Chickens and the garden

Today is a gorgeous day! The wind has a bit of a chill to it, but as long as you are sitting in the sun it is super comfortable. Spring is in full force here in Utah and I couldn't be happier about it. I went for a jog with just the baby last night in the double-jogger (so much lighter than having a 2 and 4 year-old in it!). The sun was setting and I ran to the end of town. The road literally ends and gives way to the foothills preceding the mountains. I love living in Themiddleofnowhere.

We acquired 3 more chicks for a total of 8 birds. I put their cage outside during the day and we let them out to play in the yard for a few hours at a time while we are outside playing, too. It is amazing how well they stay around. They roam in a big 20 foot circle but always tend to stay near the cage and their food and water. When I am ready for them to go back inside of the cage, I just open the door and shoo them in.

I haven't figured out which breeds are which yet. That is on my to-do list.

They are getting so big but are still babies.

Our tulips are finally blooming in pink, red, and yellow. I adore having fresh flowers in the yard to bring inside. I hope to have fresh home-grown flowers in my house 8 months out of the year one day.

Speaking of flowers, I love dandelions! I think they are little pops of sunshine, and we wouldn't have any grass in the yard without them. Such a pretty weed-patch of a yard, isn't it?

I can remember picking scads of wild flower bouquets for my mom; it is so fun to be on the receiving end now.

And our apple tree is just starting to bloom. I noticed the first open flowers this morning. The honey bees seemed to have taken note too. Can you see the bee?

Here is the cold hearty vegetable garden that I told you all about earlier. It's slowly growing. It's been snowed on 3 times and had some really heavy frost a few mornings. The swiss chard didn't make it and the beets are struggling, but I don't account either of those losses to the cold. I think they needed more water. I have tons of mint coming up. What do you do with fresh mint besides smell it?