Post-Snow, Pre-Mosquitoes






























Man, I'm sore. My body is still in winter mode apparently, all the outside work I've done this past week I feel. Breaking up sod at my sister's house, then turning some ground here to plant peas and potatoes. Then walking everywhere trying to find my young explorer who sometimes takes his freedom a tad far. Then we hiked a few miles the next day through one of our new favorite spots when we go into the city (Fontenelle Forest). Then scraping up really old bedding and poo out of the former turkey house to make a new place to brood chicks. That stuff was caked. And then it rained, which meant I could catch up (almost) with my inside duties. It seems to be a constant tug of war, so much to do outside but yet so much to do inside. Never are both places satisfied.
Our hatching for this year got delayed for a couple reasons, but we finally got eggs put in the incubator. A week before the first round of chickens were supposed to hatch we had one come out of the egg on the rack. Guess he/she had got a head start in the coop. Of course you can't have a lonely chick, that's just not fair, so I picked up a few friends at the feed store to keep company until the rest decide to come out.
We have a few mamas sitting right now, One duo has hatched two babies. I just love watching the mamas teaching the little guys how to scratch and hearing their instructing clucks. So amazing to watch the interaction. Mother Goose is also setting right now which makes for a lonely mate. Guy Goose is always standing guard right outside the coop waiting to go on a stroll with his partner whenever she is ready to take her breaks. Geese aren't as hardcore as the chicken mommies. While the chickens can sit for days and not even think about leaving her precious eggs, geese will take several breaks during the day to stretch and head to the water hole.
I have a good amount of tomatoes, some peppers, herbs, broccoli, and some flowers doing well in the greenhouse that my parents got me for an early birthday present this year. I've been taking them into the house on cold nights, but so far I like this whole not having to use a light in the house way of starting seeds indoors. My winter sown (mini greenhouses like milk jugs outside) garden is doing okay, it seems to be a couple weeks behind the stuff in my greenhouse. My peas have popped out of the ground and garlic is several inches up. My favorite time of the year!





Comments

Popular Posts