Sweet Sunshine

The old adage might be “April showers bring May flowers”, but around here at the farm we are instead basking in a stretch of glorious spring sunshine that has those aforementioned flowers already starting to bud: The apple trees are blossoming, the tulips are stretching their vibrant petals to the sky to capture the afternoon sunlight and other shoots are popping up out of the soil everywhere (asparagus, anyone?).

Yes, even with frost present in the mornings, this warm sunshine has everyone here smiling (or in the frogs’ case, croaking day and night from the pond!). Thus, work in the gardens is in full swing: This week, the potatoes are going in, as are the celery, peas, sweet peas, carrots and more. During this earlier part of the season, these plants are nestled under row cover called reemay to keep them a bit warmer during the night and safe from the ever-munching rabbits who like to steal inside the garden walls.

Along with blossoming buds, the apple orchard is now also home to a few new residents—the bees! Our friends Dave and Beth Richards of Woodinville’s Johnny Applebees LLC have installed several of their specialized orchard mason bee houses in sunny, south-facing spots here at the farm to help with crop pollination. Mason orchard bees nest in reeds and natural holes, hence the design of their handmade cedar “houses” which are filled with natural reed tubes. These busy, non-stinging bees are considered nature’s ‘super’ pollinators and as such are a very welcome addition to the farm.

Once the warm sunlight begins to wane, we’ve been heading back inside to the kitchen, where we’ve been kept busy preparing pantry essentials and entrees as part of our new F&L add-on items. We have been so grateful for all your orders, and the time spent in the kitchen is as soothing to the soul as these sunny days have been. Surely the showers will return, but for now, we find ourselves appreciative of this most-precious spring weather!