It was a three day weekend together! And we were productive, though never nearly as much of our to do list gets done as we'd like. Manual labour is intensive! Lol. What did you think? Homesteading is a breeze? No, it was not. We were considering the work and the tools available to the brothers who tamed our piece of land. They can basically be summed up as heroes. Yep, heroes, and that goes for all the persevering, ingenious survivors who built our country. We have become rather soft now that standard life comes with so many automatic features...
I can't really explain the natural lighting phenomenon we enjoy here on the farm... It's surreal at times in a daylight nocturnal lilac aurora borealis kind of way. That probably doesn't look the same to you in your mind's eye right now, but I promise it is interesting. And it occurred the first day we looked at the property together. It was weird moment of knowing here was right.
Outside we probably did the most. Our sights are set on berries. Raspberries in particular, but I'm sure we'll also plant strawberries and elderberries since all three should do well in our zone and we love them! So, we cleared an area which must have been where the Burns brother's garden once stood, the one which grew all the produce (potatoes we hear) they ate. This involved mowing and clearing grass above ground and aerating as well to let the heat in. The ground is still very cold and hard despite the warm temperatures we enjoyed. The next step will be to kill the grass. It was a dilemma how to go about that, but we can't just remove it by scooping it away because we will loose too much of the precious top soil, so it'll be pesticide. It's not my first choice in general but it will be clean by the second year of fruit production (according to organic rules - three years free), and free of effectivity in two weeks according to Round-Up's label. (I'd wait a good triple that before licking the ground, but eh, as you wish) Also we have neighbouring crops receiving all kinds of help - if need be - on all four sides, so we'd never qualify as organic even if we wanted to have such a farm. (Even if they don't waste such expensive dust on areas they don't own... But rules are rules.) Now we just need to decide if we want to clear the whole acre or so of space at once, or expand at a later date.
We have an existing section of about 600 square feet of tilled garden. It may have been used last summer, and maybe not... Anyway we decided we should weed it and then we'd have the choice to plant it up should we want to. And planting will be the easy part - even watering will be nearly effortless - compared to the labourous overturning. So far I've gotten through about a tenth and that took all afternoon. But I enjoyed being in the sun in next to nothing. Jordan liked that, too. The weather Sunday was perfect!
We've moved a tree in order to have a proper vehicle entrance, resurfaced the driveway, turned the compost and have been working at cutting and fastening poo trays for the rabbit cages.
On a food note, we had just about everything I was hoping to taste. We also went to a diner we'd been looking forward to for a few years, and it sadly did not live up to any standards, though it's a fun diner-car-alien idea. I actually couldn't believe how many times afterward Jordan remarked upon us having eaten bad food. I'll take that as a compliment ;) as well as the fact that he liked my baked artichokes! Can you believe it?
I can't.
I still think I may have been dreaming, although I am now dreaming of giant artichoke because on re-reading the recipe I loosely followed, I see they had artichokes weighing a pound each!!! They're called Lyon Artichokes, so perhaps that's the norm in France.
We will see.
Well, I will see.
If you've not had anything other than caned artichoke hearts I encourage you to try the fresh version. So pretty and tasty!
I felt crosses were not necessary. But butter, oh yesssss. Hot (cross) buns....
Quail eggs are so wee and beautiful, I thought I should blow them out in order keep them for years to come, though after blowing 23 of them (I got help with one, and sadly I broke one) I was quite light headed, which may have made them look extra pretty. The quail decorate them for us to enjoy in such attractive blotchy-splotchy browns and creams. I have been enjoying them just the way nature delivers, as it goes nicely with the farm-house theme, but I imagine they'd also look spectacular with a dye-job in pastel hues, or with speckles of metallic paint. I made a quiche from them, plus some chicken eggs since they are pretty darn small, even if you have 23!
Easter is a time for beautiful arrangements derived from nature
and here is a lovely example made by a dear creative friend of mine:
Lastly, but not least, we were delighted with our little Georgi,
who brought us his very first mouse.
The Easter mouse. How appropriate!
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