Spring is Coming...

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...although El Nino isn't done with us yet. We continue to be pounded by rain 2-3x/week and have passed 40" on the season. The happiest about that are the ducks, who greatly appreciate all the worms that come to the surface to escape the waterlogged soil. Our little flock of five unceremoniously passed the 500 egg mark a few days ago. More often than not, we find 5 eggs a day in the nest they've made and maintain.

Despite the rain, we have had some beautiful days and dormant buds are waking up. Our plums are in full bloom, while our persimmons have yet to break from dormancy. The grape cuttings that we took are waking at the same time as the parent plants. Our cover crop is now huge, as is the kale in the winter garden (pictured here with a rogue leek). We're still swimming in Meyer Lemons, yet the trees are getting ready to push new flowers. Tomato, pepper and onion starts are coming up in the greenhouse, although I've yet to photograph them.

Our Lauder's Walking Stick is covered with fuzzy yellow catkins, and the true smell of spring, the Narcissus, is in bloom everywhere. The final photo above is a protective grate I made for the kitchen window at the Homeless Garden Project after they were robbed for the umpteenth time on Christmas day.

Winter Update

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It continues to be a busy winter in these hills. The opening shot above is of the full moon on New Year's Eve. Our cover crop is growing nicely, and our citrus is fertilized and re-mulched. The avocados are next on the list. (Update 01.30.09- Avos are done!) We have finished with winter pruning of pomegranates, grapes, kiwis, roses, pone and stone fruits. The cuttings from our Black Manuka table grapes are potted up and should take. We've had some ripping burn piles so far, and there are still a few to go. The shaded fuel break we put in last fall has attracted birds of all stripes this winter, as well as the many hawks who prey on them. We've begun planting out the baby lavender; there's more of that to go as well. Today was actually the first sunny day in a couple of weeks now that El Nino is active. Over a foot of rain has fallen this January, and that has freed up time to build some gates and fences to keep the quackers off the patio and a new greenhouse, which will play a role both in the propagation of starts and in sun-drying tomatoes, peppers and the like each fall. We continue to get duck eggs every morning, although there have only been 4 every day this week. I'm not sure what's up with that, other than the Buff has been awfully broody lately. For a while, she was holding her egg and making secret nests under various Toyon bushes. All of our perennial landscaping has appreciated the recent wetness and is rewarding us with its splendor. We already have all of our seeds for next season, and our seed potatoes are set to ship mid-March. We're also gearing up to place a big order for more citrus and avocados from Four Winds Growers. It was fun to see some old faces at the CASFS Mixer at Eco Farm, and much gratitude to all who came to the workshop at Roses of Yesterday and Today.
Thank you all for keeping in touch...stay warm and dry, and many blessings in 2010!

Broccoli & Gratitude

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A bit of a belated update here. We have so much to be grateful for this year. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with pies from our pumpkins; the end of the Poblanos: roasted, stuffed with cheese, and baked with cornbread; a freshly killed Tofurkey resting on a bed of our onions, potatoes, and rosemary; cases of persimmons; heirloom pink popcorn; and of course broccoli and cauliflower from the garden. We're on track to our 100th duck egg in the next couple of days. Our cover crop is growing, and we're mapping out next Spring's plantings already. Today I took down a seven foot tall Doug Fir and wrestled it through the front door and into our converted-wheelbarrow tree stand. We've even finished our card ahead of schedule this year. We pick it up tomorrow and plan to get it out over the weekend. It looks like we're in for a bit of rain starting Sunday. It will be a welcome change from last week's power-zapping windstorm into cold snap.

1...2...3...4...Guy!

Halfway through their third week of laying the ducks have had their first four egg day. Appropriately, this brings the total number of eggs they've lain to 40 so far. After counting the eggs, Estelle added her guy to the nest box this morning, hence the post title.

Eggs At Last...

The full moon and a supplemental light on a timer kicked our ladies into production over the weekend, 25 weeks from their birth. We've found two per day since finding a lone egg on Sunday morning, for a total of 7 so far. Due to the size and color of the eggs however, I think that more than two ducks are laying. The eggs have clean, hard shells and are rich in flavor. Their golden yolks reflect their nutritional value.