Spring Break with a Vengence

Wow. When Spring comes, she comes. Suddenly, there is entirely too much to do around Lavender Hill. I find it difficult to even to decide what to do next. So I've enlisted the aide of the entire family.

Field Extension

One project is the lavender field extension. We are extending Campo de Fiori to include some wonderful space that had not yet been planted. Here you can see my daughter moving through the freshly staked extension. Heaven on Earth!

Weeding the Lavender

Spring warmth and showers bring weeds! And it's best to get them early, before they completely consume the lavender. Then they are really tough to get out! Here my daugher is working to remove some vetch from around the Grosso. It's manual, and tedious. But the plants do love you for your care. The pulled weeds are placed in the center of the rows, then the tiller turns them under between the rows.

The Tarantula in Our Midst

Sometimes it is the tiny surprises that make the biggest impression for the day. This day we were surprised by a little furry friend hiding between the plants. Look who we found, this tarantula! He crawled out while pulling weeds from under a plant. We have seen them from time to time. But this is the first time during the spring weeding. No bother. He seemed mostly interested in getting away from us, crawling underneath one of the irrigation lines where he thought he was hidden. Sorry Mr. T, we see you there! Anyhow, we let him be. He's most likely still there, hiding amongst the bushes. And I thought only banana pickers needed to lookout for spiders!

Wood Stacking Paradise

Lavender isn't the only thing keeping us busy on Lavender Hill! There are plenty of spring chores to go around. Here my son is stacking wood. He stops only to make repairs to the wheel barrow. I see him throwing the heavy wood into the barrow with a bang! And then he wonders why it always needs fixing? He he.

Building the Ark

And this year, the farm plan calls for adding hens to our happy farm family. Eggs have been a hot commodity with our CSA, and my neighbors have had a tough time keeping up with demand. So I have agreed to bring some chickens aboard and help them meet the demand. Here you see my son standing over the beginnings of what we call "the Ark". A mobile chicken coop. The coop will be moved from location to location where the hens can forage on fresh local faire while leaving what chickens leave behind, enriching the soil for the next planting. The Ark will have a wire bottom so that all the guano goodness will fall right to the earth. Appropriately, today it rained (which is why my son doesn't look so happy!). There was something symbolic in that :)

Stay tuned to Lavender Hill for our progress building "the Ark". Also this month, the new hive colonies arrive. And we will be planting out the new field extensions I spoke of earlier. Lot's to do. Wish us luck!