Here is an interesting article and video in the WSJ about people in urban areas turning their front yards and those of their neighbors into mini-farms. Just dig up the grass, get out the tiller, purchase a tiny combine and get to farmin'.

I guess that's kind of what I did to my front yard, but I don't live in a zoned neighborhood with neighbors fifteen inches from me. Not a bad idea though. Most yards are a waste of space and resources. Might as well get something useful out of them.

Rather than just tilling up the whole yard, it would be more aesthetically pleasing and more acceptable to the Joneses to leave some of the familiar landscaping in place and insert edible plants here and there. Instead of bushes alongside your house you could have a row of mustard or basil. Instead of a walkway lined with monkeygrass, grow small hot peppers, etc.

In case you hadn't noticed already, our cabins went live on the site last week. You will now find a description of the cabins, inside and outside pictures, area attractions and driving directions from Dallas, Shreveport, Austin, and Houston.

We've already had several guests. The responses so far have been great! We look forward to seeing many more of you, particularly during berry season!

Putting the cabins in was only the first step. In our spare time we'll be working on landscaping, installing walkways, and a new dock.

If you haven't signed up on our mailing list yet, then you just missed our spring newsletter. You should sign up now because we'll be sending out information soon about Chef Eva's cooking classes.

Thank you for all of your support. We're glad to have this new opportunity to share our farm with you.

We had a freak snow "storm" way back on March 9. The snow only lasted about an hour, but it was pretty while it was there. We don't get much snow around here so you'll have to pardon our enthusiasm.

This will be the last of my marathon posts today. Ya'll need some time to absorb all this new info.

I only have pictures of the cabin exteriors. The insides of two of them are complete, but all the furniture for the other two cabins is stored in them so they're not exactly photogenic right now. Also, mom is still in the process of making curtains for all cabins. Talk about a time-consuming task! You'll just have to trust me for now when I say that the insides are tres chic.

Also, we're trying to come up with some catchy names for the cabins. If you have any brilliant ideas please add a comment to this blog. It's kind of difficult to come up with a name for an inanimate object. Naming a cabin isn't like naming a boat where there is a history to work with (S.S. Minnow, Hullrayzr, Dock Holiday, Aquaholic, Second Wind, etc.).

Anyhow, hopefully this will give you some idea of the progress that has been made.

New porch rails and chairs, stairs, skirting, ceiling fan, cedar trim, AND a green door!



Side view - Roof with gutters and AC/heat unit



The back section is the new bathroom



The ADA cabin with a red door



ADA spec entrance ramp

I installed a Mighy Mule electric gate opener on the gate that leads to the cabins. We don't want any of our well-heeled visitors to dirty their shoes when they stay with us!

t's a simple device. It can open with the keypad or with a remote, and there is a device that detects changes in magnetic field (i.e. a moving car) that opens the gate as you leave. It automatically closes after 15 second.

And yes, I am now officially an electric gate expert and will duly add it to my resume.

Entrance from road



Keypad: What's the magic number?



Gate opener temporarily mounted



The magnetic wand (soon to be buried) that detects your exiting car

This is Floppy out bottlefed goat. His mama died a few days after he was born. Babcia, Grandma Mia and Kaya took on the job of keeping him alive. He's doing great and will probably be in the barnyard for kids to visit this berry season. Since he's bottlefed he is not shy of people at all!

Last night it was 32 F and the day before it was 80 F. Spring weather in Texas can never make up its mind. Nevertheless spring is definitely here. Though there does appear to be some controversy over what date is the official first day of spring. In Texas June 21 certainly never feels like spring, so I think I'll side with those who say spring runs from March 1 to June 1.