Garden Dreamin'

It's that time of the year when the seed catalogs are arriving and we begin pondering over which varieties we'd like to include this year.  We always have our favorites that we put in each year, but we also like to try new vegetable varieties as well.  One of our favorite companies to order from in Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa (http://www.seedsavers.org/) We enjoy perusing their beautiful catalog and have yet to be disappointed in any seeds or plants we've purchased from them. 

We've plans to expand the kitchen garden a bit more, seems like there's never enough room for all the things we want to grow.  Each year we put in a lot of tomato plants and it seems they're taking up more and more room in the garden. 

The new farm will be getting its own garden too, maybe two...one up on top of the hill and one near the house.  There's a great little log building that will be perfect for a garden shed.  Choosing the right site is important, ideally close to a walkway or to the house, so it's convenient to weed, water and harvest when we have spare moments. 

Also this year, we're hoping to improve the fencing around the gardens...in efforts to keep out the two most difficult pests...the Whitetail Deer and the Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrels...both species are cute, but very hard on a garden.  Last year the deer ate the cucumbers and squirrels ate the peas. The squirrels were making a go at the strawberries but we trenched around the beds and buried wire to keep them from digging in...it worked pretty slick!

New Year - New Farm

The new year has started off snowy and windy after a very mild November and December.  There have been many things happening here, including the purchase of another farm just down the dirt road from Fox Hill.  It's a farm we've all admired for years...I still remember the first time I ever laid eyes on that farm many years ago.  We drove down the big hill and there it was sprawling out in front of us, land sweeping down towards a beautiful setting with the house and barn.  We never expected it to be for sale, and never expected that it might work out for us to purchase it.  But on Labor Day I was driving by and saw the realty sign and a few weeks later we'd made the offer to purchase.  We closed in late November and it's still a little hard to believe it now belongs to our family. 

A few photos of the new farm are included here, more to come when spring arrives and we can take inventory of all that encompasses our new purchase.   The numerous ponds are all frozen over right now, but in the spring, the returning geese should once again arrive to raise their little families and we'll be awaiting their arrival with cameras in hand.