I just realized that one of the last posts last year, our greenhouse got blown down in the wind. Here's a pic of our greenhouse we put up after that, Chuck's design, which has been very solid and such a blessing to have! Along with that, I have included pics of what we have brewing right now...our large potato patch (nothing up yet) and our high tunnel with plants growing already inside. We hope to improve the high tunnel next year, make it a bit more solid, but for now it is doing it's job. We also got some of the raised beds ready, though we are waiting for row cover before we plant. We are planning on putting lettuces and greens in these, but the row cover will protect it from chickens and bugs, and keep it slightly shaded, as greens don't like a whole lot of sunlight.

Shame on me, it's been a YEAR since I posted! We got the tractor and hit the ground running, and our market garden season took off almost without us. So, it's spring again, we're already well ahead of the game (though way behind on a few things, flowers for instance) and I will try again to keep up my pitiful blog. I'll start with a lovely couple of pictures of our first hen to hatch her chicks this season...13 altogether! Hope everyone is well, Shalom!

No, these are not hatching pods for aliens....I have my strawberries under them! They are actually the coverings for old street lights. A friend of a friend had gotten them when the city they were from put in new street lamps, figuring they'd use them the way I am, as little green houses. But they never got around to it and they were given to me. They are so cool! A little fragile, and the shape makes them hard to cover a lot of stuff, but I just cover whatever plants are still sticking out with large plastic cups, the clearest I could find. We'll see how it works!

Another Shabbat is here...boy, are we worn out! It was a very busy week.

A few days ago, Chuck and the boys rigged up a greenhouse using a pavilion tent we had. I was so proud of them, it looked wonderful! And it was FULL of itsy bitsy plants sprouting up everywhere!

But alas, we had a horrible wind storm today, and unfortunately the poles this tent was made from were not strong enough, and the whole thing collapsed. My heart just broke for Chuck, he had tried so hard to make it work, and with pleasing ME as part of the motivation. I told him it's OK, but he was just so down. He and the boys are hoping to "rebuild" on Monday. More later today....

Hi everyone. Today (and last night) is Rosh Hashanah, more commonly called the Jewish New Year....so....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Rosh Hashanah is literally translated, "head of the year." So although we aren't having a big celebration (we've just been to busy to prepare for it) we will think about the year to come, what we want to accomplish, and especially, ways we want to improve ourselves. We are eating apples and honey to symbolize having a sweet year ahead! The honey, by the way, was given to us by Charlotte's boyfriend down in Florida...his parents have a farm there and raise the honey bees themselves. It has an orange flavor, because the bees collect their pollen from orange tree blossums! It's delicious!

Michael and Zach (Davey's grandson) blew the Shofar on the porch. My grandson enjoyed some apples too!

We prayed that we would all improve ourselves, treat each other kinder and with more respect, strive to make our home someplace that the children WANT to be, the center of our lives, and a haven of rest and love for those we don't see as often (Charlotte, Kelsey, Travis and Amanda) because they are on their own.

My biggest flaw, which I hope to improve in the new year, is mis-scheduling my time, and getting all that I need to get done, finished! The bottom line is that I just take on too much and on top of that I'm a procrastinator. I have an article I got from a friend about how to deal with procrastination, so I think today would be a great day to read it! My mismanagement of time has led to not spending as much of my life with family, immediate and especially extended, and not sharing and keeping in touch with relatives and friends who we are apart from.

Remember that little bottle fed lamb I posted about back on February 4th? Well, look at her now! She's a moose, sooooo big and still being bottle fed, though I'm SURE she could be weaned. Problem is, if she doesn't get fed when she desires, she stands at the porch and screams "Baaaaaaaaa" for a long, long, long time...And it's not just her, it's her and two comerades (see 3 posts back, the sleeping lambs). If we try to ignore, and it's evening and they can see us inside the house, they will go from window to window crying!! In the past, all bottle fed babies stayed with the herd, but not this crew...they don't know that they are sheep...Look at Abigail, it seems as though she's saying, "Come on in, this is my porch, make yourself at home!"