Around the Yard

 School is out, which means it's summer time! (Desert Girl keeps asking if it's spring or summer, and I've decided to tell her it's summer.) Desert Boy got a new bike for his birthday with gears and hand brakes, and he's been learning what it can do. Desert Girl got a $6 thrift store bike with new inner tubes and princess decals, but lately she's been asking to go back to her smaller bike, so we may take a step back. (Wearing her fancy dress, in the photo above, doesn't stop her from bike riding. She's a princess who likes to do everything!)

We've been really busy in the garden. I've almost got everything planted. The hardest part for me is getting the irrigation system in and working correctly. Fortunately the first plots in the garden are well on their way, and we've been harvesting lettuce, kale, spinach, and cilantro for weeks.

The kids love to pick peas.

We got some broccoli, but it started bolting, so it wasn't as nice as I was hoping.

The kids are fascinated with the garden and also all the insects of the garden. Desert Girl continually has new insect pets. She leaves them all over the house, so I have to watch out for strange containers. By the way, Desert Girl now has shorter hair because she keeps cutting it. Besides new insect pets, I also find little tufts of blonde hair here and there throughout the house.

We're pretty sure Luna is a rooster now, since he cock-a-doodle-doos in the morning. We had a recent scare when some dogs scared the chickens and they all scattered. We slowly rounded them up, but couldn't find Luna. The four hens were not happy in the coop all by themselves. When we found Luna the next morning, cock-a-doodle-dooing in the garage, they immediately perked up. Luna is missing a few tail feathers, but otherwise seems okay.

We've really enjoyed having chickens so far. Hopefully we will make it to the egg-laying stage!

And that's the news from this neck of the woods desert. Lots of playing in water, using power tools to work on forts, play dates, and lazy afternoons watching the kids play. We're savoring early summer and the good weather. We hope you are too!