Springtime!

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. I didn't realize I had taken such a long break. Maybe it's because these two goofballs are keeping me busy.

 Just a little update here on our family farm. Well, we aren't really a farm, but some in my family think so. Our property is almost an acre, on a hill studded with oak trees, quite a change from the suburban landscape of my upbringing. Chris has taken advantage of the hill behind the house to plant our own little orchard. We've got a nectarine, two apricot, peach, fuji apple, golden delicious apple and pear tree. Most are blooming and it is beautiful. These pink blossoms are from the nectarine tree a few weeks ago. Currently the apple trees are showcasing white blossoms.

The nectarine tree was covered with small fruit, most of which we had to pull off because the branches aren't strong enough yet to support it. Here's Caleb showing off a baby nectarine.

 

The men checking on the trees

The other reason my family considers us a farm is because of our most recent animal additions: our three chickens, Daisy, Penny, and Lucy.

It took a while, but now all three are laying eggs. The kids love checking the coop for eggs and feeding them treats, until the chickens try to see if their fingers are treats. 

And besides the chickens, we still have Tucker and Buster. Buster has proven to be a serious hunter, catching mice, gophers, lizards, and even an occasional bird. He likes to let us know about his hunting success by leaving "presents" on the porch. Gross. 

Now that the weather has warmed up, Tucker's favorite outdoor activity is chasing lizards. He has even killed a few mice himself. Here is the happy dog leaping through the grass to chase something.

We also just added a vegetable garden, this year I'm trying tomatoes, butternut squash, zucchini, yellow squash, sugar pumpkins, watermelon and cantaloupe. I'm am hopeful this year will go better than last, since the beds are protected with chicken wire to keep the gophers out.

And this is the view from our hillside. Gorgeous. I love where we live and am beyond grateful that this is our home.

Coming soon, some inside pictures of our house. As of the end of March, we've been in our house a year and Chris has done an amazing job of transforming it in to a home.