Farm Fun to the Extreme!!!!!!!!

Planting time, for sure.

Sandwiches rule.

Burgers.

Long days. Use up that sunlight! And while the friends are bringing in cute crafts to sell at the farm, and the gals are painting, painting, painting... we are busily tending the first four acres of pumpkins, the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, and today the Indian/ornamental corn goes in with names like Wilda's Pride (found growing wild and propagated, and now the best ornamental I've ever grown!)

Strawberry corn.... (can be popcorn or fun for wreaths, centerpieces, etc.

Broom corn....(yes, this is what corn brooms are made from! We take the long, frondy seed heads and use them to make swags or decorate wreaths..... so I grow these for next year's decorations)

Indian Fingers!!!!! These are about 5" to 6" long, slim and perfect for wiring or hot gluing to wreaths, etc. So stinkin' cute!

Our spring becomes filled with a mental array of fall colors. We've planted our favorite pumpkin "Jarrahdale" an Australian blue squash that was a crop fail last year... so we're giving it three separate plantings on three different areas of the farm (slope, non-sloped flat land, and Hail Mary, out back where we'll stale bed seeds (no tilling) to see if they're happier there. We love these beautiful and delicious squashes!!!!)

Every pumpkin pie, bread, roasted squash should be made from this amazingly delicious pumpkin squash! Thank you, Australia!!!!!!!!

The porch greenhouse has been dismantled and the plastic folded and saved for next spring.... and after a tough first week in the ground, and sun scald to those unhardened tomato leaves, it looks like the 255 tomato plants are settling in and sending off new growth, hearty growth. So that's good!

And it took 16 days at 80-90 degrees to germinate orange blaze peppers (that I should have planted four weeks ago, oops!) We'll see how they do, but at least they've sprouted!

It is porch painting time.... but I'm having two of my teen buddies do that so I can keep writing books and tending farm stuff....

And Santa is almost painted and ready to be put away. :) Our Santa and his 9 reindeer needed refurbishing (Grandma Blodgett and Uncle Chuck made this set about thirty years ago, and we inherited them (YAY US!!!!!) so five reindeer were re-painted two years ago, four reindeer last year, and we didn't put Santa away this year so I wouldn't forget to give him a fresh look.... and he's looking good, so it's almost time to tuck him away until November... :) And yes, it's been odd having him sitting in the yard, but that way I wouldn't back-burner something that's meant so much to the Blodgett family all these years.

There are new things going on, too!

Painted rocks.

I'm not kidding, a "permanent flower"....

And permanent flower posts!  Pieces of fencing decorated with sticks and stones that will not break your bones!

Rustic American flags.... and all from re-purposed wood and the work of human hands. :) We find old fencing out for the trash and we rescue it! 

And look at these planters, also from re-purposed wood, things put out at the roadside.... dresser drawers and old stools. So fun and a whole new life! Amanda and Paul did the building/trimming for the flag bases, the planters and the fence pickets.... but Christina did the painting, the finish work.

Many hands make light work.

And this one sold within a few hours of posting it:

Holes drilled into the drawer allow drainage, and how cute will this be filled with posies for a burst of color in a garden? Love it!

So that's what we're doing, there's not a calm corner now that the weather has turned gentler, and we've been waiting a long time to break out.... and get busy. So we're raising our water bottles to spring!

Huzzah!

Multi-published author Ruth Logan Herne puts on her farmer's hat at home in Western New York where she owns and manages Blodgett Family Farm with her husband Dave and a wonderful crew of family and friends who gather to make things happen....

She loves to hear from folks about books, farming, flowers, crafts, food.... whatever! Friend her on Facebook, visit her website ruthloganherne.com or email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com. She'd love to hear from you!