Welcome to Homestead Happenings,
where spring has taken hold!
One of the first signs of the warmer season
is these lovely dandelions that pepper the lawn.
We leave them be, as we know how beneficial
they are to our pollinator friends.
The color is making its way across the flower beds,
with pops of chartreuse breaking up the greens and blues.
It's wonderful to see how much the beds have filled in,
leaving less area for me to have to apply woodchips as mulch.
Densely planting discourages weeds from taking over.
The columbines seen here have really taken off
this year. A few will most likely be moved within the same space,
just to fill in where nothing is growing.
They also add a bit of vertical interest to the garden.
They remind me of a fountain!
The pink dogwood in the front yard
is one of my absolute favorite trees on the property.
Each spring, I look forward to their splendor.
We have a white dogwood in the wooded area
on the east side of the yard.
What treasures!
The ajuga, phlox and irises are all
strutting their stuff in various shades
of purple.
These return every spring and in fact,
spread to fill our beds even more.
Great plants to divide or share with another gardener.
We've been seeing butterflies for the past
three weeks or so.
This milkweed springs up every year
in our front porch bed.
It will be ready to greet (and feed)
the monarch caterpillars in the summertime.
The veggie garden is humming along,
with onions, leeks, garlic,
potatoes, kale and lettuce growing.
This leaf was recently found on our Yukon potatoes,
although just this one leaf was affected.
It looks a bit menacing, so out it came.
All of the chooks are enjoying the spring weather.
Once or twice a day, they are out foraging
for bugs and other treats they find in the grass or under leaves.
We will be picking up our chicks later today,
so I hope to have pictures in the next post.
This is the breed we hope to get.
They are blue-laced golden Wyandottes,
and I've been pining for the Wyandotte breed
for a couple of years now.
Photo courtesy of BackyardChickens.com
The fresh-milled flour journey continues.
This past week I tried my hand at making Morning Glory Muffins.
In college, these kept me alive.
I was absolutely mad for them, and with good reason.
They are filled with pineapple, apple, walnuts, carrots and
other goodies and they tasted like absolute heaven.
A recipe using FMF could not be found,
so I winged it.
They weren't what I remember,
so I will have to tweak the recipe,
maybe add some zucchini to give them more moisture.
I'll let you know if I come up with something tasty!
Last time,
I told you about a minor project
in the room adjoining our kitchen.
Did you guess what it is?
This house has no pantry, and I've tried to work around
that for the almost nine years that we've been here.
I bought this little cabinet (on the left),
to help with storing bowls, jars and things,
and used a couple of upper cabinets next to the stove to store food.
I gave it a year, but still wasn't happy with the arrangement.
Big K and C put in these two IKEA cabinets
and while we are still getting used to the new location of items,
it seems like a good use of the wall space.
I think it'll work out just fine.
I'm thinking of covering the glass with fabric or frosted paint.
So grateful to have handy men in the house.
The sprouting has begun!
I've been wanting to get back in the habit of
growing sprouts in the kitchen window.
They are one of the more nutritious foods
to add to your diet.
They really take tacos and sandwiches up a notch.
So easy to grow in a mason jar with a sprouting lid.
Even if you're still dealing with winter,
you can bring a bit of spring to your homestead!
Thank you for stopping by for a visit today.
I'm sending peace and good wishes your way.
Do look after yourself.
