Spring is Springing!

i hate to get to ahead of myself, especially when it comes to Spring. Our frost free date isn't until around May 15th, but when it's 70 degrees and everything is blooming in April i get a bad case of Spring fever!!

i have 6 peach trees in full bloom! Last year we didn't get any peaches because of a late freeze, so i am really hoping they make it this year. It's been a few years since we've had a good peach harvest.  Our main peach tree died a few years back, and all the ones we have now were grown from seed from that original tree. So it's taken a few years for them to be producing peaches.

Blossoms bring butterflies.  i spotted a couple Comma butterflies over the last few weeks, but this week i spotted my first swallowtails. 

They are loving the peach blossoms.  This time of year when i step outside i can hear the peach trees buzzing from all the bees and pollinators that are covering it. 

Our shiitakes have been producing all winter, but now that spring is here they are really starting to pop. We plugged more logs last year, so i'm eager to see what we get this year.  We plugged more shiitake, but also pink and yellow oysters, lions mane, and chicken of the woods.

These are wild oyster mushrooms that come up every year on a Poplar stump near the goat fence. 

Blue oyster buttons, just coming up.  i don't like the taste of these as much as i like the shiitake and chanterelles, but they sure are pretty when they come up in a big cluster.

Spring means so many eggs!!  Pretty happy with my egg colors this year. i have a 3rd generation Olive egger, and several that lay pinkish/lavender colored eggs.  i have about 5 hens trying to set, but we are trying not to hatch out anymore babies this year. Especially no more of the wild ones that lay the boring cream eggs. i'm really trying to thin down my flock and focus on the pretty egg colors.

We should be finding morel mushrooms soon, but i haven't spotted any yet. i've been out hunting every day, checking all of our regular spots. i thought perhaps with the temps being warmer this year, we might see some popping early, but so far that hasn't been the case.  i think we probably have another week or so before we start to see them.

i'm loving the warmer temps, have my spring garden mostly planted. Spring fever has me wanting to be outside all the time though, and i really need to get myself back in the glass shop!