Success!

Lady Bird laid her first egg!

Almost Instant Gratification

I spent this weekend finishing up the rows for the garden and getting everything in and planted. It was quite a process…I started before Easter. It feels good to get that huge task taken care of, and just as the hot weather is settling in, too. It's already doing better than last year. I'm really using what I learned last year to improve things and I can already see the changes. We’ve already been enjoying our first garden lettuce.



Planted Easter weekend and ready for the past week, we've been picking as needed, and it sure is lovely. Everything else has a long way to go, but it's nice to get something from the garden so soon. It makes all of the work worth it.

Lettuce is really easy...everyone could have lettuce growing, even in apartments. A window box of this or a pot on your porch would be such a nice summer treat. It's so soft and delicate. A bowl of this sprinkled with oil and vinegar and a glass of Riesling. Yes.

I have to say that the garden is pretty much solely my project this year. We've reached a silent agreement that Aaron would do most of the yard work and I would tend the garden. Which I think we're both okay with. Aaron hates weeding. I hate the noise of the mower. Last year, we had a reel mower. We really tried with that thing. But our lawn is just to big for that much work. Dang. We were killing ourselves. So now we're guiltily using a regular push mower we found on Craigslist and composting the clippings or using them as mulch. Oh well. We can't do everything. But for now, we'll eat our lettuce and be happy that our energy is now going into growing, rather than cutting the lawn.

Homesteading Progress

Start a garden? Check. Bake our own bread? Check. Make our own yogurt? Check. Get chickens?

Henny-Penny and Lady Bird

CHECK!

On Sunday, we picked up these two lovely ladies and added them to the family. They are Red Star pullets and we got them from a farmer who raises free-range/organic eggs. They should be ready to start laying eggs in about four weeks.

Aaron's been busy for the last few weeks building their new home.

It took a long time. We were still working on it they day we got them.

It's called a chicken tractor, and the idea is to provide a semi-free-range, yet enclosed area with the coop on top. You move it around the lawn every couple of days so that they can have fresh ground/bugs/etc.

It looks kind of weird because it's on a slope

This is where we'll steal their eggs

Aaron designed it himself after looking at several different ways of making one. He's so cute. More chicken love to come! Stay tuned.

Newly Wed No Longer

I can't believe it's been a year since the wedding! Man, this year has just zipped by. Right about now, I was probably nervously going over my lines in my head, peeking through the window to watch as people arrived, and trying to remember to breathe.

It was a labor of love and it turned out to be a beautiful day. I am so happy that we did most of the details ourselves...that gave us so many more memories. And I still can't think of a better place to have a wedding. It was perfect.

My favorite memories: The gardens, the pies, the relaxed atmosphere, seeing Aaron in seersucker, seeing Cody, my beautiful snapdragons, the way the rain stopped just in time! (I've been owing the weather gods on that big time, by the way. Every major day for the last year has been rainy...but it was sooo worth it.)

So after a year, have I learned anything about married life? Choose your battles, never put up wall paper with the one you love, a small gesture (like waking someone up with coffee in bed or putting a special surprise treat in their lunch bag, or really listening to what they're saying) goes a really long way. Patience is invaluable. Friendship is the most important thing in a marriage. I am ready for year #2!