Anyway, I am sure we shall be writing about how well these contraptions work once they are installed under the cottonwood.

As of last weekend the following have appeared

• Species tulip planted by the previous owner
• Leaves on the Austrian Copper Rose
• Green on the formerly brown lawn
• Water in the ditch
• Blossoms on the peach trees.

Spring has arrived!

In order to prepare for the water, we moved a small mountain of dirt from a high area to several low areas and made a first stab at rolling out an area into which our Bermuda grass may grow. The lawn roller is the latest attachment to the tractor, whose implements now include the nunu; a de-thatcher (a disappointment for its intended use, but useful for raking and distributing compost); an aerator (very ssatisfying); a utility trailer (1001 uses, 1000 of which are hauling dirt). A second cut at the leveling will take place this weekend provided we come up with the ganas.

Homegrown foodies are making their way from farm to fork. The other night we savored our first Romanesco zucchini, an Italian variety of ridged zucchini that is absolutely delicious. I recommend growing some as soon as possible. For breakfast this morning I cooked our own fat cloves of garlic, a couple of sliced Green Zebra tomatoes, some Anaheim chili, and leftover pasta, and ate it in a bowl made by a friend of my long-deceased mommy, which sort of added to the homemadeness of it all. It was extremely delicious. I like those Green Zebras. For dessert I had wedges of a large freestone peach, also extremely delicious, all the while appreciating how we grew everything ourselves, just like little red hens. The toil almost seems worth it. Last night, as a TV watching snack, I sliced one of our Honeycrisp apples (the Queen of Apples in my opinion) and sprinkled it with cinnamon. Yum! This year's Honeycrisps are extra tangy.

Lately, Roomie has been wondering about little piles of disturbed leaf matter in front of the casita. She wondered to me if it might be the work of a skunk. But surely we would have smelled it? Last night after she had put out the lights, Roomie stood at the window and observed. Within several minutes after lights out did the skunk appear and begin rearranging the piles of dirt. To get a better view, Roomie turned the outside lights back on, expecting the skunk to run off. But the skunk kept about its business until she tired of looking.

Personally, I think skunks are OK until curious dogs mess with them. Then it is good to have ingredients for a skunk bath on hand.

RECIPE:

• ¼ cup Baking Soda


• 1 qt. Hydrogen Peroxide


• 1 tsp. Dish Soap

Mix and use immediately. Repeat if necessary.

Our neighbor Jerry collects cacti, and he has given us some of these prickly pear. I adore the color of these, which I deem "honey." What do you think?

Today while checking out the new cactus flower, we saw a bull snake. No wonder the birds were not all over the place, as is usual. By the time I ran back to get the camera, he was slithering away in the shadow of the Dead Catalpa.

Yesterday, we almost flipped when we saw a Western Tanager in the big elm out back. It flew to the Mulberry and disappeared from view.

In other news, Saturday saw the tilling in of the rest of the green manure, as well as the tilling and leveling off of a little patch of dirt by the back peach that never gets water and therefore never grasses in. When we irrigate next week we shall see if the problem is fixed.

Plug aeration continues. When the grass begins to achieve summer stress I may discontinue it. But the earth is so compacted from the silted water and the weight of being underwater that it may need it all summer.