Lovely spring day in the garden

I finally got back out into the garden today after nearly a week cooped up in the house. Who knew a silly thing like a broken nail could have such a big impact! On the last day of building out the hen house, when picking up one of the pieces of plywood, I slipped and it fell and snapped my finger nail about half way down my finger. I happen to have acrylic over my nails, so it didn't tear my nail off totally, but hurt nonetheless. Anyway - I put a band aid on it and went about my work. Tuesday night the finger with the broken nail was hot, red and throbbing - never a good sign. I went to the doctor and it turned out that I had a staph infection from the skin breaking under the nail. Anyway it was several days before I could get my finger back into a glove so I could get back out in the garden, but today I was finally able to get back into the dirt! YAY!

On Thursday I had sprinklers moved around a little and raised some up to accommodate the new raised beds and now all the beds can be watered on an automated schedule which will be much easier than having to hand water all summer. With the sprinklers moved I was also able to get the asparagus root stock planted in the corner bed. I would post a picture but it looks like shallow dirt at this point - hopefully in a week or two there will be more to see. I didn't realize it but when you plant asparagus they recommend barely covering the roots and leaving just the top of the crown exposed, then as the shoots start to emerge you keep adding dirt until it is about 6 inches deep. So right now the little roots went in near the bottom of the bed and I covered them, and will gradually fill up the bed as they grow - if they grow. Wish me luck!

This week I have to spend away from home to help care for my mom - who has a broken pelvis - so probably no new updates until the end of the week when my new gate goes in and the yard is finally enclosed.

The chicks are still doing well, but they seem to struggle a little with the ladder - so they haven't been utilizing the run much unless we help them down and then back up again at night. I may need to adjust it somehow so that it isn't as steep, but as they get bigger it might be OK. I guess we will just have to keep helping them and see if they can figure it out.