Sorry I haven't written in so long. I have been busy with the greenhouses. Tomato, pepper, onion and garlic, basil, lettuces, greens of all kinds. Go, go, go.

Our goat herd is now at 21. We are milking 8 does and making cheese all the time. Butter too. My friend's guernsey needs to be dried off before calving and I must have enough butter on hand to last until the cow freshens.

We have had two hatches in the incubator. The local auction has stopped selling chicks and small stock, so we are trying to fill the gap by selling locally. I have 38 more eggs in right now. We have a great mixture of aracuanas (easter egg chickens), barred rock and rhode island reds. Also, my friend gave me a batch of fertile buff orpington eggs. What fun.

I spent this last weekend in Oneida, NY at a religious retreat, so that took more of my time. Oh well, when the Lord calls, you just have to answer.

I am busy teaching classes on cheesemaking and soapmaking. Jack is trying to get the outdoor gardens and the raised beds ready for more seeds.

My Jasmine plant arrived today. Just in time for my birthday. Made me really happy.

I need to go up to the herb bed and finish weeding the parsley, licorice plants, oregano and sage. I need to harvest the chives and get them on cookie sheets to dry so I can bag them up. They make a wonderful hot or cold milk based soup. Just crumble them up into the warm, thickened milk and eat. Yum..good food is so easy.

Our wild foods, cowslips, dandelion greens, horseradish leaves and cattail slips are being put into the freezer or dried for storage. We not only plant in the Springtime, but harvest as well. That way we eat fresh food all year around, and if a crop fails, you still have something to fall back on.

If the little green worms get on your tomatoes, knock them off with Murphy's oil soap mixed with ground up garlic water. Strain and spray on the plants. No more worms and the soap sticks to the plant, but it will wash right off the tomatoes and not leave any residue. We love this mixture.

We have made up several batches of liquid tea fertilizer for the greenhouses. We put rabbit manure in a large bucket of water and allow this to sit for about a week. Mix it up whenever you walk past it. Now pour it on the ground around the plants and WOW, what a difference it makes. I also use this on my inside plants. The bay tree really loves it, as does the aloe and rosemary.

Well, times awasting...gotta run.