My very favorite month, April, came and went so quickly I hardly had time to turn around.  I wait for twelve whole months for the flowering crabapple to bloom and the lilacs to come out and now they are all almost gone.

Now it’s time for peonies,

and irises,

and snowball bushes.  I have planted three more of these.  This one came from David’s grandmother’s garden years ago.

Right outside our back door so we can see it as soon as we get up in the morning.

The garden is almost all planted. Pumpkins, Indian corn, sunflowers are planted and tomato plants and cucumbers will be planted today.  I have cut back on vegetables and added more flowers.

Our little patch of rhubarb has provided us plenty for pies.

So yummy.

I made this sponge cake for the Bible study that meets at my house.  It took eight eggs which made me thankful we raise chickens.  One of my friends made cucumber and egg salad sandwiches so I said we were having high tea.  It was all good.

Speaking of eggs, or, rather those that lay them.

The hens give me endless entertainment.  Abigail is looking at me as if to say, “Why does Colonel Sanders get away with murdering all those chickens?”    Shhh, don’t tell her I love Colonel Sander’s fried chicken.

This is chicken scratch, or as I like to call it, chicken crack.  The hens are addicted to this stuff.  They recognize the bowl in which I bring it to them.

See, they are all crammed against the gate waiting for the crack.

I set the bowl on top of their nesting boxes and first one hopped up.

Then two.  Beatrice and Dorcas are always first in line.

Then there were three.  Abigail came up for her fix.

Then Ada says, “Where’s mine?”  It was getting crowded so I began to throw it all over their pen.  Chickens are funny.  They can be eating in one place with plenty of food, but if they see another one eating at a different place, they all run there.  I like to play games with them.

First here.

Then there.

Then all in one place for a short while.

Ada was not happy with me taking pictures.

She disappeared behind the door.  She is so pretty.  She should be posing.

Teal feathers are really standing out.  From afar she looks all black and then you see these feathers.

Abigail has such pretty markings too.  There are so many kinds of chickens and I wish I could  have one of each, but my little plot of land could not sustain them.

Speaking of dogs.  Oh, I wasn’t?  I saw in the paper that there were chocolate lab puppies for sale.  David thought I was just kidding when I told him and told him I wanted one.  But, alas, I cannot have a fourth puppy.

We are still trying to raise this little lady to be a good, well behaved dog.

What is this, you are asking?  This is a clean, fresh t-shirt that I put on one morning and went outside to start the day.  What you are seeing is Molly’s paw print, in perfect  outline, smack dab in the middle of my nice clean shirt.  Such is life when you have a puppy.  I have taken to wearing aprons when I go outside to protect my clean clothes.

Here’s to crack eating chickens and dog printed t-shirts.  Bye.