Spring For Real!

This post has been in the process of being written for about a week now.  I started over the weekend but
never finished.  I'm in Woodinville now and I'm finally taking the time to finish and post it.  It's midnight
 but I'm too excited to go to bed.  You'll see why in just a minute.  Of course if you are a fan of facebook you will already know why :)

It's really and truly spring! The buds on the grapes are almost swelling.  The blossoms on the fruit trees are almost forming.  The creek is spilling out over it's banks like it does every year...
Tank is getting ready to go for a swim.

The flooding creek means the snow in the mountains is melting and the ground is thawing.  Last week I tried to dig a hole to move my blueberries but the ground was still too frozen. This week I was successful.  Dave and I moved them to a sunnier location between the grape vines and the raspberries.  I hope they thrive in their new home. Today (Sunday) I pruned the grape vines and planted some new cuttings.  I just read that you can stick cuttings in the dirt and they will grow.  We shall see...

Super nice picture with the clods of dirt hanging out of the tub.  Oh well :)   I'm excited to see if they will grow.

 We also pruned the fruit trees.  This is their third year so I hope we get a few pieces of fruit off of them!












On Saturday I decided I better think about rototilling the garden for the first time.  I had a whole winters worth of cow poop piled on top and wanted to start working it in.  I put on some nasty garden work clothes assuming that it would be a pretty "crappy" job.  I was right!  Unfortunately I forgot to take an antihistamine.  I am still getting over the last of a winter cold and had a heck of a time breathing through my nose.  So... I was forced to breathe through my mouth - which would not have been so bad except that as the tines cut the poop into the soil they also threw it up and I felt like I ate as much poo as I tilled into the ground.  SOOOO GROSS!!!!  :)  Oh well!  Live and learn!

 I will give it another go this weekend.  I will take an antihistamine first!  As you can see in the background there are NO leaves on the trees yet.  The west side of the state is about a month ahead of us.  We will catch up though so it's high time to sort through my seeds!

Speaking of seeds... I plan on growing bok choi, spinach, a couple of kinds of beets.  Sugar peas, pole beans, several varieties of tomatoes including the kind for sun drying.  Hmm... what else... Walla walla onions of course, cilantro, basil, jalapeño and cayenne peppers.  And I'm sure I'm forgetting some.  Oh, giant pumpkins too.  I think I bought a squash variety packet of seeds.  I'm sure I have more seeds than garden space.  I think in the fall I'll plow up more ground and enlarge the garden.  First I have to see how much space I have left after my green house and garden shed are built.  That will be one of Dave's major projects this summer.  Along with fencing in another large chunk of pasture and building a new chicken coup.  Dave is awesome!  :)  Of course I will have to assist with the project by fetching this or that and keeping a steady stream of drinks and snacks coming.  I probably will have to include a few foot and back rubs too but it will be worth it :)  I can't wait to try my hand at starting  melons early in the greenhouse then planting them in the garden to mature in the hot sun.  We have wonderful hot weather that produces awesome tomatoes and things... once it finally arrives!   I have learned that our little valley has one of the shortest growing seasons in the country.  Last year I jumped the gun and planted my tomatoes in the garden in May and they froze!  :(   A green house will really make the most of the short season.

And the most exciting thing of all is the arrival of Ginger's tiny calf.  Unfortunately I'm in Woodinville so I missed out on the birth but Dave was on hand and sent me this little pic that he took with his phone.  I'm so excited to get back home to see...it.  Come to think of it I don't even know if it's a boy or girl baby.  But here it is...

Of course there will be more pics when I get home.  Ginger is a great big cow.  Looks like her little baby is about the size of her head.  Really it's a miracle that she has a calf this year.   The sire is a young bull Dave bought last spring.  Just a yearling.... he did not appear to be nearly large enough to breed Ginger.  He grew a lot over the spring and summer.  Still... he must have used a step stool!  :)  He's getting big now though and he must be pretty proud of himself today.  Good job Red Bull!  We expect one more calf from Mumbo.  I think it may be several weeks before her baby arrives.  So much excitement this time of year!  Yay!  Ok... I think I'm winding down now.  Unfortunately (insert sly grin here) I forgot my glucose monitor and have no scale to weigh myself so I have no stats to report.  Toooo bad!

Ciao now, baby cow!  (Yep, I've lost it!  Big time!)