After yielding to the warm temperature temptations of early March, I held my ground to begin our garden planting yesterday - April 2nd!  It just had to be after April Fool's day - silly farming superstition that it is........but I am glad to see how much progress we made in just a late afternoon:

We planted 24 tomato plants, 6 green bell pepper plants and I threw in a couple of gourmet types (that's a "we'll see" planting), butternut squash, yellow crookneck squash, bush beans, butter peas and sweet snow peas along with some experimental pumpkins and watermelons (seeds we harvested from the watermelons that sprouted from the boys' spit and pumpkins that grew in the compost!).

 

We still have a number of vegetables to get in the ground, but this was a good start compared to years past.

Alan was sweet to plough up a nice wide bed directly in front of our chicken yard where I planted tons of wildflower seed - I hope these prove successful - I can't think of anything any prettier than a multitude of wildflowers growing in masses all along the front of our chicken yard attracting, bees, butterflies and an assortment of bugs for the chickens to chase all over their yard!!

The boys and I have finalized our chick order (totalling 35) and hope to have our future flock to arrive May the 8th - I will keep you posted on this......  Once these chicks are in house - we hope to have our flock at 50; with the roosters we have ordered we have future plans to mate and raise some specific heirloom breeds including:

Plymouth Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Speckled Sussex, Single-combed Brown Leghorns, and Sicilian Buttercups.

Everything is beginning to really leaf out since our temperatures here have been in the 80's this weekend.  While we've already had the bluebirds nesting all of March, I saw the Flycatchers beginning to build nests around the house as they have done since we moved here and I saw the first hummingbird yesterday as well.

I believe winter has finally passed on and our beloved dirt road surroundings and its wildlife inhabitants are awakening from their wintery slumber.

Have a great week, Y'all!

hkj