Busy Bees (And Us, Too!)

It's been a while since I posted anything on this blog.  I have had cataract surgery on my eyes earlier this month, first one eye, then a week later the other one.  In between surgeries, my vision was not the best, as one eye was 'perfect' and the other one was very cloudy.  Now that both eyes are done and healed, I can see great!!  I am still in the recovery stage of having to use eye drops several times a day, but that's no big deal.  At the end of next month I will be able to be fitted for new glasses to correct for astigmatism and reading, and a slight vision correction in one eye.  Cataract surgery apparently doesn't give a person 20-20 vision, but comes close.
     Then, we have been busy weeding and tilling and doing yard work.  That is, in between rain storms!   With all the rain, weeds sure can grow!  But everything is growing very nicely, and we have started up our farmer's market booth, selling several varieties of fresh leaf lettuce and head lettuce and romaine and spinach and herbs.   Soon we can add lots of cabbages to the booth.  Check out these (very straight!) rows of cabbages:

Three rows of various varieties of cabbages beginning to head up.  Each row is 50 ft long. 

Our bees have been really working hard!  This year so far our hives are doing well and are very healthy.   Lots of activity today as the bees bring in lots of yellow pollen.

All three hives have bees coming and going like crazy!

I've had a big problem with barn swallows lately!  These birds insist on making a mud nest above either the living room door, or a back window.  I don't want them there and have tried just about everything to discourage them.  I've tried hosing down the mud they gather with a pressure hose, and using "fake birds", too.   But so far, what has worked the best is to tape strips of shiny tin foil above the door and windows.   The birds just don't like that! They don't know what it is, and the shininess of the foil must scare them.

Hanging strips of tin foil above the door seems to deter the barn swallows from building mud nests above the door!

My flowers are so pretty now, especially with all the rain we've had lately.   Here are some views of my petunias on the Ferris wheel Harold made for me, and also the specialty marigolds I started from seed in a pot just outside the greenhouse door.

Lovely shades of pink, purple, blue and red petunias!

A colorful and large variety of marigolds.

We have had many new kittens this year so far.   Some are doing very well, and some died early due to weather exposure and Mama cats who didn't care for the newborns like they should have.  But we still have plenty of mouse catchers on the farm!  Here is one of the older kittens born in mid April.

One of the 10 week old kittens contemplating life under the porch.

And that's the way things are as of today!