4th week of April 2007
I think safe spring weather is finally here so we planted over 200 lettuce seedlings out in the garden. I also wanted to check the progress of the pea seeds and dug around to find some healthy sprouts in the ground. This year we don't plan to share any tasty young pea plants with our rabbit friends so we surrounded the pea patch with a double strand of electric fence. Hopefully it will also discourage chickens, dogs, the peacock and children from marauding the peas.
Here's what's cooking in the Geiser kitchen. We used fresh rosemary and the last of the 2006 garlic for a tasty roasted range chicken. The next day as the broth from the bones was simmering my aunt and uncle from Michigan stopped for a visit to the home farm. 
We ended up inviting them to stay for an impromptu lunch and the broth was transformed into chicken noodle soup with greens (nettles, Kale, spinach and lambs quarters). A fresh picked salad decorated with edible flowers (tulips, johnny jump ups and arugula blossoms) and bread completed the meal. Serving meals created from fresh food from our farm is one of our favorite delights.
It seems that we have become the "family cow hotline" lately. We had a call several weeks ago from a family who just got an older Jersey and were having trouble getting her adjusted to hand milking. We shared a few hints from our experience but mostly just listened and encouraged them to be patient till everyone gets used to the new routine. Fortunately by the next week things were going much smoother. Another family just called today with the good news of the birth of a Jersey heifer and Olin plans to go help coach them for their first milking. Adding a family cow sure can add excitement to life!
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