Where did Spring go?

It's been a while. In all honesty, working a job full-time, two young kids in school part-time, and trying to start a farm do not necessarily fit together seamlessly. I see parents who seem to manage it all, but I'm realizing it's pretty much a façade or they openly own up to the struggles of parenting and what it does to everything else you try to accomplish. The question is, what is your first priority?

For us, it's the kids. I think for many parents, this is the case. Foremost, is their well-being, development and experiences exploring the world around them. We love being on this land. Airmid and Cashel run, play, climb, scavenger hunt for rocks or anything we suggest. They plant seeds. They find bugs and frogs. They learn the names of plants and birds and how to be safe while having fun in a unpredictable natural environment. Having a wild outdoor playground or access to one, has become an essential element in their childhood.

Our kids go to a hybrid program school in SLO, where they spend three days a week on campus and the other days with us following the curriculum in home school. We drive almost an hour each way to get them to campus. For two days, we sit with them reading, doing math, practicing writing, doing science experiments. It takes more time away from other things, like cleaning the house, but we really think it's worth it.

So, now we get to the farm. Last year, the floods created so many issues and left us without plumbing or electrical for most of the season. This year, we dusted ourselves off, and tried again. I was able to raise about 45 varieties of heirloom seedlings, half of which are tomatoes, from seeds started in February. I highly recommend marysheirloomseeds.com and Peaceful Valley at www.groworganic.com for an excellent selection of seeds and growing tips. Woodprairie.com is our go-to for amazing potato and sweet potato varieties. I learned so much from growing seeds this season. Not least of which was that growing wasn't the time suck I thought it would be, it was getting those little plants in the ground before they stunted that was the stressor. I recommend only starting with the size pots you want to transplant from. You may not have the time to re-pot plug trays, even if they are space savers initially.

It's the end of May, and the growing and planting season is finally done. Admittedly, we opted for fast solutions to run the irrigation which we're planning to fix next year and some plants got in the ground a bit late, but we're calling it staggered planting and hoping the summer sun doesn't burn them off too soon.

In addition to the tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, cucumbers, and melons, we have two new lovely chicks joining our flock this year. Our neighbors were kind enough to raise a lavender orpington, "Sweetie" and a cream legbar, "Caramel", until they were coop ready. Airmid is bonding with a chick below and Cashel is holding "Sweetie".

It's starting to heat up. Summer is kicking in the door and our cool mornings and evenings are departing. Pruning, setting up weaves for the tomatoes, planting pumpkin seeds for the fall, and generally keeping everything alive are all on the farm agenda. Putting up a pool on the farm, getting Blippi fully functioning as retro camper van to hang out in, and spending many fine warm evenings watching the sunsets are on the family agenda. Welcome to summer in Paso. ~ The Murrays