8 Days A Week

Did I say that we took a vacation before the craziness of spring planting???



Every day, seedlings are ready to go out, ground is waiting to be cleared, squash need watering, beds need weeding, wigwams to be made. This is it!! Our long winter is over!!



Last week I cleared some ground in the front yard and set up a new bed. This week I planted eggplant and peas there. Still some room left, cucumbers maybe?



Near that, I planted out the corn seedlings, they are already a foot tall and growing fast. This is my first try at corn. I have read they are nitro-hungry so I'm stewing up some rabbit poo tea. Seamus keeps me in a steady supply of poo!!!



Behind the corn, I have 5 tomato plants. Last year, I tried companion planting with marigolds and it worked very well. I didn't have any pest problems on the tomatos so this year I planted even more marigolds. They are pretty too (which is good for the girls who would have the whole yard filled with flowers).



In the corner I put in an artichoke plant. They're not my favorite thing to eat, but the kids love them and so do the in-laws. Hopefully enough to share, if not this year then next year!! I am excited to have something that will produce year after year without having to be replanted every time.

Vacation!

We took a week off before the madness of spring planting to visit a couple of cities in the area. One of my favorite stops was the lovely and whimsical yarn store in Santa Rosa, http://www.castawayyarn.com/yyarn.com/. The best part? Oooh, maybe the giant magpies nest in the front window, the tray of cupcake pincushions, the little dinghy right inside the front door, or perhaps the huge felted wool tornado complete with cows and other livestock!!

The next best thing for me was our visit to the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens. For those of us who have never heard of Luther Burbank before, he was the great man who brought us (among other things) the Russet Potato! Thank you Mr. Burbank. He made his home in Santa Rosa and it has been maintained since his death by various entities and is currently owned by the city of Santa Rosa. I am envious of his home and grounds but most of all, I lust after his marvelous greenhouse complete with a FIREPLACE!!!! What more can you ask for? We were not allowed inside the greenhouse but I did peek inside the windows. It really is the most wonderful of its kind that I have had the privilege to see in person. It has renewed my hunger for a greenhouse of my own.

We will always remember the time we spent in the Petrified Forest. We were definitely ready to get out of the car and the short (less than a mile) walk through the forest to view the petrified trees was just the ticket.

Something like 3 million years ago, a volcanic eruption felled giant and ancient redwood trees. They were buried in ash and over the millena petrified into rock. In the early 1900's, diggers worked to unearth these behemoths and they are still on display today. If you get the chance to visit a petrified forest, go!!! You will not be sorry you went.

After Santa Rosa, we headed south to Half Moon Bay. This is a town that I have spent lots of time in but never have I had the chance to stay over night. Usually we will go for a day trip and stay for a couple hours so we can be home in time to prepare dinner.

My in-laws very generously paid for our room in Half Moon Bay. We stayed in a wonderful hotel on the beach and spent a whole day out enjoying the ocean. Nights were spent in the jaccuzzi looking at stars and listening to the fog horn. We all had a blast but the girls had the most fun! Truly, all they need is a place with a swimming pool and they are satisfied but give them the beach and they're in heaven!

We try to visit the goat farm when we are in HMB.

Harley Goat Farm http://www.harleyfarms.com/ is a wonderful place for kids, adults, foodies, everybody who has a hunger for exploring and discovering local treasures.

We can buy some of their cheeses at our local Whole Foods market, but our favorite is the Ricotta which is only available at the shop. (I believe they will ship it to you as well).

Check out their website, they have a whole wall of awards and accolades to recommend them.

We had lots more stops on our trip. We were only gone for a week, but it feels like forever. Tomorrow, we are going to Full Cirlce Farm