Greetings to All,

If you are reading this, you are helping us celebrate the launch of our new website! Currently the edges are rough, the images are washed out and messy, and the pages are not as organized as we wish. Learning the software has been quite a task, and there is still a way to go. But it’s been fun, and we are very happy to finally show you a little bit of what some things look like. Ethan’s camcorder will help us keep the news current with pictures of the goings-on. But for now, UNDER CONSTRUCTION are the words!

It’s February, and the almond bloom began six days ago. The softshell trees are humming with pink and fragrance and bees. At night we look up at the trees with their moonlit blossoms against the stars. One hopeful tulip made an appearance, and all the signs of inevitable spring are on the way.

All the plant orders are done, and aside from that burning smell coming from the direction of the credit cards, all that’s left is to contend with the arriving packages and ask “What the hell was I THINKING?!?!”. The first shipment of many was the 27 (yes, twenty-seven) roses from Jackson and Perkins. This very special splurge takes the form of a circular garden, a hedge of fragrant lavendar roses punctuated with orange climbers affixed to an arch. My parents came for a visit, and naturally found themselves Shanghaied into planting the flowers. All 27 of them were soaking in the spare bathtub! Planting with others, for me, is one of the most special happenings at our farm. Every time I see a tree, shrub, or vine, I have the memories of planting time. I see KC’s asparagus, Robert’s sunflowers, Rick’s berries, Deb’s Chestnuts, and the list goes on and on. Our family and friends become part of our land, and our future.

Still to go are….just about everything on the “Our Products” link of this website! This is naturally the most ambitious year yet, with more and more stuff to eat. The list of what fruit we don’t grow begins to pale against the list of what we do grow, which has been a great achievement.

The blueberries will be the next big project, as they require a soil pH of 4.5. We located an organic supply business in Grass Valley; finally an affordable source of all the witches’ brew ingredients needed (Sulfur, bloodmeal, bonemeal…..honestly). Recent weekends have found us pruning and chipping trees, mulching under the grape arbor, installing and extending garden pathways, rototilling patches for the potatoes and strawberries, transplanting and planting this and that, more cleaning weeding pruning and other verbs ending in “-ing”.

So that’s it for now, our warm wishes to you all!

-Ken & Deborah