Independence Days Challenge, Year Three, week 3

We are getting a really heavy, much needed rain today. I woke to the sound of its thrum on our metal roof. I had a conversation with a a neighbor who commented that this is the first time he could remember a forest fire warning in the middle of March. Garlic is up early for these parts by two weeks. The low end of the garden is usually sodden this time of year. I usually can't plant in that part of the garden till early May. But the soil was dry this weekend

Planted: spinach and lettuce in the cold frame and tunnel.

Harvested: jerusalem artichokes, parsnips, the beet greens did not make it through the winter but the french sorrel should be ready to eat by next weekend. 1 egg.

Preserved:2 quarts of maple syrup, we still have a little more to boil down. Last week we were still getting about 3-4 gallons of sap a day. We may get a hard freeze later in the week so we could get a little more. But our trees are starting to heal up and we will not re-tap them. Wehave other projects to move on to.

Local Foods: Moo Milk, local beef

Eat the Food: PARSNIPS..oh sweet spring parsnips, I sing your praise! We like them just boiled and mashed with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. Jerusalem Artichokes a plenty, roasted with parsnips and a found onion buried under mulch in the garden. Evan ate our spring egg. Maple syrup on our oatmeal.

Waste not: mucked out the sheep shed a bit.

Want not: I am reading Ruth Stout's no till garden book right now. So, I spent a lot of time in the garden this weekend reapplying leaves, compost and mulch hay to a particularly weedy part of the garden. Mark fixed my garden rake for me. A neighbor had given us some scrap pelxi-glass that we used to fix out old cold-frame. Darned 2 more pairs of socks.