Random 5 Friday

1.  Over the last several years we have had two deer that have made the orchard at the back of our property home.  It seems over this tough winter the group has expanded to five, with one very large one.  When we harvested our dried beans last Fall we had a great yield, but there was also a number of beans that never finished.  We learned a couple of years ago that if we leave our trellis' up over winter instead of trying to de-tangle the vines in the fall, that the vines come right off come spring.  This week, the hungry deer were scavenging the remaining pods off of the trellis.  Truly a complete use of all that the plant had to offer.

2.  Yes, I know we shouldn't encourage the deer.  Yet we seem to have a symbiotic relationship with them.  The garden can sometimes take a hit from their snacking early on, but we have never had complete devastation from them... knock wood, and they tend to come around less frequently come summer.  In fact, last summer they did stick around.  We always grow lots of Swiss chard, but last year we did not harvest any until the end of the season.  For whatever reason the deer came in regularly and ate that, only that.  Almost like it was our offering to them to share our land.  After all, Mother Nature does like balance.

3.  We are trying to settle on our infrastructure project for the farm this year.  I think this may be the year to build a large hoop house over one of our raised beds.  With our extended winter..snow as I speak, and the forecasts for the next month or so remain cooler than expected, we may have an abbreviated growing season this year, and it should be a good year for cool weather crops.  Putting the hoop house in may allow us a taste of summer if the overall weather doesn't support a long warm seasons growth....must have tomatoes for canning!

4.  Have you ever read a book and come across a sentence that was so beautiful or profound that you had to read it over and over?  I find that language is fascinating and what speaks to people can greatly vary, yet some words when strung together just right can speak to everyone.  This week American Scholar magazine came out with a list of the ten best sentences.  Take a look, and see if you are transported.

5. A week of anniversaries, as I'm sure you heard, March 24, 1984 was the date that the Breakfast Club served detention.  Wow, 30 years ago, feeling old yet?  Another 30th anniversary was honored in a fantastic way. Did any of you see Kevin Bacon re-enact his famous dance from Footloose on Jimmy Fallon?  The man has still got it, take a watch, it'll make you smile!