Focus on the positives...

...newly planted red lettuce bed...

..."Peppermint" Swiss chard...about 8 inches high....

After a wonderfully decadent Thanksgiving yesterday, I was ready for a serious workout and some healthy meals.  Today dawned bright, sunny and warm, so I took a really good walk, then worked out in the garden for the afternoon.  Raking and cleaning up pine needles, digging compost into my veggie beds and generally enjoying the fresh air and sunshine really helps lift my spirits.  As usual the hens are eager to help, as is Tilly, and Jack always has my back...that is, he sits behind me, wherever I am working, facing away, and LITERALLY guards my back.  I LOVE that dog.

I dug out and replanted my asparagus bed. I bought fresh roots from Sallye's garden center, and researched in Mother Earth online discovering that I hadn't planted my last year's roots deeply enough, so they failed miserably.  This time I dug in a wagon load of 

goat-berry compost, too...that ought to do the trick.

In the greenhouse, which I noticed is showing some signs of wear and tear, I weeded the Swiss chard and green lettuce, and planted some assorted beets and some red lettuce seeds. I am experimenting this time with some home-made seed toppers, to see if they get a better start.  The soil was pretty dry, so I watered lightly. I would like to weed my kale patch, but the seedlings are too small--I can't tell which ones are the kale yet!

I have to spend more time in my garden this coming year.  I am going to get automatic water installed, and build a rainwater collection system.  We will be constructing a covered chicken run, and I need to plant more fruit trees, too. There is NOTHING more satisfying than picking an organic, tree-ripened apple and eating it right there in the garden.

Gardening has a way of reminding the gardener that success is often found with patience. I produce large quantities of the most excellent compost. I grow delicious figs, pink lady and Arkansas black apples, almonds, cherries, apricots and grapes. I produce salad greens and raspberries, healthy goats, and lovely egg-laying hens. If my tomatoes aren't the best, I will help support a local farmer by purchasing from her at the farmer's market. :)

...I love this life...

Autumn sunrise...

I didn't realize that it had been six weeks since I wrote in this blog. It seems like these weeks have been a blur...so much happening in my life. It really helps me keep things in perspective when I write, so I vow to be more consistent in my writings....

I saw the sunrise this morning. It was singularly colorful.  Pinks and bright yellows streaking across the sky, back lighting pines and oaks, ridge lines layers of intense golds and yellows. The light comes sparkling through branches, setting the leaves and needles aglow. 

As every morning that I am driving, I watch for the wild ones. The deer are gathering now. I often see large herds of does and fawns with their bucks. I see turkeys, too, and quail.  Fox, coyote, an occasional bobcat, and even more rarely, an elusive mountain lion.  

I feel God in the sunrise. It feels like a promise. 

...it feels like hope....