Finally...

Spring has come.
Man. What a long winter.
No real hard cold snaps,
but no warm spells either.
Just relentlessly cold with occasional
bouts of clouds and snow.
I didn't realize how much I needed
those warm snaps until I was
given a winter without them.
So, I hibernated.
I didn't go anywhere
and tried to not talk to anyone.
And then.. it got warm again.
And the blood began flow back
into me like sap into a tree.


And the old farm is starting to
come back around too.
I have spots of green in the yard
and the spring flowers are starting to show.
And it has been warm enough for me
to get some chores done.
Observe please..the garden spot.

Now, it might not look like much to you..
but believe me, this is freakin awesome!
Notice the wall on the left.
See how you can see it?
Until last week it was completely
hidden behind an
solid curtain of honeysuckle.
I took to it with scissors. Yep. Scissors.
I wore out one pair so they came apart
in my hand and I started with another pair and I won!
Then I dug each and every massive root ball
and all the little teeny root balls out.
Some of them were almost as thick as my wrist.
And the open area where the tilling
has begun is usually head high with wild asters,
honeysuckle, blackberry scrub,
goldenrod and morning glory.
Actually, I think it was higher than
my head in places and completely inpenetrable.
That wood pile in the middle was a pin oak,
now it is firewood
and we'll burn the brush tomorrow.
As you can see, the cleanup crew is hard
at work picking out seeds and little yummy
bits and turning the soil some more.
I am excited to turn this old
chicken house foundation
into a new garden. I have high hopes.
I can't wait to get it all cleared out
and ready to turn into beds
with nice little paths in between...aaahh...



And the little seedlings are raring to go too.
I have 5 varieties of tomatoes
and about that many types of peppers too.
A few eggplants and herbs are up in cups too.
I have leeks getting taller and
some basil cuttings rooting and lettuces,
chards and spinach coming up in the coldframe.

Do you have any idea how badly I want a fresh salad from the garden?

The comfrey is coming up
and the stinging nettles are starting to poke up.
It was a harsh winter for everyone and everything here this year.



And the first hatch of the year are growing well too.
Yeah! Chicks!
With more set to hatch this coming weekend.
Luckily, all of these and the coming
hatch are already spoken for.

This winter we have eaten well out of the freezer.
Turkeys and more chickens than I can count
and the lamb..oooh, the lamb!

We butchered him on New Year's Day.
Lamb stew, leg of lamb..all good.
I am hoping that we can find a way to afford
lambs this year as well as the turkeys.
We really need to find a way to make that investment.
It pays off in the end with meat sales and freezer stocking.
Now that it is warm and my brain and my soul
have thawed
I will be around more often.
I missed you.
Happy spring, ya'll!!!!