our homestead: easter miracle

Alright, so it's the day before Easter, but I am already in the Easter Spirit. I like Easter because it always seems like a kick-off for spring, allowing us to leave the cold of Winter behind. Now I can wear my sandals in the rain and feel less weird! Anyway, I had a little "Easter miracle" today. A few days ago I noticed that one of my Moscovy hens had been sitting in one of the nest boxes in the coop. I checked under her bumsy and didn't find any eggs, but I had a good feeling she was about to start laying. This morning when I went to let my flock out, I checked again, and sure enough! My very first duck egg was waiting for me. It's been a very sunny, warm and beautiful day out today, so I've been working in my garden most of the day. A couple hours after I'd collected the first egg, I thought I'd peek in the nest box again and to my surprise...another duck egg! Two eggs in one day! The day before Easter! I love it!

My Easter Miracle: my first two duck eggs

This leaves me wondering how many eggs my girls will start producing. I read that Moscovy ducks are supposed to lay 50 to 125 eggs a year. My husband and I want to raise our own Muscovy ducklings this year, so I might have to start getting myself learned up' on Muscovy brooding methods.

Fragrant hyacith flowers by my front door

It's been so lovely today that I took a break from yardwork to spend some time on my front porch. There's a whole hyacith patch right by my porch, with each gentle breeze comes a waft of angelic perfume. Mmm, so pleasant. I brought my cat, Spyder Munggins out with me. He has been basking in the sunshine and romping around the garden. He loves to smell flowers, I kid you not. One of these days I'm going to plant him his own kitty garden, full of catgrass and catnip and fragrant flowers.

Geting a good sunny stretch in...

...before exploring the garden, looking for flowers to smell.

I've also been working on some Easter Bunny presents for my nephews and nieces. I'm in charge of the egg hunt tomorrow and to add a special twist to the hunt, I'm going to have the chitlins also look for the Easter Bunny's nest. Inside his nest will be all these sweet little presents, one for each child.

I tried to wrap each present as "naturally" as I could by using old scraps of fabric, moss, twigs, dried flowers and feathers. Afterall, I don't think the Easter Bunny has scotch tape. I heard we're supposed to have sunny weather again tomorrow. Happy Easter and Springtime everyone!

our homestead: gee, I like fruits n' veggies.

I am absolutely, positively in love with vegetables. And fruits. And mushrooms. And nuts. And all the other nifty edibles Mother Nature has generously provided for us human folk to discover. There is nothing as marvelous as the act of pulling a bright, sweet carrot from the dirt..or brushing one's hand over the rich, green and nutty leaves of spinach. There is nothing as tantalizing as a roasted baby red fingerling potato pierced with a shiny fork- its creamy, buttery flavor but moments from being enjoyed. There is nothing that smells as clean and cool as a just-sliced lemon cucumber or as sweet and tart as a vine-ripened cherry tomato.

In writing this blog, I have decided it would best to share my adoration for produce with others- to grant people with creative recipes, cool facts, and colorful photographs about the gourmet flora I love. Where did this 'love' sprout from? Well, it could be in my nature: both sets of Great Grandparents on my mom's side were either farmers or nursery owners in the "old countries". I might also mention my green-thumb parents: a dad who once owned his own landscaping business and a mom with a tomato farm. On this note, my admiration of veggies also stems from childhood years of eating lesser-known purple potatoes, carving pumpkins grown in a big patch down our hill, picking berries, cherries, and apples galore from our yard, and tending my own mini-vegetable and sunflower gardens. My mom, a talented woman in all things "earthy", began making goatsmilk soap and soon headed to the local farmers market with her creations. This venture to the market inspired her to pursue farming: tomatoes, honey, garlic, herbs, eggplant, basil, cucumbers, eggs...and needless to say I came along and became a "market brat", spending much of my time at the market, meeting local farmers, and learning the "in's and out's" of fruits and veggies. Thus, in a nutshell, I bring this blog to you- a place where I can express how awesome vegetables really are.