a little extra help

We had a little extra help getting our garden in this weekend! Our neighbor's lab had 10 puppies and she brought down two for Jorn and Simonne to play with while Greg and I got through the tilling, mounding and hoeing. It takes a village! How sweet are they (our neighbors and the puppies)? Sadly, all her puppies are usually spoken for before they even arrive. But they left us with puppy dreams because really every farm should have a farm dog, eh?

Oh, we had such a lovely weekend! It amazing how much can be accomplished when the weather cooperates. We still have more planting to go but we got our cukes, beans, swiss chard, radishes, summer squash, pumpkins, husk cherries/cape gooseberries (do you know about these? oh my, they are amazing! plant some!), tomatillos, corn (popcorn), jalapenos, nasturtium, lettuce, strawberries, sunflowers, sweet peas and scallions in.

Greg built a sandbox for the kids, up until now we had been using an orphaned antique dresser drawer which was fine and good but now they have a bona fide sandbox. As a matter of fact, using an orphaned dresser drawer for a sandbox is great if you are short on space!

The bees were successfully installed and are bringing us great joy already with their peaceful hum and general presence. Let me just say that I can't tell you much about them since they are 'Greg's thing'. I am learning a lot already and plan to share as my knowledge increases but for now I am pretty ignorant when it comes to beekeeping. Greg has always wanted to keep bees and these guys were a surprise for his birthday which is coming up in June!

We even went to a street fair and a BBQ this weekend on top of all the work we did! Whew! I am tuckered out and dirty but oh, so happy!

I hope you all had a lovely and relaxing holiday weekend as well.

oooxxx

Spidey

p.s I am not getting all my comment notifications for some reason. Not sure if it's my email or if it's Typepad. I love responding to each and every comment so bare with me until this is cleared up, my response may be delayed :(

Comments

[Abigail]

Beautiful blog..full of live, color and goodness!!

*God Bless ~

[Cirilia]

I always say "This family could not be cuter!!" and then you throw a couple of black lab puppies in and totally prove me wrong!

[Abi]

thanks! it's nice to hear from a fellow abi! i'm an 'abi gayle' :)

[Abi]

lol! too funny! simonne was holding the smallest, fuzziest lop eared baby bunny today in the feed store. it put me over the edge so i am sure you would have had the same reaction too ;) oooxxx

[Julie]

How sweet! Sounds like you had a fun and productive weekend.

[Kathy]

Okay, I don't even like dogs, and those are some friggin' cute doggies! I'd forgotten about the Nasturium... we are going to go buy a 4th cuke plant as all ours have died (not sure if it's a sunlight or temp issue) and try one last time. I'll pick up some nasturium then.
Oh, and regarding your comments... some of mine have been coming in 3-4 days late. It seems to happen for awhile, then stop, then start again. not sure what the deal is.

[Duck]

NOOOOO!! Not a Labrador! Ahh!
Awesome dogs, but also one of the most hyper breeds I've ever owned.

Huh, another thing, don't get a hound! Lol, such a stubborn bunch. Beagles just like to SNIFF. :P

But you're right, dogs are a basic requirement for a "true" (I use that loosely) farm. :)

[Abi]

oh, we weren't getting a lab we were just watching them for our neighbor. we also can't have a dog who is bred for hunting, like a hound, since we are in need of a LSG (livestock guard). we have a few specific breeds in mind :)

[Abi]

oh, puppies! they get you every time right? ;)

we just finished our last jar of nasturtium pesto from last season. so delicious! i plant it everywhere! in every garden bed, in pots etc. it's great in salads too!

we are already having pea problems with one insect or another chomping away at them. sorry about your cucumbers :(

[Abi]

oh, we did! it was lovely! i hope your weekend was lovely too :)

[Laura]

Those puppies are so beautiful! If you get a dog I highly recommend a lab! I've had my black lab for almost 13 years and he is just the sweetest thing! Sounds like you have a great garden.
blessings
~*~

[Duck]

I realize your neighbor brought them over. Just saying... Maybe they wanted to plant a Labrador seed in your garden? Hehe! ;)

Ooh, like what breeds do you think? Pyranese or something? You see, I have this fox, and this stupid egg-eating crow... *grumble*
Lost a half-grown duck to that fox. :(

[Abi]

oh, i am so sorry to hear it. it's so hard to lose birds.

i have to say that since we have moved the alpacas in with the chickens our count remains at 54 chickens and our 3 bantams. (the 30 chicks are safely in the garage) i have once seen the alpacas really 'on guard' and sticking very close to the coop. they may be guarding them well as is.

we would really like to have a Gampr. it's an Armenian LSG (i am Armenian) but there aren't any local breeders here. i am in touch with a woman from CA. she runs AGCA but it's just too costly to bring one here so we have been holding out...maybe someday...
http://www.gampr.org/characteristics.html

[Abi]

aren't they adorable?! my neighbor has been breeding labs for so many years. she has a real knack for picking dogs with incredible dispositions. these puppies are only 6 weeks but were on their best behavior while they were with us ;)

[karin]

Abi, you look so wonderful!!

[Sarah]

Those puppies are the cuteness! My parents just got a new puppy after our dog of 10 years passed away in April, it's amazing how uplifting puppies are just by their presence. So sweet!

[Monkey Lobster]

uh, is this some kind of a dream come true?