Spring is here and planting.

Dude got  some of the gardens rototilled. 

These are the gardens I put chicken manure on all winter. 

200 onions planted. 100 more to go. They store nicely during the winter. 

I have no clue why he bought tomato plants. They began to die but I am determined to save them and get them growing in the greenhouse. It is waaaaaaaaaay to early to plant outside in Colorado. The rule of thumb here is salads, greens and root vegetables such as beets and carrots are planted St. Patrick's day and later. Everything else Mother's Day and later here. We have a short growing season but we make the best of it. We grow what we can.  We have the threat of hail, tornadoes and microbursts in late spring and early summer.  It has been known to snow in May as well.  An example of weather here, today it will be in the seventies and tomorrow in the forties with a possibility of snow. 

These are the trees I started. They all have buds on them. 

More planting happened in here. 

The meat chickens are doing great.  Only a couple more weeks for them and then they go to the butcher. 

Mint is doing well and I will make some jelly this weekend for our lamb. 

Dandelions too... jelly on the way. 

All the tulips we planted in the fall are coming up.  Spring is always late in Colorado but worth the wait. 

peace

Quick craft for gift giving and banding chickens

I love making these little boxes. Actually the boxes were rescued from the trash.  

Add a little paint, some flowers, stickers and Wa La! 

They are great for gift cards... 

This is for a friend who likes books. 

A book mark, a gift card to the book store and these tiny books my sister makes. If you want to see more of her stuff she is at Laugh Like Thunder on facebook. 

This one is for coffee... Add a mug rug and a coffee card. Perfect quick gift. 

Dude bought some strawberries for me to plant along with some in runner form too. He got all the gardens disked up and ready to plant. He wants to plant onions tomorrow. 

I worked with the chickens before work.  The new layers are ready to go into a bigger area but not ready to be incorporated with the big birds yet.  We moved them and banded them so we know they are the younger birds. 

I later thought... with all my crafting supplies I could have bedazzled them...wink. 

I tried to sew.  I got the ties put on before work .

I couldn't get much more done due to my "helper". 

I am reading Pope Francis's  Happiness in this Life and enjoying it. 

I need to finish America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie... another very good book so far. 

Tomorrow our dog Norman goes to etiquette training... at least, that's what I'm calling it. Nothing like having a 70 pound puppy! 

peace 

Morning in Denver, chicken recipes and garden

We drove the hour to Denver for Divine Mercy Sunday at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. It is being remodeled but you can still be in awe of it's great majesty. 

It was gorgeous today and we didn't even need jackets. 

His Holiness John Paul II said mass here during World Youth Day in 1993. I was working downtown and eating at the Walnut Café. It used to be across the street from the Basilica when I saw him come out the massive wooden doors to go to Civic Center Park to speak to the masses. Yes, I stopped and stared. 

I saw him again from my work office high above the crowds at World Youth Day celebrations. 

We went today to celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday which, in the history of the church, is a fairly new feast day.  It is the first Sunday after Easter and first celebrated 2001 by Pope (Saint) John Paul II. It is to celebrate Jesus Mercy and Forgiveness, a devotion first described and report by Sister Faustyna.

...anywhooo the sermon was good, and as big as the church was, the priest made you to feel invited and part of their community.  They had a lot going on today... a free class after mass and at 3pm a free concert. OH and their music was beautiful!

A few views on the way home...

Jack Kerouac, the writer,  was a residence of Denver at one time. You can find all kinds of markers with his name in the city. 

We did get home around 1pm with plenty of time to work in the garden. 

Ugh... not sure what Dude thought my crock was but I found it out in a garden partially buried. 

Need to disinfection, clean and ready for fermentation. 

I pulled up the last of the winter carrots. Carrots always do well for us both outside and inside the greenhouse. 

Dude was out working in the chicken coop but once he heard me blasting music in the greenhouse he got the planting bug and came to help. 

We planted beets (lots of them), a variety of lettuce and radishes for now. 

Norman was in heaven with both of us home. 

We got the beds all cleaned out and two fully planted. I used old canning lids as markers. We will plant more this week. 

A very quick recipe. These turned out really good.  I had a bag of chicken breast that I thawed and marinated over night with a bottle of Balsamic and Basil Vinaigrette.  Then added a few cloves of garlic the next day and baked at 350* for 30-45 minutes. I put a cooling rack on a cookie sheet and cooked them in the oven on it. Mine took 35minutes.  They cooked through nicely. 

Then today I sliced the leftovers and made quesadillas layering them with slice chicken, tomatoes, 3 kinds of cheese (smoke gouda, American and cheddar) and a few drops of hot sauce. 

Heat on  both sides in a buttered skillet... oh so good with sour cream! 

Well, that's is it for today. 

Time for a long hot bath with beautiful smelling oils after working so much in the garden - smile. 

peace