First Garden Planting - Milking

Still very cold this morning, 30° but a slow warmup is on the way. I hope to get some outdoor work done today.

I did a walk-about in the yard and it is always fun to see new things popping up or beginning to bloom.

First the spirea prunifolia in the driveway border is in full bloom. The younger is blooming much better than the mother plant. I will prune it way down after bloom.

These send out runners and I see one is in bloom. I am going to try to dig it out and replant it out front next to the road....cheaper than buying a new one!



I like how this daffodil changes color as the bloom ages. The older bloom is the peach colored trumpet.


The bleeding heart is in bloom.

and the 'Fire-in-the-Bush', chaenomeles speciosa. It really needs to be cut down and let regrow. In fact the entire shrub border next to the road on the east yard needs the same treatment, but it is much too big a job.


I am happy to report the morning milking went well! Not perfect, but at least I think she let down most of her milk, I will know better from the cream line tomorrow. She started eating at once which is a first, but quit before she was finished. In order to keep her from making a mess in the barn, we are turning her out right after milking and then feeding her grain. I will feel like it is 100% successful when she enters the ramp on her own. She is still going into the barn where I used to milk....we have a sneaky way to fix that....coming up.

After milking, I planted 25 Surecrop strawberries and some sugar snap peas.
By then it was 11 AM and I came in to fix lunch.
I had made the Street Meat from Ilene's blog yesterday for supper and I wasn't too impressed, but I reheated it for lunch today and we both agreed it was very tasty. I really like the rice cooked that way....I think the recipe would even work well using leftover meat, already cooked, of any kind. We used a lot of hot sauce over it at the table. I would do it again after buying all the required herbs. A side was more steamed asparagus with butter. I am wondering why all the stalks are so slender??? I plan to add lots of cow enriched mulch this year.

Dessert was the coffee cake I made yesterday. We like it a lot!

At 2 pm, I went back out. I was determined to get all the strawberries and potatoes planted. I did the other 25 Cardinal strawberries and a 45-foot row of Yukon Gold potatoes. I am pleased. Still a lot more to do for early garden but at least I am started. I finished at 4 pm.

DH is clipping a field on the old farm.

I slipped another green egg under my hen this morning.