Repotting Aloe

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the aloe vera farm we visited on our trip to south Texas:  
Aloe Vera Farm Tour.  I came back from that trip and decided it was time to attack one of my pots of aloe that was terribly overgrown.  It needed repotting badly.

First, I dumped it out of the pot.

It looked pretty grim after I finished tearing the root ball apart and separating all the baby aloe plants.

There were eight little plants of various sizes.

I potted them up in small plastic pots.  

It will take a few weeks for them to get rooted in their new homes. 

As for the old mother plant, I may try planting it outside, like the ones at the aloe farm we visited.  Maybe it will even bloom, like the ones at the aloe farm.  It should be fine until this fall, then it will have to be dug up and brought in for the winter and the circle of life will start all over.  

Spring Walk on the Homestead

Spring is here.  The birds are singing and plants are growing.  Every morning the dog and I go on a walk after breakfast.  This started last fall when the dog had a ruptured disk in her back and had to have surgery.  This happened once about 5 years ago.  I even wrote a blog about it,  Sally's Back Surgery.  This time, however, she was 5 years older and the recovery took much longer.  After her surgery, she had to stay in her crate for several weeks,except for leashed walks with the aid of a sling for her back end that helped support her legs.  Thus, began this routine of the "morning walk".  

After a few weeks, we were able to eliminate the sling and the leash, but by then we had both gotten in the habit of walking every morning.  Sally enjoys it and so do I.  We both look forward to it.  Granted some of the cold, windy mornings during the winter, we did not stay out long, but the fresh air was invigorating!  Ha!

But, I digress.  I felt like I had to give you some background for this article.  So, there it is.  The main thing I want to do is to share some pictures of what we recently encountered on one of these morning walks.  So, here goes.

Sally leads the way and off we go.

The cat usually tags along.

Sometimes they find some interesting smell they have to investigate.

The strawberries are blooming.

The elderberry bushes we set out last year are growing and doing fantastic.

The redbud trees are blooming.

As are the lilac bushes.

The chickens were happy with some spinach leaves I pulled out of the hoophouse for them.  They are spoiled chickens!

The horseradish is coming out of hibernation.

The garlic we planted last fall is looking good.  We have 10 different varieties this year.

This field is freshly tilled and ready to plant.

It is an exciting time of the year.  The garden is a blank slate for us to "write" on.  Life is good!