Some new pictures of life on farm. And, I need to learn how to delete doubles! The greenhouse has been so much fun this spring. Don't come if you don't want a tour because I am very proud of everything that's in there. Cilantro has always been hard for us to grow but it has just exploded in the greenhouse. We're enjoying the Mesclun mix lettuce and need to plant another container. The green onions are peeking so it's time to get another container of them going. We are not sure if the tomato plants can wait until another week to get into the ground. Tom's rule is never plant a tomato until after Memorial Day and definitely not a pepper until after the 5th of June. Must be a good rule 'cause it sure works!
The violets outside the kitchen window are simply gorgeous. I think they are one of my very favorite flowers and definitely one of the loveliest signs of spring. The lilies of the valley are just beginning to bloom and the aroma there is heavenly.
Mike and Jenny seem to think that cat belongs where you see him. Not being a cat lover, he is really challenging my patience. We have had bluebirds, indigo buntings, rose-breasted grosbeaks, gold finches, orioles and some other birds I can't name at the bird feeder. Tom moved it last fall during the construction so it's still on a temporary post. However, I don't think any of that has to do with the fact that cat is there and doesn't belong there. If he isn't harrassing the birds, the crows are. We will see what happens this week!
Frost missed us last night. From the comments of others today, we were very fortunate. The potatoes are up, the fruit trees are blooming and the magnolia tree and flowering crab are in full bloom. Last year so many fruit trees lost their blossoms to frost. Hopefully this will be the last time it gets that cold!

Last camera class tonight - learned so much - now to find time to practice and use it! Instructor was very good, patient and very knowledgeable - makes learning fun. Sad part of this class is that the Olympus we bought 6 or 7 years ago is probably obsolete. We may need to get a new camera to show off our new-learned talents. We are definitely downloading Picasa for photo management. And, we will be looking at Epson and Kodak for photo printing. Class may have cost us $4 each but that is the "tip of the iceberg," so to speak.
Asparagus sales are going well. We turned over more than 70 pounds during the first week (last week) with more going to Jane and Mike and what I used for soup. If the temp stays above 65 this week, we should do more and still have 5 or 6 weeks to go. We will never get rich on asparagus but we certainly enjoy the harvest. Our radio ad brought in 6 orders in the first week. Not bad for beginners!
Mother's Day was wonderful. We enjoyed a superb brunch at Bungalow Inn with Mike's and Jane's. Phone calls from Kansas and Seattle topped off the day. I could get really sentimental and sloppy about how great our kids are but will leave that to another night and a good bottle of wine!
Seems like we live wishing our lives away. We looked forward to the Mother's Day Brunch. Now we are looking forward to the end of the month when Patrick and Jaime come for a few days. Life would be horrible if we didn't have special times to look forward to but I worry a little about wishing it away. We may be lucky enough to have Kyle and Cody here the last week of the month. Now that is a good time to make time stand still. Then we will look forward to Labor Day and the Fesler family get-together.
May is a big month for birthdays. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE, KYLE, WAYNE, AND MIKE F.

Mounds of asparagus! This week we have cut about 40 pounds and the peak is yet to come. Warm days make such a difference with asparagus. If it's cool for a few days, it will quit growing. Then all of it needs to be cut or it will turn woody and curl over. There are 6 rows over 100 feet long so it will be interesting at the end of the season to add up what they produce. So far it's looking like a good year.

Great pictures from our basket weaving adventure with the Cub Scouts. The boys were really very good (not sure how the one girl got in there) but the dads were another story. Focus, focus, focus! We spent about an hour and a half weaving. It was really a pretty successful effort considering these boys had been at school all day and it was time for them to just be boys. I'm not sure where that enters into today's parenting techniques.
I was so pleased with the respect they showed toward the baskets I've woven. I planned to let them pick them up and look at them - which they did - and it was a good move. Everyone of them seemed to appreciate what the basket was. I was also amazed at what they knew about how baskets were such an important part of early cultures.
On the way out of the school, we noticed a poster that said "46% of the students believe abuse is emotional" and the power words are "you are great." Times have changed so much over the years. I think we had the easy days in raising children and truly admire the parents of today. Fathers are so much more into parenting in the present generation; that must have a tremendous impact on the future.
Lots of asparagus went out today. The rain we had this evening will really make it grow so the next week will mean lots time spent cutting and packaging. We had quite a mixture of rain and hail!
Had our first camera/computer class tonight. One of the real perks of being a senior citizen is the $4 tuition fee at WITC. Imagine 9 hours credit for $4!!!!!!! Wow! Times have really changed. Makes the years over 65 a lot nicer to handle!

Big day at the farm! We aired on the radio this morning - LIVE!!!! - and the website is now available. We had to add "Knox" to it but it's a good thing. Tom is helping bottle maple syrup at school and will plant the field corn when he gets home. (Just a small patch since Joe plants the rest of it.) Sweet corn goes in tomorrow. We've had several nice days so I am headed to the greenhouse to water plants and then to the asparagus patch to see how many pounds I can pick. This evening we are teaching a basket class to Mike's scout troop - 18 boys around Kal and Kade's ages. Might be a challenge but it will be fun. The JD 730 decided to take a vacation so we had to borrow Bob Keil's for the day. As old as the 730 is, it may take a while to restore it. Good friends and neighbors are hard to beat! Tuesday and Thursday evenings we have computer classes for camera and photos. This is a busy week. Retirement is so good. Have a super day!

Kade may have found his calling. He's been the kid who loves dinosaurs and pirates and the world of make believe. He was totally into planting potatoes and helping Grampa. When it was time to go home, he wanted to stay and work some more!

Sunrise comes earlier every morning. It's getting harder and harder to sleep much past 7 am when we are getting 14+ hours of daylight. I wonder if it confuses the roosters? However, it's a beautiful day. Tom has gone to get bottles for maple syrup. I need to get to the greenhouse to water all the plants that Paulette, Lisa, Kyle and I planted. We have way too many plants for what we need and hopefully will resist the temptation to put every single one in the ground. After all our talk about cutting back, we will undoubtedly have way more vegies than could possiibly be consumed! Tom, son Mike and his sons, Kal and Kade, planted 6 rows of red and Yukon Gold potatoes the week after Easter. Kade was so into farming - you can see his pictures on the website (www.greenhillfarm.com) that should be up and running on Monday. We asked Curtis Doornink, a high school junior, to design and build our website. His mom and Jane went to school together - still good friends. We think he did a great job. Tom's collecting eggs to hatch in the incubator. The lambs are out of the maternity pens and into the north lot jumping and running - too much energy! Daffodils are in full bloom. The bluebirds are back. Jenny Wren is fighting with the yellow tomcat. Grass will need mowing in about a week. Magnolia tree is overloaded with buds. Once again Mother Nature has proven she knows what she's doing!