In which we do rabbit-ish things in gardens and hop down bunny trails

I always spend a lot of time in the gardens, especially in Spring.

The view from Haenaheim into the pasture.

This year I'm spending even more time than usual--and Jim is too.  There's a lot to do!  

The radishes have sprouted, the garlic is up, the leeks and peas are planted and growing.

The corn isn't planted in Haenaheim yet, but almost everything else is in the ground.

  

The carrots will sprout any day now, we've already eaten the first two small stalks of asparagus, and soon it will be time for rhubarb harvesting!

The herb bed in Haenaheim got clobbered hard by winter--time to replant!

Monica's garden was overrun with weeds, and I'm digging them all out. Ugh.

The newest and frequently-revised plan for Monica's garden

I'm removing the large path that used to run up the middle of the large planting bed in Monica's garden, and replacing it with several smaller cross-wise paths. 

The large bed in Monica's garden used to have a path up the middle
(where the wheelbarrow is in the photo).

The path is about half-gone now.  The mangled t-posts are gone too!

It's a ton of digging, but it will make the space better for growing crops--especially beans, which will feed the dogs and improve the soil!

Speaking of digging, Jim has also spent a lot of time with a shovel in his hand lately.

sod and weeds dug out to make room for berry bushes!

He's working to strip all the grass and weed sod from around the blueberry bushes, and then filling the space with compost and mulch.  I need to get a photo when he's closer to done.

He's also building a pathway into the orchard from the driveway.  

The lilacs on the left will be joined by some buddleja (butterfly bush).
Downhill will have forsythia and smaller flowering plants.
The burn pile in the middle is gone now!

Right now he's pulling out sod and weeds (I'm sensing a theme here?) as well as rotted weed-barrier installed by some previous owner.  He'll lay down a fresh weed barrier and some hogsfuel for footing, and then line the path with the river rocks. 

It looks disorganized now, but when he's finished it will be pretty and useful.

All work and no riding makes me grumpy, so I went riding!

Alex and Catherine are going to try endurance riding with the mustangs. They've got the book, and asked if I could teach them a few things. 

Fiddle is a patient pulsing-dummy

We practiced a vet check, first with the Dragon.  Then they did a vet check on their own horses. 

Alex and Rae

 Then we headed out on the trail.

Blue sky overhead and soft trail below.  Perfect!

After about an hour, we did another vet check, and then I turned them loose:  time to let the Dragon roar a little bit.  (She's old, she doesn't roar much, but she does still roar!)

Putting shoes back on this mare was definitely the right thing to do.  She is much happier now.  

She even broke a sweat!

two and a half hours on the trail = happiness

Back home, it's time for Seasonal Costume Foolishness.

"Will wear outfit if you givez cookies."

This is Pooh Bear's first Costume Holiday at Haiku Farm.  

He seems...underwhelmed.

Foxie knows about the cookies.

I hope your Spring is full of sunshine and silliness.