Vinegar, oregano, potatoes and irises

It is the beginning of the iris season. The front border of the house is almost all irises and we're looking at more than 1000 blossoms this spring. It will be lovely for the next two weeks.

The chives are blooming, which means it is time to make chive vinegar. This is a task Jess can now do on her own while I make cheese. We'l be bottling the vinegar this week and I'll be pickling some eggs with what is left over from last year. We also racked off the wine last week and are ready to start a batch of rhubarb wine this weekend.

The oregano came back quite strongly this year so we pruned it back and broke out the dehydrator to put some away. The basil is slowly growing so we're a ways from drying it or making pesto.

The river valley is full of high bush cranberry blooms.

And, to my delight, the potatoes are up and really leafing out (these guys are more than a foot tall). Alas, the corn looks like a bust this year so we'll plant some beans to fill in the gaps. The carrots have been slow but have finally started to really grow.

This week looks like we have goose berries ready to pick. The rain this week should fatten them up. If we get enough, I will combine with the ones I froze last year and make some jam.