Rogue Hens Causing Trouble

Snap peas, radishes, parsnips, spinach, and Swiss chard is in the ground. The soil is warm and dry. I used Grandpa Ed’s special hoe for good luck. Put straw down between the rows to keep the weeds at bay. Hooked up the hose and watered everything. Now to watch for sprouts and hope the straw does not blow away!

Update: I was worried about the wind when I should have been worried about escapee chickens! Rogue hens scratched up the garden, pulled out all the row markers, and messed up all the neatly arranged straw rows - hopefully they didn't eat ALL the seeds too. Only time will tell. They are now barricaded into their chicken run REAL good.

Cheep Alert

We had an Easter surprise! Our chicks hatched. There is a lot of cheeping going on in our house today. These littles are destined for a new home but we are enjoying baby chick snuggles until they are picked up later this afternoon. There is nothing softer than a baby chick!

Growing Like Gangbusters

Our eggplants, herbs, onions, peppers, cabbage, and broccoli are growing like crazy. Can't wait to start hardening these guys off outside on the porch. Still a bit too cold for this yet but soon....

Happy Easter

 It is rare to have an Easter in Ottawa where it feels like Spring. This year the crocuses are blooming, the robins singing, and it is a bright, sunny, blue bird sky kind of day. Happy egg hunting everyone!

Blue Sky and Calm Waters

We headed to Silver Lake today to get the fishing boat out on the water for the first time in 2024. Thanks to family friends Brody and Kelsey for hosting us at their cottage for the day. Blue sky, calm waters, and a waterfall. No fish today but we will have lots of time for that in the coming months.

Friday Bee Day

 After hive inspections today, we can confirm we had one hive make it through the winter. We lost the other four. We are so happy to see the alive hive buzzing with activity - this was the hive that was decimated last year when our neighbour had his property sprayed for mosquitoes and we lost almost all the bees and had to requeen. Today we added some mite treatment strips, a pollen patty, and fed them a bucket of sugar syrup. We are so happy to have these ladies stick with us for 2024. Hopefully they thrive and we can split into some new hives. Please do not spray your property for mosquitos. I know mosquitos are a pain, but spraying is detrimental to pollinators including honey bees.

Big City Boys

On our vacation from the farm, we enjoyed the luxury of visiting a fancy Toronto hotel before Mama's work trip. Fancy hotel pools are the best!