We got some terrific strawberries from Turners’ Farm Market just 5 miles down the road. Hailey, our friend who helps us, is preparing freshly picked strawberries for jam. Our guests and we love to put it on our homemade bread, muffins, biscuits, pancakes and waffles!

We made the Fiesta Frittata this morning and it was a hit! The recipe is from 2011’s Wisconsin Bed and Breakfast Association cookbook and it’s really good. (We have the cookbook on sale in our Welcome Room.) We tried this dish last week with canned black beans and it just wasn’t as good as Robert’s own – today he prepared them from dried beans and they tasted delicious alone! When added to the other colorful ingredients – tomatoes with peppers and corn, Riley’s eggs and Union Star cheese – bake then top with our own guacamole and sour cream and  it makes a festive dish. We added fresh fruit and homemade bran, raisin muffins and we had a great meal –  there you go!

We are often delighted by guests’ journal entries  and sometimes they touch on the main things we like about our place as well such as this one we recently read:

“What a wonderful way to spend an anniversary! Thank you for the delicious, fresh breakfast and the peaceful accommodations. The rhubarb yogurt was a real treat as were the farm fresh eggs:) Our trip couldn’t have been better – kayaking on the chain – we hit every lake:) treats at Scoopers, dinner at Harbor Bar and biking the rural roads – what a fantastic place to visit.”

We’re grateful for the many features that bring folks back again and again!

If you can possibly make it here now’s the time! There’s a blanket of penstemen  covering the short grass prairie where we have our labyrinth. “WOW” was my spontaneous reaction when I rounded the top of the path leading to the short grass prairie. There are also coreopsis  and spiderwort as well as lupine still blooming – bluebirds and tree swallows happily flying around gathering food for their chicks in our nest boxes… oh this is the time. We were delighted to have our friends, Nancy and Ron, from the D.C. area, visiting us especially since Nancy loves flowers. Come and see for yourself!

This morning we took one of our guests to check bluebird houses and in house #3 four chicks were comfortably dozing. They look like they’re about ready to fledge. According to our Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin (BRAW) information guide we estimate they were born 15 days ago and by 18 days they’re ready to fly from the nest – such a marvel! Last week Deb checked a house at Hartman Creek State Park and saw a newly hatched chick with three  eggs. It’s almost unbelievable that such a tiny creature can grow and change so much in less than three weeks.

We’re having a ball using our abundant garden fresh rhubarb! We served a rhubarb sauce on Robert’s special pancakes this morning – yum! Deb found a delicious and easy recipe for a rhubarb desert in the More With Less Cookbook and our guests loved it as an afternoon treat with hot tea. I’m making a rhubarb pie this afternoon and a few days ago Robert used his freshly made rhubarb jam in a breakfast desert crepe. We’re putting up all sorts of rhubarb for use throughout the year. If you want some when you come for breakfast, just let us know!

We had to say good-bye to our beloved cat, Missy. She was our friend and companion for 12 years. We adopted her when she was 6 years old from a friend who went to France on an extended work mission that would mean Missy being in quarantine for many months so she came to live with us. It wasn’t long before we fell in love with her and she became part of our family. Like people, she had her own personality and was a bit picky and had an attitude of superiority but also like people we know, we loved her anyway. She was healthy for 17 years but over the last year she developed health problems and after many visits of increasing frequency to our kind and skilled vets at Waupaca Small Animal Hospital we saw her reach the end of her life.  We are grateful for many years with her and are sad not to have a cat with us anymore. We miss Missy.

This gorgeous plant really puts on show and we love it! Karner Blue butterflies do as well. They are on the national endangered species list and require lupine to survive so we’ve planted a lot of it – in the front yard, in our Butterfly Garden, in the tall and short grass prairies. Come and see it bloom!

Today was such a gorgeous day outside for planting our garden! It’s sunny and warm and the birds are singing like crazy – keeping us company.

Here Robert’s opening the box of plants sent by Seed Saver in Iowa. We have all sorts of heirloom tomatoes including some cherry tomatoes for guests to eat right off the vine!

We had a delicious “Skillet Breakfast” for our guests this week featuring asparagus picked fresh from our garden! What a treat! We even included the last of our own potatoes we’ve kept refrigerated over the winter, along with onions, broccoli and organic parsnips from the Malak farm in Rosholt. Mix those with organic pork and eggs from the Riley Crest farm and top with cheese from Union Star cheese factory in Zittau and it’s a scrumptious way to start the day! Robert baked his wheat and cheese biscuits with our own high bush cranberry jelly – yum! We had fabulous conversation with our guests who saw 14 different species of birds before breakfast! What a life . . .