In preparation for Farm Girls Gone Wild night, I spent another full day on the block pile. With more block than I know what to do with, I decided to extend the patio further and add a fire pit.
Now there's room for the table & chairs, the lounge chair and the ofuro. I have a hanging swing in the barn that could probably go under the trees, too. More block still over on the pile so I've started a smaller deck just below the fire pit. Still have the retaining wall to go, too.
When all is done, I'm going to surround the area with day lilies and rudbeckia. Finally, a place to sit, read, relax and enjoy my farm.
For years, I've hated all those blocks stacked around the garden. And then one day, someone said to me, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!" and then proceeded to start tumbling the columns into the dirt. But what to do with all those blocks?
I really had no desire to haul them far from where they fell, so I decided just to level off an area and set them on a flat area to create a private patio area where I can put patio furniture and my farm-style ofuro.
No concrete in case I ever want to move them. They don't even need to be perfectly even.
Sixty-four 32lb. cinder blocks--who needs a gym?
One pile of block down and one to go. I wonder if I'll find any more 'artifacts'.
The panels from a fellow farming friend have been stacked there for nearly two years. At first, they were to be the walls for an equipment shed, but now they are slated to be the roofs of pasture shelters. I should be able to get four 8'x16' shelters out of them. Projects for another day.
This will be the view once the compost pile is spread. Lots of unused cinder blocks and a lonely bunny cage. The blocks I can use. The bunny cage will have to find a new home.
The weed whacker made short order of all those tall weeds. Next step is to remove the top soil, lay down hardware clothe and set the block in a platform for the tub, lounger and privacy screens.
The opposite side of the trees looked a bit ratty so I trimmed off all the dead branches. Looking good!
Pax & El Jefe hit the freshly filled water tank before the rest of the herd gets to it.
The herd grazing on the shooting range. We use Zero Pollution Fiocchi Ammunition leaving a clean environment for the animals.
A colorful thistle before opening.
Thistle in full bloom with one very happy bee.
Miss Bango enjoying a lush pasture of clover.
The trees are growing. The Human Bulldozer isn't scheduled for a visit until July and I was thinking the overgrown rocks looked kind of redneck until this morning when I saw hundreds of honeybees all over the clover and plantain flowers. Anything to keep the pollinators in business.
Momma cat and her barn kitties. Free for the taking. Aren't we cute? Don't you want to take one or two of us home?
El Jefe drooling in the noon day sun while watching over his herd.
Peaches, the matriarch of the herd. She's weaned 32 kids in her lifetime.
The second half of the Pretty Garden started off the same as Part One, with a layer of wet newspaper and a few buckets of dirt & compost. My new neighbor was cleaning out some perennials she didn't want anymore and before they hit the compost pile, I intervened. The booty was two dozen hostas that needed a home, so it was time to get to work. I also had a bucket of gladiola bulbs in need of planting so the timing was perfect.
With the online posting of this project a friend who lives only a few miles from the farm offered goodies from her garden--more Bee Balm, Purple Cone Flowers and a bunch of other stuff of which I can't remember all the names, but they were all beautiful. I filled the back of the Subaru and it didn't even look like we put a dent in her flower garden.
All unloaded and figuring out what to plant where.
It may look kind of peeked now, but there's an inch of rain on the way tomorrow that should give them all a good soaking. Seeing how much these plants spread, I didn't want to over-plant and had plenty left over which leads into the next project: The Soaking Garden
Last September I had a visitor to the farm who walked around looking at all the vegetable gardens--the heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, herbs, Asian greens, peppers, hops, sun chokes, etc., but when we got to the end of the tour, I was asked, "Where are your pretty gardens?" Sadly, the only thing I had was the stone garden out front which had fallen victim to neglect and had been recently weed whacked to the ground. Only dried stubble remained. This year I want to completely dig out the stone garden--removing the weeds and replanting with perennials. There were already some perennials in there in serious need of dividing. When a neighbor gave me a bucket full of tiger lilies, I decided that it was time to undertake a project that I had wanted to do for several years--connect the three small round flower beds in the front yard into one large "pretty garden". 
Having a tractor with a bucket made a world of difference. Moving all this dirt and compost with only a wheelbarrow would have really sucked.
The tiger lilies went down the middle as they will be the tallest flowers. On each side I planted Bee Balm, Coreopsis, Rudbeckia, peonies and some fancy day lilies. On the ends, which were existing gardens, I divided and replanted the Coral Bells and left the large bleeding heart and peonies that were already established.
Total time: 4 hours
I sure did!
The Asian Greens garden all weeded and going strong.
The Swiss Chard weeded & mulched. I'm sure that kitty is thinking all this fresh dirt will make for an excellent 'cat box'. Oh well....
Sugar peas will be prolific this year. Looking forward to stir fry and eating them right off the vine. 
For those lucky enough to get one of the 200 tickets to this event, this was just some of the awesome locally grown foods & drinks available at the Summer Farm Start dinner for the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture. While the event is open to the public, everyone knows PASA puts on the best dinners around and tickets always sell out quickly.
James Woltman was the Executive Chef for the event. His father, Harry, graciously traveled to many of the farms picking up ingredients.
The evening was kicked off with beer from Elk Creek and wine from Chaddsford to wash down tasty Pennsylvania farmstead & artisan cheeses. The trout dip with handmade lavash crackers was mighty tasty, too.
Guests enjoyed a variety of dishes...
...such as lasagna and a variety of meats
Mushroom Wellington hit the spot.
The potatoes stuffed the the Birchrun Hills Farm blue cheese were my favorite and the ash-coated chevre medallions from Pipe Dreams came in a close second. 
PASA Executive Director Brian Snyder introduced Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding to speak to the guests for a few minutes.
