All’s well here at The Magic Kingdom, which is what my friend Judy likes to call this place. Despite chilly temps and a persistent grey tinge to the sky, the grass is green, the daffodils have bloomed and our first asparagus spear has poked up through its compost-y bed. Sure, we’ve had a little drama here and there, but mostly we are working away, planting like crazy, and pinching ourselves to make sure this isn’t a dream, and that three feet of snow isn’t lurking somewhere just around the corner of that chicken coop.
The new young chickens have all settled in nicely and are learning to explore the world outside their coops. They’re not entirely sure yet what all that green stuff is, but soon they will be devouring it.
We’ve started to harvest beautiful arugula from the hoop house, packing up and selling just a few bags a day at the farm stand. It won’t be too long before we’ll be harvesting Little Gem lettuces, baby Red Russian kale, and baby Bok choy, too.
Meanwhile, we’ve started seeding carrots, radishes, and Japanese turnips and transplanting lettuce, kale, and bok choy out to the market garden, so those familiar ghostly white tunnels have sprung up on the horizon!
Down in the lower fields, the onions are all planted, and the peas are already an inch high.
The young apple trees we bought last fall have their first buds. I can’t wait for apple blossoms!
The five apple trees make up the little orchard that Roy created in his two sister’s memory. I noticed he just moved a bench down there, and last week he planted some plants around the sign he made for them last year. I have to tell you, it is so touching.
Back up near the market garden, not only has the asparagus appeared, but all three of the rhubarb plants that I’ve been so unkind to managed to scramble to life. Wild black raspberry vines are leafing out, too, despite Roy running over them nonstop with the tractor.
This afternoon, probably because it was particularly cold and grey, I picked a little posey of the daffodils and grape hyacinths in the yard.
All’s well here at the Magic Kingdom. And yes, I am repeating myself, because sometimes I have to remind myself to look around when I’m tired and all those “to-dos” seem to clutter my vision. And besides, you have to keep your eyes open around here, because Roy is always up to something. Just the other day I noticed this half of a chair hanging on the farm stand. Sweet.
