after the rain

It rained.  And rained.  And rained some more.  I didn't really think it was necessary to dump inches every day when it was time to Plant. My. Garden.  I was in quite the funk.  But it finally stopped (mostly) and the sun came out and warmed things up.  The wind picked up on a few of those days as only wind in the the middle of a corn field can, which helped.  And then The Plow Guy came for a visit.  We both agreed that the ground was still too wet to work.  But what to do?  If that crust on top of

the garden wasn't broken up it might be July before I got it planted. So he came back a few days later and broke the crust up.  Just in time for more rain, but at least now it could drain into the soil instead of laying on top of the crust.  A few days later a neighbor came over and plowed it again.  And so Sunday, June 1, Bob and I started on the garden.  A month late, but now the most of it is in.  Currently it just looks like plowed up dirt.  But there are seeds/transplants of:  melons, tomatoes (2 kinds), cucumbers, summer squash (2 kinds), chard, lettuces (5 kinds), radishes, onions, dill, parsley, sweet peppers, cauliflower, celery, beans, potatoes, basil, cabbages (2 kinds), brussel sprouts, hot peppers (2 kinds), beets (3 kinds), garlic, carrots (3 kinds) basil, cilantro, peas, pumpkins and various flowers.  In the back garden we have asparagus, raspberries, corn, rhubarb and more flowers.  What you won't see in either garden is chickens.  They are in jail (confined to their run) until we can get fencing up.  I didn't spend 20 hours planting just for them to tear it up in 5 minutes!

So my mood has improved since the sun came out and I could play in the dirt.  What I did to keep from going crazy while waiting for
the ground to dry was finish my cross stitch project.  Of course it will look better after it's cleaned and framed.  But it looks very good already to me!  I also fixed up the Christmas stockings for Cathy and Anthony.  So now everyone there has their own stocking, correctly sized and named in the color and pattern of their choosing.

Since I have only been at this chicken thing for one year now, I expect I have gone and done something

a bit foolish.  But I couldn't resist.  Look at how little and cute they are!!!  Instead of saying 'Cluck cluck cluck, let us out so we can devour your garden!' they say 'Peep peep peep, are you my mother?'  Their feathers are so soft and I can carry all three of them at once - in one arm!  I haven't taught them to pose for the camera yet, that will come in due time.  They are Barred Plymouth Rocks, and are supposed to be very good layers, too.  We shall see in a few months.

And finally, the pic of the youngest grandbaby.  She finally got her first tooth last week (at 14 months), yea!! I get to babysit next weekend, I can't wait.  I doubt I'll get much done besides stacking blocks and doling out finger food, but I am still too thrilled.