every day almost and sharing them with the feather girls, freezing, dehydrating, or eating them on the spot. We've also found mustang grape vines that we didn't know we had, we found a row of mystery fruit trees in a fence row that look kinda like plums but could also be Texas persimmons maybe, and the blackberry canes around our pond are loaded with flowers. It won't be long before we're down there regularly picking gobs of blackberries!

7. The bees- I have already put a honey super on South Hive, North Hive isn't far behind them, and Middle Hive just reared their own queen. I feel compelled to make my way out to the bee yard regularly to make sure everyone is doing well and has enough room. I want to harvest honey this year!

 8. Leeloo- Our old border collie mix, Leeloo (going on 13 years old now), was recently diagnosed with lupus. She had been suffering from the disjointed symptoms of this apparently common problem for dogs her age for a while now, but recently they've all escalated with a few new twists that finally led to her official diagnosis. She now has to have six pills and two soft flavored antibiotic "chews" (which she won't eat and have to be hidden in food like the pills) every day. Getting to this point has taken three expensive trips to the vet and a lot of nursing time, and we're not quite out of the woods yet...

9. Audrey- Ever since Audrey's eardrums ruptured over Easter weekend, we've been dealing with hearing problems, which has led us to see an ENT specialist. We're in the process of trying to figure out why she keeps having trouble with her ears, and what can be done to help prevent further ear problems. Thankfully school is almost out for the summer, which will make follow-up appointments way easier, and maybe we'll get somewhere before school starts again!

10. End-o-the-year school stuff- this month, there has already been two field trips, a "splash day" for all grade levels at the kids' school, and a book character dress-up day. We still have up and coming an EXPO night, field day, a 2nd grade talent show, and Kindergarten graduation.

So thanks for visiting me here in this space, friends, hopefully I'll be more present soon. I'm checking stuff off my top 10 list as we speak, and with summer break comes a break............ right?

May Hive Check

Yesterday I did a quick hive check on Middle Hive, which was in the process of making their own queen the last time I peeked in. As luck would have it, the beekeepers' meeting immediately following my queenless hive discovery was all about raising queens, and the speaker totally freaked me out about the perils of the first few weeks of a virgin queen's life, not to mention the amazingness they go through on their mating flights. I was completely prepared to find a dying hive when I opened things up.

But nope- my girls knew what they were doing (um, magic), and I found capped brood and eggs! Can you see the single little egg in the bottom of each cell in the zoomed-in photo? They did it! They recognized when their queen perished with enough time to turn one of her last eggs into a new queen, they raised her, she took her mating flight and made it back to her own hive, and now she's laying!

Bees are amazing.

My other two hives are doing well, too. I think I'll need to order a couple new honey supers soon. So good news all around today.

Yay bees!

Our Weekend Saw...

Right now, I'm loving a weekend that saw...

...a warm, humid Friday afternoon spent watching the peeps, hunting bugs, and giving them their first treat- oatmeal for the win!
...burgers on the grill, thunder in the distance, and three chapters of our new story time book 'Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.'
...early breakfast-making with my girl (from her own cookbook, 95% made by her), some work around the house, and naps for everyone under the heavy grey skies of a cold front.
...BLTs, chocolate cookies, more thunder with no rain, and finally a temperature drop of over 20 degrees in less than an hour.
...a good movie with my guy after the kids went to bed and an extra blanket over our summer sheets when we were all tucked in.
...Sunday morning blueberry pancakes, another appearance of fleece and hoodies, work in the garden with two great helpers (and less-than-normal arguing!), and all the grub worms we could find doled out to the peeps as fairly as possible.
...new seeds planted, fresh grass cut, and pizzas ordered for dinner.
...lots of sand left behind in the tub after bath time, two more chapters at story time (with cries for more, such a good book so far!), and long-sleeved pajamas.

This weekend saw the last of April, the last time we'll probably need long sleeves for a loooong time, and the last of our garden seed stash tucked into our newly-amended soil. I thought it was a pretty fitting sendoff for the first full month of Spring.

Wishing everyone a sense of resolution and new beginnings as we jump on in to May!

Happy weekending!

Openin' It Up!

 

Ursula

Queenie and her entourage

Libby leading the way, Queenie cautiously following

Libby up, Paprika down

 My peeps have been literally cooped up for the past five days, and this morning I decided to peel back the flap blocking their front door and let them down into the run. Most of them were freaked out by the new freedom and didn't have the courage to do much more than stick their heads out of the opening and look around. Paprika and Libby, however, only needed about five minutes to gather the gall to jump, followed shortly by my favorite girl, Queenie-Five-Toes.

Queenie, the dorking with five toes on each foot

I had to go back out about an hour later and help the bold adventurers remember how to get back up with their sisters (and their food and water, for now)- as it seems they couldn't remember where they were- but it was a good start. I could watch them all day, those little feather babies. How we love their shenanigans!

Libby, Paprika, and Queenie of the First Expedition

 I left the flap pinned back when I checked on them at sundown, so they'll be able to get back down again tomorrow if they so choose. I can't wait to see who takes the leap next!

Something Sweet

My kids have been so crabby lately.

So.

Crabby.

This morning was more of the same, and it seems magnified because Audrey's hearing is greatly diminished (due to her ear infections over Easter weekend) so every squabble is yelled.

It was all I could do to get them out the door and over to the school on time without joining in on the yelling myself, which is just the worst way to start your day, I'm tellin' ya.

When I returned home from dropping them off and had stepped out of my car, I couldn't help but pause for a moment and look out over the field as the sunlight started breaking through the trees to filter over the tall grass and flowers... and I realized I needed a walk.

So I put on my grubby garden shoes, grabbed a vessel just in case I found something worth carting around, and started making my way through the dewy grass.

I could still see my breath from the lingering chill of the past night.

I could hear frogs croaking around the pond, and our neighbors' horses calling to each other.

And I found lots and lots of dewberries.

 Best of all, though, I let go of the frustration of the morning, the Mama guilt, and the tension I'd been holding on to from the hoorah of getting the kids out the door. I felt good about the little things again (I'd gotten both kiddos to eat breakfast, they'd left the house with clean clothes on, and I'm pretty sure they both remembered to brush their teeth, high five). I had reset.

And I had almost two quarts of dewberries for the freezer.

When the kids come back home, they'll probably find a way to pick back up where they left off. There will probably be more yelling, tattling, and whatever else they come up with. I just need to remember that there's always something sweet hidden here and there among the thorny parts of the day- I just need to take the time to slow down and look.

Right Now

Right now, I'm...

...snuffling and coughing and hating whatever has been in the air for the past week or two. I'm so over these seasonal allergies.
...planning how I'm going to put my lovely pile of rotted horse manure to work, and hoping whatever I plant from this point forward will have enough time to establish itself before it gets too hot!
...marveling at the comparison of my garden space our first spring here vs. now.
...smiling at the third or fourth "Hoppy" that was found and loved this weekend, and the plans the kids have to go back out and find him when they get home from school, build him a house, and find him "greens and bugs and things" so he'll stick around. I hope they do find him...
...feeling antsy for the sun to come up so I can go check on my feather girls, who spent their first night outside in the big girl coop!
...putting another hive inspection on my to-do list for this week. I need to get out there and make sure everyone has enough room, and I'm curious to see how that queen cell panned out in Middle Hive!
...indulging in a little look back on this day a couple years ago.
...loving that last photo from this weekend: my big boy who still conks out in the afternoon and wakes up smiley and happy, like he as since he was a baby.

Right now I'm stuck in that Spring current of energy that always makes me feel both motivated and overwhelmed, like I should be purging and creating equally, and which always makes the hours in the day seem to fly by with super speed. How thankful we are that the daylight hours are growing longer!

My we all find a way to channel that energy to our advantage this week. Happy Monday!

Weekending :: Earth Day

 This weekend we wore hoodies, drank extra coffee, scooped poop, dug in dirt, planted things, finished (finished!) the garden paths, and put the cattle panel trellises up. It felt more special than my birthday... and then we remembered that Earth Day fell on this weekend.

Yep, that'll do. This weekend was special, and we all felt it.

Wishing all a little something special from the weekend.

Happy weekending!