Signs of Spring

 

One of the first signs of spring on the farm and one of the first outdoorsy farm rituals is the presentation of the legs. Yes, these are indeed my pasty white, slightly scarred legs and the first shorts of the spring. They may not be pretty but boy was I happy to set them free. I think my super cute garden shoes compensate for any unsightliness.

 

Of course you can't go wrong with forsythia either. We have two bushes of it started now. My tiny little lilac tree has leafed out and I just saw tonight that my peonies were peeking up. Tulip foliage is up but now blooms yet. I'm waiting not so patiently for those. 

Here is my greenhouse lettuce. I took this Sunday and this afternoon when I checked on it it was pretty wilted. I think it got too hot in the greenhouse yesterday during that 80 degree day. I need to remember to vent the window in the mornings. Too many things to get done before we leave the house it seems.

Sunday I was sort of bummed because NONE of my little seeds had popped up yet. Bryon said he saw one green sprout but I couldn't see it anywhere. I think he was just humoring me. TODAY, however, there are sprouts galore! Three kinds of tomatoes, and lots of herbs.

We finished working up and preparing the garden beds on Sunday and planted potatoes, carrots, radishes, lettuce, onions and swiss chard. We had lots of good compost to add to top off the beds from last years chicken house clean out and a year's worth of table scraps etc. Looks like it's going to be cold the next few days so I'm not expecting much to happen for a while out there, but I'm ready!

 

This is one of my hilariously happy hens. The come running when any of us come outside now and follow us around the yard like puppies. I don't think they miss those roosters at all. I know the rest of the family don't. Good riddance I say. 

Bryon and Gary worked all weekend on our little patch of woods by our driveway and behind the pig pen. The burned off the undergrowth to make a path for a new fence so we can expand the pig pen and raise five or six pigs this year. So many of our friends want pork now so we thought ... how much trouble could a few more be? 

We are also going to get a couple of goats. NOT milk goats. While I would LOVE to have a Jersey cow or even a milk goat, there is NO WAY we are going to be able to milk an animal twice a day, every day. That is just more of a commitment than we can make and apparently you can't just milk them occasionally which would be ideal. 

I think goats will be fun ... as long as we can keep them in the fence. 

I have no idea what kind we'll get. I think we are just going to go to the Fordland Small Animal Swap Meet and see what there is. I'm pretty sure we'll fall in love with something. I just hope they can fit in a dog crate because otherwise, it could be an interesting ride home.