To put it lightly, last week was stressful. I took on a new responsibility which involved changing my routine and pretty much giving up any extra freetime. It was a tough thing for me to admit that I'd bitten off more than I could chew, and that even though I'd made a commitment, some re-evaluating was necessary. Fortunately things worked out alright and I was able to adjust. I am hoping this week will be smoother. 
Because Sunday was the first full day that I had in a while to relax, I decided to take full advantage. The husband and I made a full breakfast and ate slowly. There were also many hours spent outside. So many things have been happening out in the garden - even without me being there. I got to munch on my first piece of asparagus for the season.
It was of course eaten straight from the ground as I stood in the garden and was absolutely delicious. If only there had been more - but it looks like I'll get a bit more this year. It is supposed to be in the 3rd year that asparagus really begins to take off -so next year will [hopefully] be the year of asparagus harvest! 
The trees in the orchard are also changing rapidly right now. In the past month or so, they've gone from being completely bare to being covered in leaves and blossoms now. One of my recent "projects" with my full grown chickens has been training them to feed on the grass that grows under the trees in the orchard. When I let them out to free range, I throw a bit of corn scratch in the grass under various trees. They are pretty good about mowing it down to nothing. There are a couple of benefits to having little avian landscapers - when they take the grass down, that means we don't have to go in and cut it down with the motorized week wacker. 
Also, ants and other pests live in the grass below the trees and the lower that grass is, the more likely those bugs are to stay off our trees and potential fruit. This reduces the need to use any kind of insecticidal spray...and in my opinion, the fewer sprays, the better. 
Speaking of chickens...I have been slowly integrating my ten new Buff Orpington chicks with my 4 full grown Americauan hens. They are now all living and sleeping together, but for the first few days I had the little ones outside, I kept them in a netted off area of their own - reason being that they were still small enough to squeeze through the openings in our wire fencing. They've grown a bit too big for that since then, but they still look tiny next to my four full grown hens. I wish the hens would be nicer, but I guess nature is what it is and they'll work it out.
They are slowly working out the pecking order, so far nothing too horrible has happened. But I do worry about my little girls getting hurt. 
On Sunday I also spent several hours in my new greenhouse getting seeds started. I went heavy on the tomatoes and basil, and I'm excited to try eggplant for the first time.. 
It was pretty relaxing, I enjoyed every minute. So did both Figaro and Bambino. 
Fig was pretty interested in the chickens, the little ones are now big enough that he isn't a threat to them. Bambino ran around until he was pretty tuckered out...he ended up taking a nap in the Pod next to me while I worked on getting seeds planted.
He looked so cozy and peaceful lying there on the pea gravel...I couldn't help myself with the pictures!
Be back soon!
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