This is really the busiest time of the year overall. There is so much we have to get done just so we can get started for the year. As usual, there are a number of things that we did not get handled last fall and we are paying the price now.

Ron and I had been out to Tiny House Farm a few times in January and February, to check on things and pick pussy willows. It wasn’t until mid April that we got out there to actually get some work done. First thing on the list was our lavender. Time had gotten away from us (again) last fall and we did not get the pruning done. We had it planned for, I swear we did. I even researched and ordered three special knives for us to use.

This is what we needed to take care of. Nine plants per row and 17 rows makes for quite a lot of lavender. Thank goodness Jo had the entire weekend off so we were three strong. Saturday the 13th of April was a nice day and perfect for getting work done. We loaded up with water, food, gloves and kneepads. And my knives, cannot forget those. Small problem. I could not find them. I was sure I left them in the shed at THF so they would be handy. Jo and I searched thoroughly but they were simply not there. So we knocked off the branches from last year with our handy clippers. Hours and hours later, our hands were sore and we were ready to stop. We were just over halfway done.

Jo and I left Ron behind and headed home. He was going to get one more row done and then be home himself. I looked again for my knives to no avail. So frustrating. But par for the course. I do tend to have the habit of putting something away so it was safe only to discover it is so safe that I cannot find it.

We already have some green showing on our plants so are hopeful for this year. Ron had mentioned buying some more plants to fill in where we lost previous ones, but here we are at planting time with nothing to plant. Last weekend he came across the last email he had from Harris Seeds (he never delates anything) and shot them a note asking if they still had lavender to sell. I guess they do as we received a box of those plants labels from them a few days later.

We really have some serious weeding and mowing to get done. Maybe we need to have a weeding party in 2019?? This mess is where my calendula will soon be growing but we have to get our fabulous brush hog fixed first. Our first repair of the year. Fingers crossed that we won’t have many of them. This one way relatively easy as it was just flat tires.

Part of getting ready for spring is also getting ready for our shiitake mushroom inoculation event. Every year we add more logs to our laying yard. Strange as it is, laying yard is the actual name Cornell gives for the stash of mushrooms bolts. Stash sounds better in my mind. That word implies something of value. Like a stash of yarn or material. And this is something we always need help with. We are still trying to recover from the flood of 2016 when we lost a good number of logs. Sadly those we did find and bring back are not going to be viable after all. Based on the other mushrooms growing on some logs, the long soak in the stream prevented the shiitake spawn from taking solid hold. They will be added to our stash of fire wood. (you see what I did there, right?)

It is now May 3rd and we are in final stretch of prep for our shiitake event. We pushed it back this year based on previous years. The weather has always been the decided factor and we are hoping that the first weekend of May would prove to be a wise choice. At least we will have less chance of sudden snow storms. Pouring rain outside now but tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy and 62 degrees. No matter, rain or shine, the bolts have to be inoculated.

And we have a lot of bolts to get done this year. A few last minute things to get done today including stops for tomorrow’s food and anything we might have forgotten. That is why we live with lists in this house and check off as we go. This is only way to be sure everything is on hand and ready to go. I have even put a sticky note of front door to remind us not to leave the house without our spawn. Something we have done before. To use one of Ron’s favorite phrases – forgotten spawn would be a “show stopper.”

We, and by we, I mean Ron is trying to keep things low key this year. (Don’t laugh, Josi) This is our fifth year of doing inoculation and we know what we are doing. More than a few of our workers tomorrow are repeat helpers and we will get done what we get done. Of course, we will be more than happy to have a few more people show up. There will be lots of food, good conversation and laughs to be had. You will learn something and work off more than a few calories. What better way to spend a day in May?