olives and citrus

I think everyone in town knows Louis Franke. I always call him the Tree man, because he always brings me the best trees in this part of the country, but now I am calling him the Lavender man because of course he is my lavender supplier. As you can see from the photo on the right, he has now talked me into OLIVES!!!!!!
What is a girl to do! Now we have rows of olives to pick. Next week, Louis and his crew will be bringing 2500, (there is no typo here) yes that is 2500 more lavender plants and enough olives to call it an orchard by any girl's standard to Lavendar Farms (like we have nothing else to do these days but plant, hoe and farm!!!!!!
God, I thought I had retired five years ago!
Now we have a new product line of lavender eye masks, silk pillows filled with french and english lavender in several sizes, bulk lavender and other miscellaneous products to sell to anyone with an extra dollar or two, hopefully to help the ladies of Pozos.
Now the ranch has 12 employees and Cynthia and I are the hardest workers of all.
I am heading to Texas on Monday to find a market for these goods that just keep on producing.
Please say a prayer for me and wish me well my friends, or I will be knocking on your door to buy something...
Saludos for now, Dar

As the local herders came down El Camino Real last night, a few sheep escaped the watchful eye of their masters and came to play with Porkchop, our 16 pound chihuahua, (who, by the way, has lost a couple of pounds on the ranch) and now the ranch hands affectionately call her Chuleta. Two other ranch dogs playfully rounded up the herd for the lady herder and all was well before dusk, save for one lone sheep that we found this morning. To say the least, Porkchop is one tired pup!

teska's house

Besides harvesting four large fields of lavender this month, we have been getting the ranch cleaned up and ready for summer guests as well as ranch property owners from Texas, Florida and North Carolina who normally come down to escape the summer heat.


Teska is here now working on her house, pictured above, which she rents out when she is not in residence.

Below, the old red truck is hauling off brush to the local dump, and the third photo is my home, with mascot Chihuahua "Porkchop" in the foreground.

Cynthia Buzzard, my LavenDar Farms partner, is pictured in the 4th photo, in the lavender fields in front of my house, just after the last harvest.

Wow, it has been an exhausting and fun learning experience here at LavenDar Farms as we proceed to develop this ranch as an ECO RANCH where friends and families can come and stay, hike, ride horses, cook, sing, play and do whatever....we hope you will come join us someday, smell the lavender, breathe the fresh air, feel the spirits and dance the dance.

There is always room for the young at heart. In fact, On May 3, there is a pilgrimage up to the sacred mountain which adjoins the property. Locals say it takes about 4 hours to get to the top of the mountain where a small church sits on top. There are zigzag trails all along the way. Bring plenty of water if you want to take the hike. I have never done the hike but who knows, there is always a first time. Come with me. We can start early!

LAST OF THE BATCH

OKAY...I AM DONE FOR THE DAY AND THIS SEASON!