green acres is the place for me

despite the overwhelming amount of rain we've received my garden is looking great!  i am so proud of it. other than a tiny hobby garden i had in englewood about 10 years ago, it is the first garden i've had since i was 30. and i went BIG! i've planted strawberries, cabbage, broccoli, peppers, eggplant, banana peppers, roma tomatoes, better boy tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, onions, carrots, green beans, peas, sugar snap peas, mesclum, spinach, romaine lettuce, acorn squash, butternut squash, watermelon, muskmelon, thyme, parsley, basil, sage, rhubarb, sweet potatoes and red potatoes. whew! i've lost track of the number of hours i've spent planting, hoeing, spreading straw, weeding, rearranging, etc. i am having fun and it is THE BEST therapy around!! above is grandson ben checking out one of the summer squash plants.

the hens continue to grow and develop their personalities. they've mastered getting in and out of the coop via the ramps we made into the run. i love sitting in the shade and watching them peck around, squabble over worms and do their little chicken dances. lol we lost one of the meat chicks over the weekend due to the extreme heat. we now have fans blowing on them. gotta to protect all those chicken dinners!!

the sweet potato slips were slow to green up and grow but have really taken off this week. can't wait to start harvesting everything. a friend of my mom's was cleaning out her mom's basement and gave us a huge stash of canning jars. thrilled to get them!! i'm looking at a small used freezer today. i'll need one in order to hold all the chickens and frozen veggies i plan to put up.

so far the rabbits have stayed out of the garden but we've seen evidence of a deer walking thru. the big holes above are hoof prints and were placed there before i strung the lines for the sugar snap peas to grow on.

i continue to love this life i'm creating away from the stress and chaos of big city life and corporate work. as i drive from place to place in the countryside my eyes have started to search for a small hobby farm to rent. emphasis on small!!! all i need is a tiny house with a small barn or shed and a spot for a garden and the chicks. a pond would be nice and lots of shade trees. dream on, dream on -- in a good way!!!