Elderberries

I was excited last spring when I found elderberries blooming on our new property.  Come harvest time those berries were tiny and sparse.  Not any berry one could make anything with.  Real elderberry bushes have been on my to do list for a while.  This past weekend at Rodale I bought the last two bushes they had for sale. (And hopefully they are going to take the last of the red raspberry bushes I have been trying to get rid of!)

Yummm, elderberry jam!

Rain Barrels!

I have wanted rain barrels for a while, and the new barn and its metal roof would be the perfect location. And the barn is uphill from the garden. I can easily gravity feed the garden with water from the rain barrels. The only thing really holding me back, besides the lack of a barn, was the cost of new rain barrels and/or the lack of time to make our own. Well, this past weekend at Rodale's cold crop sale we bought two brand new very nice and very inexpensive rain barrels. Now I only need a barn!

Magnolia's don't like freezing temps

Our magnolia tree is about to bloom. But its supposed to go down to 26 degrees tonight. This after many days of 60s and 70s.  Magnolia blossoms turn all brown and fall off when it gets too cold.  We'll see how it fairs.  I so love this magnolia tree.

Garden Work

This weekend has been glorious!  And we got so much accomplished outside with the beautiful weather.  Today could not have been a more beautiful early April day.
Yesterday Alan moved things in preparation for the new barn and I got the vegetable garden ready for tilling today.  I dug up about 60 raspberry bushes, still more to go.  Friends came over today and took 20 berry bushes, that still leaves plenty to go. But the end is in sight.
Today was a perfect day to till the garden.  At first the chickens were afraid of the tiller, then they realized what the tiller left behind.

Then they kept getting in the way!
I am still in love with my soil, and so are the chickens.

So much promise in a newly tilled garden.

But there's those pesky raspberry bushes again. Please someone take some, please!