It has seemed rather quiet around here but behind the scenes things have been happening. I just didn't have the energy to post anything about it. But , without further ado... here is a picture montage...
A baby quilt I'm working on for a friend's baby . She is having a baby shower in 2 weeks and I still have to get the binding on. This is just the top piece before my sister Violet quilted it all on her machine.
Field peas blooming.
Lettuce greens in one of the new beds .
Kale and more lettuce... the kale seems a little more eager to come up than the lettuce... but that side doesn't get as much sun so maybe that is why... or the seed was old .
Mustard greens.
After I made all those soil blocks I planted tomatoes and peppers. They sprouted in only 4 days!! I was amazed. Maybe it was where the moon was or maybe they really liked the heating mats or the soil mix they were in... who knows. But I don't think I've ever had things sprout that quickly before.
Onion sets... I need to plant more.
A couple weeks later and look how big they are!
They get watered every so often with a diluted tea from the fermenting nettle tea. It smells really really bad but they seem to like it. The boys seem to love it.. they still try to drink it whenever they can .
Someone has been pinching my field peas!!
He grazes... I guess I don't need a sheep.
Here is my noxious brew.. these are the killer wild nettles we got up in the foothills (
Urtica dioica).
These are the common "domestic" or lesser nettle (
Urtica urens. ) . They stink just as bad though.
When you stir it they foam!
Jean.. from Jean's garden. I don't know why but when we got this statue years and years ago and put her here, she just reminded me so strongly of the character of the same name from Keeper of the Bees . A Gene
Stratton Porter novel. So that is what we called her. The Little Scout keeps guard over things while she is reading.
The Banks rose is blooming already.
The roses are leafing out.
The peach is blooming. Looks like it survived the rain we got a few days ago.
They smell so sweet .
Comfrey is pushing up.
Dew is on the peas.
And the ladies are back into the full swing of laying. Well, almost full swing.
My quilt top got quilted and I just thought this bubbling pot of cauliflower and tomato stuff was interesting. That's it for now.
This time it is Santa Cruz Lager. A very dark beer.
All the goodness dripping down.
It is almost like molasses.
Chillin the wort. This time I sped up the process by pouring several cups of salt over the ice. It chilled down in no time!
Elly May working wonders in the kitchen. This is a maple/rosemary chicken. You had to be there. Mmmmm.
I think Elly May has had snake on the brain lately. Mom was not pleased.
This one was more to Mom's liking.
It was a dinner party for Passover. We don't eat this much sugar usually... at least I don't think so. 
More chocolate!
Stepping outside. The roses are all in full bloom. This is a David Austin rose by the name of Legendary Gold . It is breathtaking and one of my favorites .
Almost there!
He was cold so he wasn't moving around much. When he finally got heated through and through... he took off .
My back would hurt doing this .
Oh look , he is actually smiling for once in his sad , depressed , bored "why do you people do this to me" life .
Just because.
Just thought I'd share our skill and diligence as housekeepers. Actually, it is the latest green technology in moth catching. You should try it sometime.
