Ordered!

I ordered day-old baby chicks from Murray McMurray Hatchery!

Because I wanted to order some green egg layers we have to wait until June (cherry harvest time... ouch) for them to arrive.

But we are now the proud future owners of a little flock.

Let the coop building begin.

Blackened Fish

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Next week (after Easter) I'll be able to eat meat again. Until then, I'm trying to use up the rest of the fish in my freezer.

It's been a long Lent. The first several weeks went by with hardly a wimper. Vegetables, pasta and fish were amazing, refreshing, and novel. These last two weeks? I'm about ready to kill the fatted calf. And she's cute.

But we're going out with a bang. This blackened fish is pretty good.

Blackened Fish
Recipe: City Wife Original (I'm sure it's in some cookbook somewhere, but I haven't read that cookbook so I'll claim it as my own).

Tilapia fillets
ground coriander, salt, pepper, garlic powder (to taste)
Juice from 1 lime
Fresh cilantro

Season fillets generously on both sides and sprinkle with lime juice. Put a little oil in a non-stick skillet on a high heat. Cook until the edges are opaque and flip 'em over. Cook another 2 minutes or so. When serving, sprinkle with fresh cilantro and additional lime juice.

I served it with turmeric rice and orange glazed stir fry vegetables.

Blooming Orchard

The cherry orchard is starting to bloom!

It's so beautiful in there.

Quail are hiding in the trees.

The bees are busy buzzing around.

The bee guy comes every Spring with his hives.

Without bees to pollinate we wouldn't have a very good crop.

They don't sting you... they've got too much work to do.

(The guy gives us jugs of the honey from our orchard, too. It's pretty much amazing.)

But this is also a very scary time of the year.

This is a wind machine. You pray you never have to use them. If the temperature gets too low...

It will freeze and kill these.

No blossoms, no cherries... no livelihood... no food... it's bad. Well... something like that anyway.

The wind machines can raise the temperature a few degrees. The difference between 31 degrees and 33 degrees could make or break a whole harvest, and our whole financial outlook for the year... and possibly whether or not we keep the farm in the family.

So pray we don't have to use the wind machines this year!

Anyway, it's a great time of year to go for a 4-wheeler ride through the orchard.

The neighbor farm grows nectarines.

But apparently they're not going to harvest this year (if he were, these buds would be thinned). The price just isn't good enough, and he'd lose money if he harvested.

But the bees don't care about that. They'll continue working anyway.

It's pretty sad, really. He's selling his whole farm.

People would rather eat cheap imported flavorless nectarines than pay a few extra cents for produce from the USA. And it's putting farmers out of a livelihood, and in some cases, their family heritage.

This is getting depressing. Sorry...

Here's something you don't see every day! A tumbleweed in a cherry tree. We farm in the desert.

The farmers are pretty busy this time of year, too.

I love this man!

Fluent in Farm-Speak

One of the happiest parts of my day is hearing about my husband's day. I love it. But sometimes I see his mouth moving and the words just aren't making any sense.

"The new PTO shafts are really beautiful."

"The sheer bolts broke on the flywheel... the bull gears never jam. The plunger needs a shim."

"I have to replace all the springs on the pickup reel."

"The 16' header on the swather puts the windrows too far apart for the rakes."

I think it's English, but I can't tell.

Solemnity Successes

Orazio Gentleschi (1563-1639, The Annunciation)
Happy Solemnity of the Annunciation! Just 9 months until Christmas.

Bouquet presented to me by my nieces, from backyard flowers.

1. Despite the fact I've not been feeling well lately, I forced myself to smile at people... and they smiled back. It was a beautiful thing.

2. My tomato plants are thriving!

3. I successfully shot the moon in Pinochle. And there was much rejoicing.

Check out others' small successes and share your own this week at Faith and Family Live.