It's a beautiful morning in the Ozarks!  but a little chilly and so much dew that I got wet almost to my knees checking a  calf in the east field.



See that tiny head peeking over the grass?  I thought it was a new baby but on closer inspection saw that it was one born a few days ago.  I saw more thistles......an ongoing problem.  We have decided mowing is the best method of control.  I don't like herbicides and it gets pretty expensive to keep spraying.

While I was out doing my 'walk about', I turned on the sprinkler in the garden and at the dining room porch  beds.  While we aren't seriously dry, I thought they could use a drink.  I will leave them on about an hour which figures about l inch with our pressure on the well.

I haven 't accomplished a lot over the last week.  I did make us a rhubarb pie from the rhubarb my Sis gives me each year.  DH wasn't  thrilled but he ate a piece whenever I did.  I hope she won't have to supply me next year.  I have a year-old plant and just ordered two Starkrimson Rhubarb plants from Stark Brothers (who else).  The are currently residing in two large flower pots and have already sprouted large leaves.  It looks like they will have a nice red color (I hope).  I did my normal routine of cooking and housekeeping (very little).

We did have DH's mother out for Mother's Day.  We had picked up the new corn-fed beef on Saturday morning so we were able to test out some steaks for dinner.  We all thought it was very good, tender and juicy.  There was lots of marbling in the red meat which is what we were striving for by feeding corn for 90 days.  She requested a peach cobbler, but I had to substitute apricots....out of peaches now.  She brought  me  a 'hostess' gift.  It was a new large rain gauge that I can read by just looking out the back door.  No more bringing the can in the house and measuring with a ruler!  She's the best MIL to be had.

Gardening

I finally planted the sweet corn and Cherokee Trail of Tears pole beans (that's what I am watering this morning).  I also got my long row of new strawberries planted. I hadn't ordered from Stark Brothers in Louisiana,  Missouri in a very long time and was very pleased with the product and quick service.  I bought 25 strawberries and two rhubarb plants and received them within a week or less.

I hoed out the row of cauliflower  and broccoli but didn't quite finish the tiny little bed of spinach and carrots.

I harvested a gallon bag of cilantro (all self-seeded).  I washed, dried and chopped it.  Then flash froze it and put it in a gallon bag.  I should be able to measure out what I need easily.  I use it in my salsa recipe.

I still need to get the tomato and pepper plants planted and hope to begin that today.  I keep getting interrupted with something.

Weeding

I am currently working on the light pole and new bed around the generator.  The goal is to finish that today.  I did two hours day before yesterday and then the trimmer refused to cooperate.   DH was going to finish mowing the west yard and the mower died.  I hate to let him near my equipment.....he always has bad luck....I will see if it will start this morning, if not, a trip to Bolivar is in our future.  I am sure I just flooded the trimmer.............

The snap peas I planted this year were new to me and the jury is still out.  I keep pulling pods off and they don't seem nearly as sweet to me as previous ones.  The are lush and very tall.  I did two different varieties as you can clearly see.  I keep waiting for the pods to fill out more but it seems very slow to me.  I  will water them deeply today and see if that helps....if not, I will just harvest at  this stage.

One the strong winds blew part of the row off the fence.



Flowers

This always amazes me.  For  two years now this rose campion has grown out of this stump in the humming bird bed.  It seems to do as well as the ones growing in the dirt.

This is the first year  my clematis Jackmanii Superba has bloomed nicely.  I manage to accidentally cut it down a couple of times while  trimming the last two years....that doesn't speed up things at all.



As you can see by the feeder, the hummers are back.  We saw  several  Sunday. Still no orioles and not too many butterflies. 

Biscuits, Cookies and Gardening

For once the weatherman got it exactly right!  He predicted rain early, clearing and sunny and then afternoon rain.
I had cornered DH into helping me pull dead plants from he veggie garden so when the rains stopped I got ready to go out.  I saw a truck pull into the driveway....it was the fencing man we have been waiting on for several weeks.....there went my garden help!

I have always gardened unassisted so I headed out.  It didn't take much over an hour to pull up all the vegetation on the west side of the garden.  I did leave the row of Lutz beets.  They love the cool weather and the tops are gorgeous.  I pulled a couple to chop for the cow this morning...be interesting to see if she will eat them.

I stacked the dead plants in a sort of windrow on the north side of the garden and  will let them compost in situ.
I then used my new ergonomic, arthritis foundation recommended pruners by Fiskar to clean up the 40 foot garden fence.  This meant cutting large woody stalks of poke, KMOTGG that look like bamboo stalks, some roses and some volunteer tomatoes.  I also pruned about 4 clematis.  I am happy to report they worked like a dream!  My left wrist stays tender even on the Prednisone and I worried about that.....no problems at all.
I am a happy gardener and they were cheaper than Felcos at around $28.

I still have the east end corn patch to do and will use the loppers (new also) on that area.  The first nice, dry day I get, I will till the area.  I also need to stick some cloves of garlic in.  I am late with that and probably don't even need any but will do it anyway.

Today is roast beef dinner day.  I put the roast in the crock pot with a package of onion soup mix *(and yes you can make your own) and it should be ready around noon.  I have settled on the hot milk sponge cake and will make rolls later.  I love cooking with the crock pot!

This morning I made biscuits again using W-M's coconut oil and once again we like the texture better than lard.  Here is how they turned out:



I set another quart of buttermilk since I was down to a cup left in the jar.

Yesterday morning I made Cinnamon Ginger cookies.  We both miss having a mid-morning snack with our coffee.  I made them with the coconut oil too.  They turned out well. 

From Food

My sis from Iowa called (her husband was at a gun show) and we had a long talk about books.  Our tastes aren't exactly the same but close.  She has Kindle and is loving it.  I have a local library and am loving it! and mine is cheaper......

Bread - Gardening Cleanup

It was 73° here this morning and it bodes to be another very hot day.

Yesterday was milking day. It takes her a very long time to let down her milk for just me, but I persevered!

Flowerlady has inspired me to stay with my yard clean-up project. She has made remarkable inroads in her lush tropical growth in Florida and she has all that humidity to deal with.

Gardening

I began the Hummingbird Bed outside the kitchen after I milked. I watered part of it while I worked. I cut down and pulled morning glory vines in the side next to the drive, cut off most of the phlox and cut a few seedling trees. I think for now I will leave the Golden Rain tree. It is too near the sassafras seedling tree but I am not ready to make a decision about it.

This morning, I plan to finish the bed. I stay plan because living on the farm, things have a way of changing quickly.

I also spot mowed part of the west yard.

I am still finding the odd Japanese Beetle on the roses.

We made another library run so I am good for another week. I tried to watch some television, but gave up. Nothing on it interest me.

Cooking

We were very low on bread. I wanted to test the machine again and go for 4 loaves.
I basically doubled KA's white bread recipe from the book that came with the mixer.
I was worried about doubling the yeast from 2 to 4 packages but did anyway. I rose like gangbusters! I think I should have cut back on the yeast considerably and just let it raise longer. It worked up beautifully, pulled off the bowl and dough hook, was smooth and satiny and very springy! I made three loaves of bread and one of hot dog buns. This bread is the closest to being store bread in texture and taste. This is not a goal! but this is what it turned out to be. I don't know why I am so enamored of white bread these days. I will make some good old hearty whole wheat soon.


This is slices from a small test bun. We always have to test it first out of the oven.....that is required!

Weeding - The Babies

I made a few changes in my daily plans.....I took care of Willow and the calves this morning. While they were nursing, I cut the weeds growing out of the concrete in the holding pen (calves home). When I turned her out, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of them in the cool morning. They are shaded by the apricot tree. I took so many I decided to do a collage. If you look closely you can see the wet noses and them looking to their left watching Momma walk away.


Instead of coming straight in and starting the freezer drawer, I decided to get the mower and trailer out. I want to spray some fence rows and ditches so I loaded the 25-gallon sprayer and had DH load the battery so I could check it out before mixing the spray. All is running, so in the morning I will be ready to go early.

I always keep my tools ready in the trailer, so I grabbed the loppers and cut some tall weeds out of the Ramp bed. The clematis paniculata (yes, I know they don't call it that anymore, but I do!) is starting to open and it smells heavenly. It has received very little extra watering so it does very well in the heat and dry. I always have to cut it away from the gate. The Kieffer pear has a few but I don't know when to pick them. I know I do it while they are still hard and let them ripen inside, but when?



That is the calf pen in the background.

Cutting those weeds felt so good, I did an early attack on the poor bedraggled Driveway Bed. I haven't watered it once this year and you can certainly tell it.
I pulled most of the weeds here but did do some seedling trees and milk weed with the loppers. I am feeling very good about this. It is something I normally don't do until fall because things are still blooming.....not this year. I still have the west side of the bed to do.

Now I am inside and DH tells me he is out of chicken for the dog....and Tide! I need my Merle Norman makeup, so the freezer may have to wait.

I think I may be deliberately putting it off............

Here is another good drought plant and it comes up in lots of places all over the yard.

Rain, Assessing Gardening

First let me assure you that I did not do all that work from the previous post on one day! I often let two or three days go by before I post. Sometimes I don't list what I do on each day which I know is confusing.
If I want it to be a daily journal for my use, I really should do it that way. I will try to remember.

I have been taking assessment of my gardening life.....this awful year will make you do that. My husband thinks I should take a year off and do zero gardening. I am seriously considering it. My 'older' sis in Iowa says that will never happen....she is probably right.

But here is what I am considering:

No cole crops of any kind. How many cabbages can you eat. Also they draw thousands of cabbage butterflies which means I have to dust them often. I loved the kale but so did something else. Each morning I find it eaten to the stems. How often do we eat broccoli?

another option would be to design a very small covered bed for just dwarf blue kale and broccoli......see, Sis is probably right!

Just 10 tomato plants.

Definitely peppers No disease or insects!

No cucumbers for pickles...I have enough pickles to last several years.

No summer squash....I always loose them about the time they start to produce to either squash bugs or borers.

Do grow sweet corn, but only in new garden by the orchard where I can electrify a fence around it. That garden is already surrounded by an electric fence. Be easy to tie on to it.

Do plant everything where I can access it from all sides with lawn mower, tiller and trimmer.

Plant pole beans....pray for a decent season.

This was a bad year in so many ways. We had too much rain early to plant in a timely manner. I hadn't readied the garden in the fall. I had issues with hips....
Therefore, I have plans (best laid, etc.) to have the kitchen garden all tilled, trimmed and ready to go by winter. I can pick a lovely, cool fall day to do it.

I also plan to have the tomato patch with t-posts in the ground just waiting for those 10 (I said 10!) plants next May.

Here is an interesting observance about the tomatoes this year: No disease anywhere! I didn't get them staked and have lost a few to rot, but not many. I would rather have them staked though. Now if disease is tied to rain and the soil and splashing up on the plants as the experts say...I did get mulch around them very early. No rain, but I watered regularly. I don't really know what the answer is, but I have only had two years with no disease, that was last year when they were planted in new ground....no mulch and this year in drought, mulched and watered with well water.

OK, a couple more days have passed with very little activity out of me. I did milk each day and we made another Walmart run. Milk is piling up in the extra fridge.

My new mixer is due tomorrow....I am hoping for today. I am getting excited.

The best new is we woke up to another 1/2 inch of rain and a cool morning. This is supposed to be our last really hot day for at least 7 days.

Added late in the day of 8/8/11





I took these late in the day, after a lovely day of 70° temperature and an l.25 inches of rain, blessed rain.

Phlox Time on the Farm

It is another hot and dry day here.

I just worked out about 2 hours this morning.

I cleaned the strawberry rows and hand watered them and one row of tomatoes.

I don't want to use the sprinkler because I don't want to make the mistake I did before harvesting the garlic. The potatoes and onions are almost ready to harvest and are next to where I wanted to water.

I see the beetles are heavy on the rose of sharon shrubs. I will spray them later this evening.

We were out of bread so I made three loaves of oatmeal bread, it is a little coarser than my regular whole wheat recipe but we love the flavor the oats give. I used quick oats not hot oat bran cereal that is called for. That seems very like a push of their Hodgson Mill products ala King Arthur Flour recipes.

It is garden phlox (phlox paniculata)time here.

Gardening

We got a very brief shower this morning. It went south and east of us.

My gardening chores seem to be the same. I spend between 2 and 3 hours each morning weeding, hoeing, watering, spraying for Japanese Beetles both in the yard, and garden and orchard.

For some reason they still aren't bothering the blackberries. I have let some very tall weeds grow up in the patch and am slowly trying to cut them down so I can get to the berries to pick when they ripen.

I watered the corn patch heavily yesterday morning; immediately very strong winds developed and blew over the center of the patch. I hope it will straighten up on its own. We tossed two bales of hay over the fence on that east end of the garden and I will place it as mulch this morning.

The onions, garlic and potatoes are very close to harvest time. I have already pulled several onions and have them laying in an open shed on a rack of sorts to dry. I am still new to growing garlic and have to check and see if I cut off the stalk immediately of the hard neck variety I grow before letting it cure.

Flowers are looking a little scrappy because of no rain and the heat.....which is returning with a vengeance this weekend.

The Kitchen Window Bed is well watered! I left the hose on all night. I haven't done that in a very long time.

My new Indian Giver daylily is already blooming and I am just thrilled. Something about the white edges really appeal to me. I have it in a bed with Hyperion(yellow) and that will be the only colors besides the white of the hydrangea and viburnum. I vow not to stick in some other color!



and here is the entire bed; it looks tiny now but wait until it fills in the 3-foot space!


This jumped out at me when I was checking the garden. What on earth happened to this one seed? They are all planted at the same time.



The kids are dropping by on their way home from Florida. I asked for some good southern tomatoes....and have promised them BLT's if they bring them.

Taking a Break - Poppy Time- Dried Willow

As you may have noticed I haven't blogged for a few days.

We had company over Memorial Day weekend and that means everything else goes by the wayside!

The weather has been extremely hot and humid but the daily rains have stopped.
I am behind with everything....except reading.

I have now allowed my sweet mate the job of mowing and he is doing a good job. I may have to teach him trimming next.

I am much better now and the first thing I did after company left was to till the Kitchen Garden. That will be the last time because I planted things much closer this year so that I could get everything in this garden. I wasn't able to till the new garden out back where the orchard is. I hate it, but just have to accept it.

We have been sitting around in the mornings and not going out until 8 AM.....a very bad mistake in this kind of weather. It is daylight by 6 AM....I went out yesterday at 6:30 and it was a lovely morning for work. I planted the hoopframe with my favorite Kwintus pole beans. I hoed out some places the tiller couldn't reach.

I also drug out the greenhouse shade cloth and draped it over the smaller frame where I have the lettuces. They were going to cook in this heat. I hope it helps.

I still have more plants to get in the ground and hope I can get that done this morning.

I was inside by 10 AM before it got too hot around 11 AM. We made a run to the feed store for chicken feed and that was it for chores for the day.

Milk Cow

Willow was due to be dried by May 29 but because of my hips, I decided I would dry her early and did.
There was no magic involved. We just turned her out to pasture and I quit milking.
We also don't let the calf nurse. She never missed a beat; didn't even bawl.
We will not feed her grain during this time either.

When we were milking, the routine was a little more involved. First,a Holstein gives a lot more milk and she may still be milking pretty heavy when it is time to dry her. If a cow is not giving over 40 pounds a day, you just stop milking with no gradual tapering off, if she is giving more you might have to milk her less often for a few days first.....however, we never did that either. You then sanitize her teat ends and insert a dry-cow antibiotic into each teat canal. This is to prevent or cure any resident mastitis bacteria in her udder. Often we would worm them at dry-off. We skip all those steps now. Willow has never had mastitis and I am keeping her in a more organic, natural way. She is a very healthy cow. We did worm her when we first bought her.

I do miss her milk and am forcing myself to drink store milk now! Silly, I know.

Flowers

The poppies are blooming at last. I think I enjoy them more than any other flowers because each day there is a surprise shape, color and location. They are all papaver somniferums. I started with one planting of 'Lauren's Grape' and a pink double and this is what I have so far this year:

From Poppies 2011

and finally one that has reverted back to Lauren's Grape

Ozark Vinaigrette, Tomatoes

Yesterday was the day to plant tomatoes come what may! I was partly successful before stopping for lunch and the drizzle that began.

I planted 28 total, Heinz Classic, Granny Cantrell and OTV Brandyvine. I still have Ananas Noire (Black Pineapple and Druzba to go plus egg plant and peppers (starting to bloom in pots). I may end up planting them in mud if the rain keeps up for a week like predicted.

The rains began seriously around 3 AM this morning but at least the temperature has warmed to 61°. Actually my garden needed a good soaking.

I am happy to report we harvested our first salad of the 2011 Gardening Season!




This was a simple salad of Asian Red lettuce, sliced green onions (Super Star), sliced red and white radishes served with what I decided to call Ozark Vinaigrette.
Any Ozark cook worth her salt saves bacon drippings (I call it grease)in a container by the stove.....like Mom, I use a canning jar and lid. Melt the grease in a small pan, add vinegar and a little water to cut the tartness, a bit of sugar and salt and bring to boil. Pour over the salad and toss. If you want it very wilted add more and keep tossing.

I think I finally spied a few dwarf blue kale coming up! I just wanted enough for a test so I am happy.

The sweet corn and cucumbers are up.

I have a new garden plan.......I am going to try to cram everything into the Kitchen Garden and then get it all under mulch so I don't have to hoe and there won't be enough room to till. I will still till the new space and turn under the growth but won't be under pressure to get it done now.

Random Picture


Last year I had one single lavender poppy in the Dining Room Bed; this year I will have several and this is the first.....not even close to the one last year. They cross more than any garden plant that I have.

From gardening Spring 2011

It is a very warm morning here; no sun so far. 68°

Should be a good morning for transplanting some things into the Kitchen Garden.

The peonies are beginning to fully open, the first is this single pink one, no fragrance. It is on the path between the Light Pole Bed and the Ash Tree Bed leading to the drive or to the back porch.

I like the singles and semi-doubles because the stay upright, even in heavy rains.

and this is my 'free' tuberous begonia from a local nursery when you buy $20 in other plants.



and I think this iris is Stepping Out,


and Superstition,


Well, I didn't get any transplanting done; instead planted a small patch of sweet corn Bodacious and thinned some of the lettuce. I planted way too thickly...what a waste of seeds.

We had an errand to run this morning so by the time we got back home, it was lunch time...and I am probably finished for today.

It is almost 90° and the wind is very strong. Typical Ozark weather, too cold one day and too hot the next. This should dry some gardens out very quickly.

Kitchen Tools - More Iris

This is the second post about "good tools" inspired by Nell Jean's about good garden tools...that made me think of cooking and cooking tools....what doesn't?

I know it is not necessary to have really good tools in the kitchen or a state of the art restaurant range or a monster mixer. I have cooked for lots of years on cheap ranges, cheap mixers, and regular pots and pans.

I have found as I grow older, I appreciate having some better things for cooking. I bought a set of All-Clad that I positively love! The only negative is they are very heavy....I need help sometimes with the large skillet with food in it. They clean easily and I appreciate them each time I use them. I don't regret the very high price and feel that my children can inherit them like fine china. I know they will outlast me!

I have bought some inexpensive but good quality small tools that I wonder how I got by without;
A spider skimmer, a really good stainless steel sifter/strainer, a maslin pan for jams and jellies, and I am starting a set of high quality wooden spoons. Mine are stained, chipped and very inexpensive....usable but being replaced.

I bought a couple of new bread pans by Chicago Metallic and a new sheet cake pan with matching rack. I still kept my old blackened tin ones too.

On my list next are a Bosch Mixer and a Nutri-grain mill. If any of you can think of some really great kitchen tool or appliance let me hear from you. I bought a Foodsaver....still not convinced about that one though!!

None of these are necessary to making outstanding food, but at this stage of my life, I am splurging and tell myself I deserve it. My older sis keeps telling me I don't need to justify anything at this point. I try to listen to her; she is older and wiser (and she does not ready my Blog!)

From Interior house

Small tools:



I must mention my new range....not a real expensive one, but I am still loving it totally! Such a relief to have one that works well, is easy to clean and the oven door fits properly (remember my lemon Jenn-Air?).

I guess I should list here the new counter-top oven....still using it and enjoying it. These biscuits were cooked in it just a few days ago.



The weather has been so cold and rainy that I have not gone outside since Sunday morning. I think today is supposed to be slightly better....up to 60°.

More iris are blooming now.

Champagne Elegance

Fragrant Lilac

and Dashing


There are more, but enough is enough!

Truck issues - Worker Issues - Butterflies

When you have machinery, you can be guaranteed that there will be issues and on a regular basis.

Another issue: The carpenter's helper who was touted as being a good farm hand for us for occasional work...has been less than ideal. He came on time one day; the next he was late and finally called with car trouble. He promised he would be here yesterday morning.......no show; no call either. He has really hurt himself with us. I told DH who paid him at the end of the first day....he now had gas money so wasn't quite as eager to labor. He is not a teenager. I don't allow much slack for unemployed adults who behave like this. He set his wage and we paid it. Be interesting to see how it plays out. He also lost a pair of our pliers in the fence line somewhere. I told DH we should have been suspicious of his quality of work when he left a roll of fencing and another tool when he did the 'clean-up' on the chicken run!

One soap box comment: This is one of the many things wrong with young people today; they don't know how to put in a day of work. They are not good to follow through, as in calling us. OK, not all young people, I know that, but we have had several experiences with hiring them on the farm....not very successful.

Back to the machinery: The old farm truck that was loaded with the fencing tools that the boys took back to work on the fence decided to not start.....way back on the farm. DH charged the battery; it started the next morning once and then wouldn't again. He unloaded the tools on the trailer and hooked it to one of the tractors. Monday we will have the truck towed to the mechanic....an expensive fix I am sure.

Such is life on the farm..........

I saw my first Tiger Swallowtail yesterday on the white hesperis. I took a picture of one on almost the same day last year, so it wasn't early.



My single variegated heliopsis Loraine Sunshine is still with me. I need to save some seeds this year. They won't all be variegated though. A safer bet would be a division or a cutting.



I started the day planning to mow around the kitchen garden area....then I saw the awful lot of cheatgrass and wild carrots about 2 feet tall in the Garage Wall Border and started pulling that. I have about half done and feel very good about it. I need to plant that border more thickly with self-seeders....the best weeding tool is allowing no bare ground in the beds and borders! I have lots of seeds I plant to just sprinkle around when I get finished.

Then I moved to the Cellar Bed and did the back half of that one.
The front half requires very little because it is wall to wall with plants.

Blooming there now are chives, Barb's iris, clematis Henryi, lunaria, and Clarence iris and one lonely yellow aquilegia.

I spread one more bale of mulch hay around some trees and shrubs in the front yard. I see I have already nicked my lovely Amur Maple with the string trimmer. I hope the mulch will take care of that problem.

The Amur Maple is a lovely small tree with tiny fragrant blooms this time of year, the bees love it and so do I. It also has good fall color.

Another one I am enjoying is my bird-planted sassafras by the bird bath. It is a yellow green this time of year....I never noticed that last year.

Sweet Potato Bread - gardening- Setting hens

The last two days have been very nice days with the weather being perfect, sunny, breezy and warmer.

Yesterday was bread making day. I was all set to make whole wheat sandwich bread but saw a recipe for Sweet Potato Bread that caught my eye. I knew I had some mashed sweet potato left over in the refrigerator and thought this would be a good use for it. It was. We both like the bread very much. I apologize for the quality of the picture....don't know what happened but it does show accurately the color and texture of the bread. It was a two-loaf recipe. I need to make hamburger buns soon.



Late in the afternoon, I finished up the early garden planting. I planted two kinds of beets, Early Wonder, and Lutz which is a winter keeper type that I have never grown before; a very short row of Dwarf Blue Kale and I tilled the new strawberry rows.

Still only two snap peas up????that doesn't look promising.

Plants under the lights are looking good.

Setting Hens

Well, this has become a mini fiasco! You would think something so simple and natural would just be easy....nooooooo! At least not here. I had an arrangement that I thought was working well. But then my helpmeet got involved....he left the little door between the setting hens and the others open for a couple of days! So, other chickens had been laying in the nests too....caused one setting hen to change nests...long story/short: I have now put fresh eggs under one and left the other on some very dirty eggs that I don't think will hatch. I have them locked in and told said helpmeet to not touch the doors! I have no idea when hatch will happen or if it will. I think the hen that moved is laying again to accumulate more eggs in her nest. I started with 7, she had 8 last evening. I will just leave her be.
Only time will tell.

The eggs are fertile.....I gave the old eggs to the dog and observed. They had been chilled when she moved to a new nest.

Random Picture

This is a seedling lilac that I noticed a couple of years ago. It is now blooming. I like the location and will just leave it here.

Cold, rainy Saturday Morning - This and That - Some first blooms

Yesterday was cold and dreary and this day is starting out that way too.

It is now 37°. It looks like we got some more rain during the night and it is still windy.

I took a few pictures of new blooms yesterday.

This clematis has been planted for several years and I think last year was the first time it bloomed to amount to anything. It is very early....I don't know the name.



and this clematis is growing on the garden fence. It is loaded with buds but only one open so far,


This is self seeded lunaria (money plant) blooming amidst the weeds in the cellar bed,



I think this is Wide Brim hosta that is being choked by violets. It is a small hosts and needs rescuing.

and this is the little planter behind the back porch door that I am going to call the 'Jack Frost (brunnera)' bed.,

and the Humming Bird bed,


DH just reported that one of the very dimwitted hens has moved to another nest and left her eggs to be chilled overnight! Yet there are eggs under her. I know what has happened. DH has shut up the chickens for a couple of nights and he does it much too early....someone has laid in the new nest late and the hen just chose the wrong nest when she got down to eat and drink. Oh, for a couple of banty hens.....they are the best mothers in the poultry kingdom.