Mustard Season, Mud & Chicks

I pulled over on the side of the road heading into Sebastopol to snap this photo. The mustard is sprouting up everywhere and I absolutely love this time of year. Normally, February is all about the mustard - but since we're having a late Spring and the rains are finally here - the fields of mustard are still in full swing. I took Roblar Road to Santa Rosa yesterday and there was a sea of yellow as far as you could imagine.
The finished wine/linen/whatever closet! Yay for me!!! Steve painted the inside of the closet and it houses approximately four cases of wine. He did the flooring to match the bathroom and it's such an efficient use of space for our small pad. Good job husband.

My goal this week was to find soil for my gardening beds. I spotted a large mound of soil on my way to Tomales this week and will have to wait for it to dry out before I shovel it into my step-dad's truck. Right now, it's just a mound of mud. I need it to amend all of my raised beds and then add straw to prevent weed growth before my Spring planting. I feel sneaky about the soil and don't know why... it's not really stealing, but maybe it is?

My asparagus are already popping out of the ground. I'm going to cut them down today and start enjoying the little devils this week. Nothing compares to fresh asparagus. The kind you find in the store can be a little woody and lack flavor. I'm so thankful the previous tennants planted this when they were here, as we can reap the benefits for 20+ years, if we take care of it.

Here's something interesting. Someone told me this is a "voodoo lily" and smells like death. Hmmm, interesting. It does wreak, but it sure is beautiful and perhaps a little falic? Since we've weeded out a few areas, the bushes are much larger this year and are exquisite to see. Similar to a calla lily and apparently very old (accordingly to a botanical artist).

It was another week of entertaining friends, attending birthday parties, client dinners, playdates and neighbor visits. Everything I love about our small town living.

It's been raining most of the week, but I did get in one day this week to garden a riased bed that is behind our house and will be Grady's responsibility. We are going to plant carrots and strawberries, so far.

I've been doing some chicken research and can't wait to order same. Steve is going to work on fixing up our old greenhouse, so that it can accommodate our flock-to-be. On a side note, my mom found a cute cottage in Tomales that has four goats and a llama, as well as an amazing barn (that has housing for chickens). She might move in next month. It would be so great, as she can pick up Grady from school and there is a trail from her house to the elementary school. Grady is in love with the goats already and is quite sure they are in love with him too.

Grady ended the week with a visit from Future Farmers of America at his school. He milked a fake cow and thought that was so cool. They did bring real goats and now he wants a goat or a ram for our homestead. Steve is still not on board with the goat thing. I think tackling the chicken coop is the first order of business and then we can work on coercion in the goat department.

Never thought I'd type the last paragraph in my lifetime. Wow, how Valley Ford has changed me.