On the Homestead...

Everyone and everything seems to be growing up this Spring. Our 5 week old chicks moved outside, and they are getting so big! I never realized how sweet and endearing chickens could be... but they are so gentle and even though they aren't too smart, they do have a lot of personality. Who would have thought? And I don't feel too bad that chicken seems to upset my tummy right now, because eating chicken gave me a little tinge of guilt when I thought of our little feathered flock.

Our coop has a little fenced area for them, but the Brahmas (our family favorite and the whiteish ones above) always seem to escape! They are the most adventurous and brave chickens in our flock. Unfortunately they can't find their way back in, so when I come by, they are waiting at the gate for me to let them in.

These are all my tomato and pepper seedlings!!! There are about 30 tomato plants and I am seeing salsa lining our pantry shelf this fall! This is the most success I have had with my seeds indoors. I have never had any luck with peppers and my tomatoes never seem to get this big by June!! :) We also have lettuce getting close to picking-age, I transplanted some Swiss Chard that is growing beautifully, my sugar snap peas are over a foot tall (I drool when I see them!!), carrots tops that are just poking above the ground, and I harvested my first 3 radishes the other day!! This is the most success I have ever had gardening, EVER!!! We are trying Square foot gardening this year, and we moved the garden closer to the house so that has helped with pesky bunnies... which I haven't seen yet this year.

In other news, Anastasia completely potty trained herself... overnight!!! We have been talking about using the potty for a very long time now, but she wanted NOTHING to do with it. She completely refused. Then for a couple mornings she woke up and used the potty and one day, she asked to wear her underwear and was potty-trained! I put a diaper on her to sleep in, and it is dry every morning but the one night I gave her underwear she wet the bed. Ooops. We have had a few accidents but overall it has been a HUGE success. My life seems that much easier now!!! So Isabel is back in cloth diapers and hopefully we won't be spending so much money now! Woohoo! :)

And we are starting our goat fund. I am dreaming of quilts I want to make. I need a quilt circle to sit with on my newly-cleaned porch in the heat of the summer sipping iced tea. *sigh*