Preparations

Hello Everyone,

It's raining here today. The chickens are stuck in their coop because they are still to young to run about outside in the rain and not get chilled, so they are annoyed at their captivity and are clucking loudly outside. The garden's getting a good soaking which it needed and the potatoes and onions are beginning to sprout. The rhubarb is flourishing, tomorrow it's going to be cut to make preserves.

Our 224 tomato plants that we planted almost two weeks ago died this week. We got a late season killing frost that took them all out. We have no local tv here. So we basically get our weather from the radio, computer, random people in town or just looking outside. We were unaware of the frost danger and as such I am paying for it dearly. After some debate over the cost of replacement we have another 224 plants ready to go into the ground, but that are remaining on my porch until after the 15th. When I do decide to plant them I will have to dig up the 224 dead plants and replace them with the new ones essentially doubling my work, and setting back the harvest time as well.

In light of this I have decided that Snowbound farms desperately needs a green house. I had mentioned it a few times last year but this year I'm putting my foot down and by planting season next year we will have one. The cost of having to buy tomato, pepper, and eggplants every year is too high alone, and then to loose them all and spend the money again to replace them is ridiculous, so a green house is the answer.

My fruit is being picked up tomorrow from the store. I've ordered such a large sum that it had to be pre-ordered. So for those of you waiting for my canning recipes and pictures they will be posted over the weekend and should all be up by Monday. Until then I've been cleaning and sterilizing jars in my spare time and am anxious to begin canning tomorrow.

School is out and my neighbor's children have begun to wander over. Most of the properties around us are covered with crops because they are full time working farms. My farm on the other hand is still developing so the boys have a few acres to themselves to go play kick ball or baseball or tag on. They also have all our old farm dirt roads to go bike riding on with out the danger of playing around farm equipment like on the other farms. Add to that the 80 or so acres of woods on our property and you can see why the kids like to come over and play.

So our farm is a hive of activity even though it's not as large an enterprise as other farms are. We're proud of our accomplishments so far this year and feel that it will be a very productive year for us. We have several visits planned from both friends and family this summer and welcome them with open arms. Our house may not be the Hilton but it's a place warmth and love, and we feel doubly blessed to have this life and to be able to share it with those we love. I hope all of you out there have wonderful activities planned with your loved ones as we enter this summer season. Have a great day, and God Bless.