When we first moved on our land there were several juniper trees a few cactus and not much else. Over the years weeds have become our friends. The only weeds we pull are the ones that grow around our house and on the driveway otherwise we let them grow. We have wildflowers and grasses growing that we haven’t seen before. The extra moisture we have received this year hopefully will help things stay green longer than normal. Soon everything will be brown and dead once the temps rise. You can see the difference in the pictures below.

​Blessings!

Wow it’s really hard to tell if it’s still winter or spring. The weather has been really crazy here. Yesterday it snowed and today by 9 am it’s in the 50’s. It sure makes it hard to grow anything in weather like this. A few of our plants have frost damage from a couple days ago but hopefully they’ll recover. It’s a guessing game at this point as to when the last frost day will be until then we are happy to have a greenhouse to protect the plants we have in there.

​Blessings!

We had the farmers market in Seligman, AZ today so we didn’t have to opportunity to check on all the plants. Unfortunately the freezing temperatures damaged a few plants but hopefully they’ll recover. It’s been rough trying to keep everything alive since we first started seeds in February. This time of the year the weather is unpredictable so until the last frost is over most plants will stay in the greenhouse.

​Blessing!

Yesterday was the first farmers market of the year in Ash Fork, Arizona. We sold plants, homemade seed starting kits, nest run eggs and homemade baked goods. Sourdough bread, Banana bread, Double chocolate bread and Butterscotch brownies. We met some great people and having our kids doing markets with me this year is awesome!

Truly Blessed!

Depending on my work schedule also depends on how long the chickens & ducks get to roam the yard. They aren’t let out unless someone is around to keep an eye on them because of the predators in our area. We had coyotes and wondering dogs come in the yard at different times of the day or night.

They are so much happier and lay great eggs when they can roam free not to mention they keep the bugs and goat head plants at bay.

Meet Bonnie one of our ducks- she used to be more black and molted now she has a lot more white on her. She’s not only beautiful but she’s also a good layer.
Also in the pictured is Laurel and Chewy

Wow! You never know what your going to see in the garden. I was out watering this morning and saw something strange in one of our raised beds. I used a stick to uncover what was the biggest mushroom I’ve ever seen in my life. Our chickens had been eating some of it or at least what they could reach. I had to take a picture and share. Mushrooms are not something we normally see growing here in Northern Arizona.

We love this time of year when there is a lot of green in the yard. Sadly it won’t last very long with the temperature heats up but for now we are enjoying it. The wild flowers are so pretty both yellow and purple have popped up. Each year they are different depending on how much moisture we get. Happy Spring Everyone!

Part of our transition from the online thrift store to our micro farm is adding to our name-it’s now Truly Thrifty/ Leverone Family Farm. We have been raising chickens and ducks for 6 years and recently added more growing area for produce. Eventually we would like to open a farm stand but for now we will be selling at AZ RT 66 Farmers Market in Ash Fork and Seligman AZ this summer. This is a family effort and I’m so blessed to have my families support.

Have a great day everyone!

Our house is quite noisy these days with all the babies around. We have puppies and chicks a sure sign of spring.
It’s the first time having puppies here and we have 9- oh my. They are too young yet to find homes for now so we enjoy playing with them. They all are so sweet, soft and cuddly.
Chicks are a normal part of Spring for us because we always get a few each year that way we have different ages and a few are always laying eggs. Our oldest is over 6 years and the youngest besides the chicks are around 5 months. The baby chick in the picture below is a week old. Raising chickens and ducks has been one of the most amazing and sad parts of rural living. Its sad when we lose one it’s hard not to get attached even though we don’t name them.
Happy Spring Everyone!