Digging Ditches

A18W0853

I dug over 60 meters (about 180 feet) of ditches yesterday afternoon to make irrigating more efficient — we can irrigate every other Tuesday if there is water in the ditch. The areas that need to be watered most are furthest from the main canal, so the new ditches I dug will route the ditch water more directly to the end of the property that needs to be watered, by-passing the other areas. In past years, I’ve had real problems with only getting water about halfway to where I needed it before someone else took the water.

We have a larger variety of tulips blooming now — the tulips are not planted in areas that get irrigated (I water them with a drip system) so they are happy to bloom. The dry air doesn’t seem to bother them too much, but the hard frost makes them droop in the early morning hours until the sun warms them up, and they open again.

DSCF9986

 

A18W0856

 

DSCF9987

 

DSCF9991

 

Chocolate Angel Food and a Spot of Tea

DSCF9635We celebrated spring with chocolate angel food cake and tea, surrounded by small arrangements of hyacinth, tulips and daffodils. Laurie uses the leftover egg whites from making gelato to make angel food cake and adds dark chocolate and chocolate chips — she calls it her “angel/devil” cake. I don’t care much for angel food cake, but when it’s made with chocolate, by devil it’s good.

DSCF9634