Well the summer marches on. We have some exiting news. Hatke number four is on his or her way and due late next winter (probably early march) So far I have had way more energy and less sickness with this pregnancy but I am not sure if it is the nettle tea I have been slavishly drinking or the fresh eggs and veggies from the garden but either way it has been nice not to be puking all the time. I am crossing my fingers. We just returned from our fabulous fun visit to Ben's family out in Indiana. Angelica received her first communion out there with her cousin and it was a very special and beautiful mass. We also enjoyed a breif but lovley visit with the Storks on the way out who we have not seen for a long time. Ben and I enjoyed Mike's home brewed hard cider. With all the fun we sort of just crashed today and spent the day sitting on the couch reading books with the fan blowing on us and then taking a quick dip in the creak around dinner time.

Garden pics in reverse order

Farmers market goods for sale.

garden beginning to get nice and bushy. I have since added mulch to my kiddo path and restaked a few tomatoes.

mid may

Here it was in early spring

We have a kitten too!

Happy thirty-third birthday to my great love, Ben!! Ben turned thirty three this past week and we celebrated with a marvelous birthday breakfast of fritatta and strawberries. I envy Ben having a June birthday because there are so many delicious things to eat at this time of year.

We have been selling at the new Strasburg farmers market outside of Christina's cafe and last week I sold salad, eggs, and strawberry jam. The best part was it was on Ben's birthday and we didn't have time to eat our birthday cake at home so we brought it with us to the market and gave away free pieces of cake. Wow, if you ever want to be popular that is the best secret. Make a big chocolate cake and go out in public and put it on a table. When people come ask about it give them a free piece and voila, instant popularity! The jam sold well too, It seems that most people like to buy food already made even more than produce! Next week, if the chickens don't get into my swiss chard again I am going to bring torta d'erbi.

We had a relaxing weekend despite the busyness. Zita has started her dance camp again and we went to the flea market and i got a sickle. Wow, I am exited about my sickle. (you know you are a Gravangota when. . .) I just need to get it sharpened and I will no longer frighten my children with a loud weed wacker again. Instead I will wield my sickle.

Our rooster also has tried to attack Julia a few times and we are thinking of putting him in the soup pot. I am pretty sure we have at least one cockerel in our new brood so he is not so invaluable anymore. Looks like the sickle won't be the only implement getting sharpened around here.

May is egg month and true to form there have been many fun egg times around here.


Our baby chicks hatched out of their eggshells on mothers day and while there were only three (I wasn't one to trust a broody hen this young. . ) I have been mistaken in my mistrust for the broody hen is the best of mothers and she takes her chicks for walks now daily. It is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. It is probably just because we live in such a technological age but it seemed like an absolute miracle to me that all we had to do was put a few of eggs under a hen and then a few weeks later they turned into baby chicks. Of course now I don't feel so bad about feeding our rock star of a rooster all the time.

Also the girls and I have been busy with the garden. We have fresh lettuce now and our potatoes are big and just starting to get their flowers. The sunflowers are up, tomatoes staked, swiss chard, french peas, carrots, onions, garlic, basil, peppers, all planted. I planted flax too, just for fun and cosmos. Oh and the best part is we fed our melon innards to the pigs last summer and now they tilled so many melon seeds into the garden that they are coming up everywhere so I'm just letting them do their thing. Oh and can i just gush for a minute here. My lavender survived the winter beautifully and is coming back and growing bigger. Hooray!!!!!!!!! I have dreamed of having lavender for so long.

Ben found a yoga class for me at the cafe in Strasburg and I am loving it. It is at a very convenient time and close by so all the peices sort of just fell into place with it.

Oh and we saw a mama turtle laying her eggs the other day too. ( and yes in the photo I'm trying to convince Julia not to pet the mama snapping turtle. . . . . )

The cat brought us live baby bunnies. . . . . much to the girls delight.

We only kept them for the afternoon and then put them out in the evening for their mama bunny to come get them, Unfortunatley the next few days there was the same blood bath of baby rabbits in the yard that we had last summer. I guess our cat just really has a taste for rabbit. Cruel cruel mother nature.

Julia has been chasing the cat and saying "Pia, no honey bunting. "

Also, there was a totally random convention of Amish people at the abandoned gas station the other day. (layers of irony there, I know) I stopped to ask them if they needed help with there car-- I know--why were they driving a car which incidentally they abandoned there--, I have no idea. They were dressed pretty traditional too .. so, yeah, weird. It was cute to see all the little boys in straw hats wave at Angelica though. She waved back.

We planted out potatoes this week and swiss chard. Hoping to get more in next week. I suppose I ought to be grateful to the cat for decreasing the rabbit population around the garden. Why, why, why was I raised on Beatrix Potter? It makes one so sympathetic to the rabbits.

Woops, I forgot to say that I just love Julia in the Polly Flinders dress my mother-in-law sent ages ago!

Buona Pasqua!

Questa primavera la piu bella quest anno. Il mondo e tutti fiore. Le bimbe stanno bene e Angelica comminica preperatzione per il primo Communione al primo di Maggio. Noi ancora proviamo trovare un modo per tornare a Gravanga quest anno ma adesso e difficile dire. Come voliamo tutti tornare a videre nostri amici, le montagne, San Barttolomeo!!!!!! Mandiamo i penzieri e preghieri. Ciao e baci!

We have all has a beatiful Easter following a very long and sober Lent. You really only appreciate Easter with Lent before it. The girls were very exited to have our own eggs to color this year and although we had so much wonderful food on Easter Sunday I think all the fasting during Holy week made us have tiny shrunken stomachs and nobody was very hungry.

We are having quite a weekend. We drove in with Ben on the metro to DC to see him off on his New York bolt bus. Ben is in New York this weekend hanging out with his cool publisher friends. I took the girls and a friend with her kids out to the Virginia State Arboretum today for a truly breathtaking experience. We have never had a more blossomy flowery spring ever. The kids all ran throught the feilds of daffodils and narcissus yelling "Paradise! Paradise!" It was beautiful. The old plantation house there is really more beautiful than I remembered too. Add some wine and cheese and fresh bread and that's about as good as things can be with one's husband gone.