Easter is one of my favourite holidays!

Who wouldn’t love a holiday that includes chocolate animals, coloured eggs, & paska (Easter bread)?

Even better is the celebration of Resurrection & new life.

This is also evident on the farm. After a long, cold winter new life is appearing – slowly, maybe too slowly it seems, but nature cannot be rushed. Perhaps we appreciate it more, having to wait & to search for these first signs of resurrection.

Along the railway tracks the pussy willow catkins are putting on their soft, furry show.

The mint has started to pop up in the hoophouse.

The weeds are there too. Oliver, hungry for something fresh – as we all are – enjoys snacking on the these first, succulent shoots.

Outside in a few sheltered spots, grasses are gradually greening up.

And in the gardens, rhubarb has finally appeared …

… along with tulips & daffodils.

Our curly willow by the pond has taken on a greenish tinge. It’s always the first tree to come alive.

But in the orchard the buds have not yet moved – no signs of life yet. We’re waiting (im)patiently & expectantly, as we we’re anxious to see how the fruit buds survived the winter.

It is pruning season and the brush is flying – in the orchards …

… and in the raspberry patch.

The little greenhouse is like a tropical paradise – green, warm, steamy, and smelling like summer. The vegetable seedlings are mostly thriving & growing well. Next week we move over to the big hoophouse and begin transplanting – thousands of tomato plants, broccoli, eggplant, peppers …

broccoli

tomatoes

onions

Frisco, our own resident Easter bunny! Frisco is dreaming of summer & looking forward to his favourite snack – apricot leaves from the tree that shades his cage.

Happy Easter!