Backyard Farmgals

I found Larry, my favorite cat, curled tightly in a little patch of sunshine this afternoon.  He looked so warm.  I want to be this warm... and sleepy... and undisturbed.  Complete and total relaxation; how would that feel?  I can only imagine. I had a wicked thought while watching Larry sleep.  It goes like this: "Soft kitty, warm kitty," "Little ball of fur." "Happy kitty, sleepy kitty," "Purr, purr, purr." Now that I've got Sheldon out of my head, we can continue.  Of course he woke up, his darn human kept snapping pictures of him...  This lead to a series of rolling around half awake cat yoga stretches.  I think in my next life I will ask to be a cat.  Where else can you sleep in the sun all day, do yoga for 30 minutes when you wake up, get a massage from your human, and slowly sachet off to the next nap and repeat the whole process?

Asparagus season is fast approaching and I am craving those tender green spears, grilled, wrapped in prosciutto, in salad, in soup... the possibilities are endless and very tasty, I even love it raw.  While ranting away this week about my love of asparagus, I was asked to write a bit about how to plant it.  To know how to plant it, you must understand how it grows. Asparagus is a fascinating plant, you might be amazed at what it is capable of... Asparagus is a perennial plant, which means that if properly cared for, it will come back year after year.  Asparagus patches have been known to live for 30 years or longer, but typically a patch will live for about 15 years.  Because it is so long lived, it is important to prepare the soil properly and select an appropriate site.  Asparagus likes sunny, well drained and fertile soil.  Before planting, a good well rotted manure compost should be incorporated into the soil as deeply as possible, as well as a fe...