Again, I say this is my favorite time of the year. Each day as I walk in my gardens I am amazed at the change from the day before. Something new has poked its head up out of the earth. This is the season for new life.

Our first baby chicks just hatched. They are so cute and sweet. We have white leghorns, barred rocks and some bantams. Two of our mallard ducks are setting on a dozen eggs each and we have more eggs in the incubator. The baby geese should hatch in about ten more days and we just put in some pheasant eggs. Boy, are we going to be busy this summer!

We have one more mare yet to foal. I do hope she has a filly as lovely as she is. Our pastures are so green and they look so pretty dotted with mothers and babies.

Last fall I was at my favorite garden center. They had lots of bulbs of unusual flowers (at least little known to me). I bought an assortment and planted them. I am now reaping the rewards. They are such pleasing surprises! So many of them are blue! This just happens to be my favorite color.

I have put in a new hosta garden this spring. The shade had become too dense for the lily garden I had there. This is perfect transplant weather. The ground is so soft and the watering is so automatic.

So much rain has done wonders for the well drained plants but has totally destroyed some of the low lying garden. I still have so many, many beautiful plants I can replace them as soon as they are workable and I have the energy.

The lilacs have truly outdone themselves this year! I have never seen the blossoms so large and numerous. The fragrance, however,is not quite as intense.

The redbuds have just shed their blossoms and the earth underneath is a pink carpet. The peacock is enjoying eating them. I have never noticed this before.

We have a couple of fast growing hybrid poplars near the barn. The fragrance from their blossoms is intoxicating! I can’t seem to get enough. They are quite messy when they shed, however. They are sweet smelling and very sticky. They stick to the pavement and to the dogs and cats causing their fur to mat. They are definetly worth the trouble for their shade and fragrance.

The vegetable garden is doing quite well. The raised beds are certainly the answers to gardening in the rain. My salad garden is so beautiful I hate to harvest it. I planted a raised bed in a diagonal pattern with rows of five different kinds of lettuce and spinach, each of a different shade of green or red. It certainly looks good enough to eat. I have lots of spring onions to add to the salad.

The asparagus is finally able to grow. It has been trying for the past six weeks but each time it stuck its head out the frost would nip it. If you have never tasted freshly picked asparagus you have truly missed a treat.

My newest venture is really taking off. I have started a small craft business called Atnegam Garden Art. My first piece is a sleeping cat. Her name is Esmerelda. She is very beautiful and every one who sees her wants one for their garden or hearth. She is of a limited edition series of l00. I must go now and finish my order of seven due tomorrow.

P.S. : If you want to be happy all of your life, live on a farm.