spring fever.

wow! it was 84 degrees yesterday. and 4 days before that it was below freezing and i had to bring baby goat marton inside for the evening. spring weather is crazy!

marton is doing well. we had a scare with him 2 days ago when he had a touch of frothy bloat and constipation. two things that are incredibly serious in baby goats. i caught it in time. and was able to administer enemas which eventually revived his peristaltic action and alleviated the gas from his rumen. i am so relieved. i was not about to lose our newest little guy. it was pretty much the nastiest thing i've ever had to do. and i'm sure he was as confused as i, but it worked. and he is thriving now in this warm spring weather.

i had my 6 week follow-up with my plastic surgeon regarding my implant replacement. it went great. i've healed up nicely. and have been allowed to start doing yoga and farming again!

tried my hand at a little garden work today since the sun was shining. but got very winded after only 1/2 an hour. which was discouraging. but it's hard to get upset when it is an absolutely gorgeous day outside. i did get a chance to peek at the soil in last year's garden. it is a beautiful rich dark color. can't wait to till it and start planting our seedlings. the tower grove farmer's market is coming up in just 5 short weeks! opening day is may 8th. look for more info on our provenance farm blog.

seedlings a growin'

as for my breathing issues, i was able to get an appointment with a great pulmonary specialist next week. he comes highly recommended. and am hoping we can get to the bottom of what is happening with my lungs. wish me luck.

and now, some gratuitous doggy photos (taken during last weekend's thunder storms). all dogs took full advantage!

the GLOPs

little bit (in MY chair) because...

the beagles claimed little bit's chair

and choppy in jason's chair

"in labor" day weekend.

what a lovely weekend. started with some general home/farm improvement. cleaned up the laundry room and installed a new-to-us refrigerator which will be used solely for curing meat and aging cheese.

an amazing harvest from the garden...

then a visit from sam the drummer, his wife kate, and their gorgeous baby ophelia. this baby is crazy about animals and loves to give them hugs. a simultaneous visit from jason's daughter, amber. much fun was had playing with baby goats, chickens, the llama, the pigs and the zillion dogs. plus a bottle of italian prosecco didn't hurt, either.

ophelia leading the way for sam

ophelia waving in her very own chicken parade

then today, labor day, the goat stork visited. 842 finally had her baby. a beautiful blue-eyed blond buck, tito (named by our friend kendra's daughter). labor and birthing went brilliantly. unfortunately, that's where the brilliance ended. 842 wasn't too keen on being a mom. perhaps she imagined her role as mere surrogate? after much counseling upon our part, 842 still stuck to her guns and gave the baby up for adoption. she rejected the poor tike. luckily, we have colostrum replacer on hand. and he is currently being bottle fed indoors by his new mother, me. his big doggy sister (little bit) is doing a wonderful job at keeping him clean. and he seems to like the extra attention.

tito

although tito is currently doing well, baby goats that are rejected have a hard road to travel. right now he's still about 50/50 for survival. so all well-wishes and strong-goat-baby-vibes you want to throw our way will be ever so appreciated.

from the garden

the first tomato of the season! also peppers are starting to come in (gypsy and bell pictured above). got a few cucumbers almost ready to pick. swiss chard, lettuce, cilantro, basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley. along with a few fat juicy hornworms, unfortunately. i took guilty pleasure in feeding the worms to our chickens.

my wee little garden.

so, i'm slowly taking back my garden. laying down newspaper and hay to kill out weeds & grass. getting the hydrogen levels in check. killing hornworms with my bare hands. yes, hornworms beware! dusting with diatomaceous earth to kill other pests (we don't use chemical pesticides). and low and behold, baby fruits are being revealed.

gypsy pepper

itty bitty heirloom tomato

eggplant (still needs some de-pesting)

adorable baby cucumber

giganto jalapeno pepper

now for the million dollar question.... anyone know what this plant is?

it is growing all over our pasture. is it a weed? a baby tree? i do not remember seeing it last year. hoping it is not worrisome. perhaps it's something beneficial? the root actually smells quite good. sweet and spicy. ok, so i don't have a million dollars. but i will award some sort of prize (more than likely mohair or vegetable) to the first person to correctly identify this mystery plant.

"speed kills, herb." - wkrp in cincinnati

the garden is getting off to a slow start. as i mentioned before, floods came and knocked out all the 'maters. and then life got in the way. and then crab grass and dandelions took over. but it's getting there.

garden beginnings.

the ground has finally dried off a bit. and the seeds we planted last month have begun to sprout. corn & beans & squash & herbs, among others. i still have tons of weeding to do. and unfortunately the storms destroyed all my transplanted tomato plants. but a new batch of seedlings is growing steady indoors and should provide us with some late season fruit. but i have to say, the worst part of gardening, beyond the backbreaking work, is the waiting. i'm hungry now!

five-color silverbeet

corn

squash

broccoli

bean sprout

cilantro