on the farm

It is getting busy up here on the farm, putting in the garden, watching things green up and start growing in earnest. We are enjoying a visit with Perry's parents -the kids are so excited every day to hop out of bed in the morning and race over to the big house to see them.

The garden is mostly planted now, there is just the potatoes to put in and most of the seedlings. It is still cold at night and I can't bring myself to plant out those babies I nurtured from seeds just yet.

The raspberry plants are growing quickly,

The few cabbages I did plant are holding up alright,

The peas are planted, though they have not poked up yet. We thought the teepee style climbing poles would work best for the kids to access easily with minimal soil trampling. Ari has been working on his own creative string- trellis system.

And of course there is always rhubarb. More than we could ever eat. I need to try more rhubarb recipes. I get tired of it quickly, but maybe if I had a new way to eat it?

And our dandelion crop is always prolific!

Seedling awaiting transplanting. They have done really well and are healthy. We hope to get the greenhouse ready next weekend and then we will plant everything out.

Ari has also been busy working on his ice cream stand. He has been playing this game out of the straw bale playhouse for as long as we've had it (and we've sort of given up on it ever getting its final stucco- we are just enjoying it as it is- the kids don't mind,) and today he needed a sign for it. He dictated his business name to his Nana who wrote it on the wood he'd salvaged for this purpose, and then he proudly nailed it up himself. He is very pleased.

The sand gets collected from the sandbox and brought into the shop-
Then it is scooped into a serving dish and carried out on an "ice cream board" which I didn't catch a picture of,
And enjoyed on the outside table. We are quite lucky to have our very own ice cream stand in our back yard!

Our baby chicks arrived this weekend- we went to pick them up in a neighbouring town and brought them to their new home on the farm. They are doing very well. There are 12 of them and they will grow up to be our new layers. The boys are pretty thrilled, though I have been trying to discourage too much time in the coop until the babies settle in and grow up a little, then they will be able to hold them and snuggle them up!

Ari found our neighbours cat sleeping in our woodshed in the stroller. He thought that was pretty funny!

And we've eaten outside a few times- summer time is all about campfires and cookouts. Perry and his dad just finished building a picnic table so we can soon be enjoying eating out behind our house. It is quieter there, and it has the advantage of being situated right beside the famous ice cream stand.

Happy Tuesday friends.