Planting Time

With a few warm days inbetween rains it feels like time to plant. Put over 500 onions plants or sets in the four different beds on March 20. On the 18th a started some lettuce seeds in the BBQ planter. On Monday the 22nd planted in the greenhouse tomato and pepper seeds that I had saved from last year. I've never saved seeds before so it will be interesting to see if any come up. Also planted some Basil seeds. On the 13th I planted cucumbers, zuccini, yellow crookneck squash and hubbard squash seed in containers in the house. Put them on top of the hot water heater until they sprouted and now have them on the window sill in the kitchen. Hope I can keep them in the same containers until time to plant in the ground in mid May. May or may not be possible....

Dad moved the small raised beds we had by the garage to the area behind the bunkhouse where the other raised beds are. Also put pvc pipe hoops over all the beds. We put bird netting over the hoops to keep the guineas and other critters out of the beds until the plants are big enough to survive a few pecks. We have turnips left over from fall that Dad pulls and cuts up for the chickens to eat. Some broccoli raab grew right through the winter and we eat a some now and again. Haven't eaten it as much as we should have because it's been so wet and soggy out there I hate to go out to pick anything. Probably won't put anything in the big beds until May. We are still having frost at night.

The chickens have cut back on laying. Am down to about a dozen a day from 15-16 a day. Beautiful big brown eggs though. We did get one tiny egg. The smallest chicken egg I have ever seen. About an inch long, if that. Weird!

All last week and a couple of days the week before I went to Sister Lotts at 11:30 and put drops in her eyes. She had cataract surgery and can't do the drops herself. Sue puts them in for her in the morning and evening. Dad spent most of Monday at Tom Pearson's. He is the home teacher and Tom is getting forgetful and his wife is afraid to leave him alone very long, for fear he will wander off so Dad goes and stays with him when she needs to be gone more than an hour or so.

Got an email from Ben saying they may come on April 3rd through the 8th. We REALLY hope they can make it. Haven't seen their family for what seems like a very long time. That will give us an excuse to have an Easter Egg hunt!