In the last week and a half I have been busy with a few things here… lets see… first off Wyatt insisted on opening a jig saw puzzle that my best friend gave to us a few years ago. He insisted. He was convinced that he was going to help put this puzzle together, even though I told him it was like 1000 tiny pieces (I’m not exaggerating) and it was going to be too hard to do in one day. Wyatt did not care. He did not care what I said in the same way a racoon does not care you put a lid on your trash can for a reason. So, we opened the puzzle. It was very exciting. I instructed him to help find all the outside edge pieces first. “Look for pieces that have a flat edge and we will put them in this pile.” He had a task to do and was thrilled. For five minutes. After that I was left to try to piece this puzzle together. All the while he would check in with me, “Are you done yet mommy?” and “why is this puzzle not done yet?” It’s a puzzle of Fenway Park and the city around it there are tons of people in and around the stadium that are like 2 cm tall, this puzzle is going to take some time. Sure, I could have swept it into the box, but then my husband of almost 12 years would not have learned that I am the person who can not leave a 1000 piece puzzle undone on the coffee table and will obsessively sit there until she wants to cry because said puzzle is actually very hard. Then, on Saturday after I came back into the living room after a while, the puzzle was in disarray. I asked Wyatt, “What happened to mommy’s puzzle?” He just looked at me dead pan, and said, “You weren’t finishing it and it was too confusing I don’t want it on the table.” So I took the cue, I put it away, because who knows  how long that was going to take. But I am totally blaming the puzzle for the fact that I haven’t written in a week and a half. So there.

In other farm news, less puzzling, (hahaha) we have continued to get the garden ready for planting. We made a few more potato cages and a structure for the peas to climb and grow on. Since we are recycling materials from around the ranch we are using old fencing, so we will end up having to cut little doors I think in the pea structure to harvest some of the peas, I’m not sure. We will see how they grow.

The peach trees and the plum tree are blooming, which is exciting. We also have a mystery tree in the back yard, that I feel like it’s a fruit tree of some kind but I am not sure. I have not been able to identify it. Mystery seems like it is going to bloom soon so maybe then we will be able to figure it out. We planted two grape vines and a blueberry bush. I’m not sure how they will do since our soil is very alkaline, but we are adding compost as well.

The garden plan (as seen below if you can read my crazy plan) will include raised rows and some raised bed types, and some direct planting into the ground. Since our soil is pretty heavy I am not sure what is going to work best. Over all in the garden and around the house we have 20 different vegetables, 7 different herbs, 7 different fruits and 5 flowering plants that are either medicinal or beneficial for the veggies. We are planning on planting Brussels Sprouts, which I have read mixed reviews about for growing in Texas, but we are going to give it a go! I think it will be our most challenging veggie to grow. If you have any advice for gardening in the Hill Country, I would love to hear it!

Our next challenge will be the plethora of deer that live here between the hours of 7 p.m. and 8 a.m. We are planting some herbs and flowers that are supposed to deter deer as well as a few other things…. we are possibly putting up a wireless deer fence that will shock them (yikes). I read that VHS tape stretched out makes a sound that deer do not like, so we may try that. But we may just end up with a 6 ft fence around the perimeter. It’s all still up in the air. I hate breaking up the view with a fence.

We are also still welcoming baby goats to the farm. They are so cute and Wyatt enjoys trying to befriend them. They are very curious about him.

Over a week ago I finished Sparkly Green Earrings the third book of Melanie Shankle’s that I have read. This one was so good, if you are a mom or have a mom, this would be a good read for you! But don’t take my word for it… (badumbumb) Click on the picture to order through Amazon:

This week I will be busy making Kolaches or Kolache as some on the internet say is the plural form and no need for an “s”. I believe the first Kolache I ever had was made by my best friend, Annette’s mom, Florence. I am pretty sure my life was Kolacheless until I became an addition to their family. After I graduated High School and moved on to college Kolaches became a significant part of my diet since I was very close to West, Texas where Czech Stop was located. It was a reasonable drive from Waco, and since I was usually traveling with Rodney on the weekends we would be passing through West often. Those Kolaches are often hailed as the best in Texas, but I can assure you, Florence’s are much better. A few years ago, I had the privilege of joining the family in the kitchen for a Kolache making session. Now, I have the honor to make that same recipe in my own kitchen! So if you are in the area and would like to order a dozen, please let me know!

Annette and Stella (her daughter) came for a visit this past Friday. Stella and Wyatt are a week apart. Annette and I always planned to have our babies close together in age, but we didn’t realize we would be so good at planning that. We were nearly in the hospital at the same time. Stella came right on time, and Wyatt arrived way early from his due date and even earlier than our c-section date. They are best friends and love each other so much. Here are the two little sweetie pies…

I guess that would be the end of this week’s update. I am excited for the next week as we inch closer to spring in the Hill Country.