Quick Farm Update

   How grows your garden so far? Is your corner of the universe lending you regular sky showers and plenty of warm, windless days to sow your seeds? Our new raised beds have been like a playground for me this month. Clean, level, and packed with compost and black soil, they draw me out every morning and seduce me into slipping just one more herb or just one more packet of seeds into an empty space. At last count I had nestled almost twenty squash plants in the dirt out there and almost that many peppers and tomatoes. It’s a numbers game, you guys.

   We also now have a bed jam packed with what will become edamame, thanks to a gift from our neighbor Robby, and we are celebrating the rise of the green bean tipi. But you know what? Some of what I have been doing in the garden this past week is sort of against regulation. Oklahoma is smack in the middle of a waning moon, which means I should have been focusing more on weed removal and soil cultivation than the installation of above ground crops. The thing is, I lack willpower.

      Things are growing steadily and with few obstacles, and more importantly Rebecca’s wedding is just a few days from now; so the temptation to plant new stuff is just too strong to resist! The photo above, though, is actually an old clematis vine. One which I believed to have perished in last year’s heat wave. But look! Just like the abandoned, rusty blue bike from the Pine Forest, she made a comeback! When I look at this pairing I see three months into the future, when that misshapen front wheel is draped lavishly with green vines and heavy blossoms. And then I go plant some more seeds.

   Before we all go scoot to our Tuesday chores and appointments, will you be kind as to cast a vote? Yesterday I collected lots of normal chicken eggs… and then the behemoth egg you see on the right in this photo. It is heavy, folks. And I have yet to crack it open to see its contents, but it could be a goose egg. Before you vote, here are some facts:

• This giant egg was found in the same nesting box as six average sized hen eggs.
• That nesting box is about three feet off the ground, inside the chicken coop.
• The geese have in fact been sleeping in the coop lately, but…
• Momma Goose is, well, she’s just not athletic.
• But seriously, that is a big egg. And it is as heavy as a brick, no kidding.