Today it is supposed to rain, so I guess all the excuses I have for putting off the laundry are gone. If there is any one out there who has a love for housekeeping, you can live here for free and clean as much as you want... The toilets probably need cleaning twice a week, there is a lot of dust, and dirt gets tracked into the house by the minute. We have plenty of laundry for you to do, and the more time I get to spend outside, the more fresh food you'll have to cook with! Any takers? (I didn't think so. [sigh])

Anyway. Monday, instead of doing laundry, I started four types of tomatoes and one bell pepper. Last night, the first tomato seedlings popped up. I really need to get another bank of lights next year. My broccoli seedlings are rather gangly, although I've tried to keep them as close to the lights as possible. Tuesday, Mom came over and helped plant the fruit trees on the far side of the "pond". I don't think I can call such a leaky hole in the ground a pond. We had enough rain to pretty much fill the pond, but the water level dropped about a foot in five days.

Thursday, I got out in the garden area and dug up about 10 square feet of grass. It wasn't much, but I figure if I can get out there and do little bits at a time, I might have a good sized plot ready for planting when the time comes. No evidence of peas, yet.

Yesterday, I moved the compost pile to the new compost bins Chris built using some 4' x 7' pallets he snagged. The old ones were in the way of the future chicken cage. When Chris got home, he finished wiring up the chicken coop and started working on the cage. We will need to get the chicks into a bigger enclosure soon, so it will be good to move the heat lamps out there and give the chicks a little more room to run around. They seem to be looking for ways to break out... some of the older chicks have started perching on top of the feeder, and I bet if they really tried, they could fly right on out of the box.

And a little story about Elizabeth... I felt sorry for her, being the only chicken left, and started feeding her larges sections from bananas that Z would start to eat, then lose interest in. One day, as I was peeling the rest of one for Elizabeth, she flew up and tried to snatch it from my hands. A few days later, Z wanted to eat her banana outside on the porch. I didn't think much of it, since Elizabeth has never come up on the porch... But not long after I sent Z out, there Z was at the door crying in terror and trying to get inside as Elizabeth loomed behind her, trying to figure out how to get that banana. Poor Z. Needless to say, she's a little scared of Elizabeth now, but we are working through it...