Sunburn on St. Patrick's Day

Little Joe, after taking a late nap yesterday, stayed up and found one of our math aids. He put the Cuisenaire rods all in a row, almost perfectly in order by size (he mixed up seven and six, but still, an impressive display).

Two nights ago, we had another almost half inch of rain, which left the ground more soupy than it should have. Probably the previous rains had so saturated the earth that this most recent rain had nowhere to go.

After a day of drying out, though, Butch returned to continue work on our pad for the greenhouse. He worked much of the day, scraping a foot here and another foot, building up the downslope, flattening and scooping. Every hour or two, he and Phil would check it with the level, and, by the end of the day, the pad, approximately 75'x35', was done. Joe had spent almost that whole time watching.

Except for the time when I caught him imitating Butch. He had found a toy bulldozer and was pushing and flattening the pile of peat moss.

We have an enormous, flat, orange pad now, ready to work.

The pad is flat, yes. But the access to the pad is not. In the photo, you can see Butch driving out of the pad at the end of the day. The camera is level: the bulldozer's crazy angle shows the crazy steepness of the uphill access.

That was good progress on that front. Phil finished the design of the foundation for our metal building, so we have hope of progress there, too. He also spent some time finishing up plowing the first garden bed. Now he just needs to till, and then I can plant. I am ready!

The greenhouse is such a treat to see. Last summer, we ate often six or seven watermelon a week. I had planted some seeds in the ground, but nothing came up, so I am happy to see my two trays of watermelon seeds sprouting so nicely.

A few peppers have their first true leaves (below); many of the tomatoes do, too.

And I love the shape of the strawflowers.

The three colors of chicks are quite fun to look at. I had the door open with a box in front today, and about six chicks escaped and went scurrying around, hiding under pallets and the cattle trailer, and anywhere else convenient. They are quick, but after hours of intermittent snatching, we finally managed to get all chicks back where they belonged.

And, finally, the boys and I stained the new beehives today. We'll try the traditional boxes, but I just couldn't see painting them white, since everything on this farm turns orange. So we covered them with a protective coat that keeps the pine its natural color, and I like that. Hopefully three weeks will be enough time for the stain scent to wear off before the bees arrive.

I transplanted some onions; I weeded my little personal garden; I made sure the lamb was fed; I looked at blossoming trees. When I started to stain the beehives, though, Phil said, "Amy, you're getting a sunburn." And I thought that was pretty awesome for St. Patrick's Day, when sometimes I've been cold in the snow!