Bloom Where You're Planted Farm

Our weather lately has been amazing!  Plenty of sunshine, low humidity, temps in the mid-60s, and best of all......no wind!!!  That's a rarity here in Nebraska!  I looooove Springtime!

We've been taking advantage of the conditions and getting lots of work done.  Over the weekend we edged flower beds, mulched, weeded, and worked with the horses.  We've also prepared the ground and seeded grass in the many areas that were either disturbed when we trenched in water lines last fall, or destroyed by the tractor during snow removal.  I'm most excited about the area in front of the Schoolhouse Cafe.  We planted new grass right up to the new sidewalk -- if it takes, it will look great and be a huge improvement over the dust and weeds we had before (after all, that area was a cow lot just a few years ago!)

Much of our time this week has been spent getting ready for our Spring Open House on Apr. 24 & 25.  The Schoolhouse Cafe is all cleaned and rearranged.  I set up a small gift shop area in there yesterday--it will be much smaller than our fall gift shop, but we'll have some fun, spring-y foods and decor for sale.  Mowing and food shopping are all that remain on that to-do list.  We're praying for good weather and looking forward to our first springtime event in four years.

Here's a photo I took last week of a beautiful Nebraska sunset.  Hope to see you soon at the farm!

Our latest project, the renovation of the former entry room of the schoolhouse into a concession kitchen, is zipping along.  The walls, ceiling, lighting, outlets and ceiling fan are all in.  The walls are painted the same pale yellow as the rest of the building's interior, and my much-anticipated dark red and pale yellow checkered linoleum floor is in.  I just love it, and hope to have photos up soon.  As I write this Terry is in the shop building the cabinets.  They'll be painted a vintage-inspired green color called "Guacamole".  I wouldn't be brave enough to do these bright colors in my house, but feel like I can have my fun with this kitchen and not have to live with it all day, every day!

The pumpkins are "setting fruit" and the vines are really spreading.  We have had the usual issues with bugs -- we fight a bug called the Cucumber Beetle and they can wreak havoc in the patch.  They nibble on the leaves and blossoms, but the amount they eat isn't the issue.  The problems come because some of them carry a harmful bacteria that gets into the plant's system and makes the vines wilt and eventually die.  Part of the reason we plant SO many plants is to compensate for the loss that is bound to happen.  Still, we value every plant and it is very frustrating to watch!  We try to look past the losses and focus on the healthy plants and all the exciting growth that is happening to keep our spirits up!

Our county fair is about 10 days away (Already??? WHERE has the summer gone??) and I've been printing brochures and handouts and getting everything ready for our booth.  We really enjoy getting to see our customers and friends again, and many stop by the booth just to say "hi!"  Here's a link to the schedule.

Tomorrow we'll be taking the day off to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary.  We've been having pleasant (not so hot and humid) temps so it should be a nice day to play hooky!  :-)  Have a great weekend!