Surprise 10 New Baby Chicks; Flower Bouquet CSA Open; Planting Vegetables, Keeping Potatoes Snug; Easter Fun

We have started opening up our Flower CSA memberships.  This is the first year for it and I have many rows of different flowers planted so that each bouquet will be filled with wonderful blossoms. This was our first bucket of flowers: lilac, iris, roses, lavender, mint, rosemary.   We will be able to deliver bouquets every other week; once a month or even for special times.  Think of us when you need flowers.  There is nothing better than having flowers that are fresh picked from a country garden instead of flown over 1500 miles from over seas to be placed in plastic at a grocery store.  If interested in joining our Windmill Farm Flower CSA, contact me at windmillfarm@sbcglobal.net; 530-846-3344 phone; or Facebook me at Windmill Farm.  Our produce CSA memberships are full at this time but we will gladly add your name to the waiting list.  If our produce really does well this year; and our allocation of water remains as stated, we may add a few slots once we get going with deliveries.

 

Our greenhouse isn't large, but it is amazing how fast seeds sprout and are up; ready to be planted.  Sometimes I get so anxious to plant, I start seeds a little too early and they keep

 growing and growing in the greenhouse and ready to land their feed in dirt, but the weather outside just isn't ready for them. With this great weather, it has been time and that is what we have been doing.

 

Unfortunately, Frank prepared the soil to plant a month ago, but it rained and up came the weeds and it was hard as a rock!!! So he disked the area one last time and I have been rushing to get these seedlings in and drip tapes in place to water.

The potatoes have been planted for several weeks and were given a new cover of some soil and topped off with straw.

 

We did play a little hookie from the farm for a few days and went camping with the grand kids at our favorite camp site, Sycamore Ranch.  The weather was perfect, kids loved to fish and we played lots of games; and sat around the campfires. Perfect time spent over school Easter Vacation.

Surprise when we got home, next morning a stray chicken brought out 10 new chicks to show off to us.  She had been sitting on her eggs in our front ivy.

Never a dull moment here at Windmill Farm

 



Collecting White Ironstone Pottery; New Class-Learn To Paint Furniture May 7th

I have set up a new class here at Windmill Farm.  It will be a basic Learn to Paint a Piece of Furniture-using chalk paint.  People can bring any relatively smaller item they wish to try their hand at painting it.  My classes are meant to take the fear out of trying new things whether it is baking, canning, knitting, upholstery, sewing-I try and either bring in experts to teach people or if it is a skill I know, I teach the class.  Wonderful thing about chalk paint is it works on just about anything-metal, wood, plastic, even produce!!  Remember I painted pumpkins last October?

Class is May 7, 2014 6-8:30pm.  Due to the high cost of supplies, class will cost $35.  Please call me if you would like to attend.

When I was looking for my photos of the table I painted using chalk paint, I saw the one picture of my finished cabinet I also painted for the dining room.  I have a few Ironstone platters hung above the cabinet.  It reminded me of how much I love Ironstone and how I have had a love affair with it for over 40 years.

When I first started collecting Ironstone, it was in Nevada County and at that time, every yard sale or estate sale had more than one piece of Ironstone.  Every household had pieces given to them from a relative or found in a basement, or used as a cat food bowl; it wasn't considered a high quality, expensive item, like china.  I routinely would have platters or plates soaking in my sink over night with water and bleach which was an excellent way to take out stains on them.  Once you start collecting, your eye automatically goes to any piece you see and it isn't long before you have soup tureens, bowls, platters and more platters of all shapes and sizes; dishes; chamber pots; sugar bowls; cups and pitchers.  My very favorites are rectangle shaped platters.  They may have scalloped edging; deep dished; even some have patterns on them.  From Ironstone platters I went on to collect brown transferware on platters.

As with all collections, it is especially fun in the beginning; you buy everything whether chipped or stained or if you already have 5-6 of the same things.  Then you become more selective, learn more about the markings on the bottom of items; know which ones are older and better than the rest.  But then, because it always happens, the items you love become what everyone else loves, too, raising the prices from less than a $1 to being moving towards $30-$50.  And with the case with me, called Murphy's Law, that may be the time I think I might sell off a few pieces so I can get some of my money back to start another collection.  But darn, it is about the same time everyone else is thinking the same thing and prices tank.  Or the other event that happens that changes collection values-Martha Stewart or someone else starts to reproduce the item you are collecting so well, it becomes difficult to tell old from new, so people stop buying them all together.  We all

like our collections to be unique!

So over this 40 years, I have bought some, sold some, broken some, lost some, stopped looking; looking for something different, like McCoy pottery.  But I still love the rectangle platter and have put the few I have left out to enjoy every time we use the dining room or when I walk past it. What are your collections?  Do you like Ironstone too?  Love to hear about them.