So, it's once again spring on the farm! Baby chicks and baby kittens this year. The cows are all teenagers, so next year, we'll have babies.
Since I've increased our chicken flocks by A LOT I had to make the caged in area bigger. They have free run of the whole acreage, and love to scratch in the woods, but I like my eggs. At night, they dutifully return to the coop and I close them in. In the morning they fly out. Guess what my project is? Yup, gotta get a top put on the penned in area, so when we're gone, and in the morning pre-coffee, they are safe.
I've stopped putting heat lights on the babies during the day, but still at night it gets chilly, and sometime in the next month or so, I've got to introduce the two flocks to each other, and let everyone learn how to get along.
Have heard that putting them all together during the night and having them wake up all together works. It doesn't, there is still the "pecking" order that needs to be worked out, and right now the babies are too small to be attacked, plus they can still fit through the fencing, so they'll stay in the baby pen for now.
Hubby is starting to make noises about getting the tractor hooked up to the disc, this means that soon my garden will get tilled. YAY!! Can't really plant much until the 1st of June (or when ever the frost date is for the current year) but it still gets tilled, and tilled and tilled again. I've got some of my herbs started, tomatoes are looking awesome and peppers not so much. It's still too cold to germinate the pepper seeds, and this time of year, we don't heat the house, but even putting them into the garden as bitty little plants will give them time to grow.
Another project is to make the dog pen biggeer. I want the Bu-Dawgh to have a lot of running space, he has to be in a pen or on the line when outside because he just won't stay in the yard and he won't listen (to me). With baby deer being dropped now, I don't want him chasing. And he does love to chase!
Asparagus produced little to nothing this year, but the rhubarb (as usual) is very prolific. Found a recipe for a rhubarb crumble that I want to make, but my oven is out of commission. The element burned out of it, so I have to scare up another one soon.
On the needles is my festival project. Our Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival is end of September and this is my contest entry. I'm using a yarn I bought from the festival last year (requirement) and making the Central Park Hoodie, with my awesome Knit Picks Harmony Needles. Although I did break my own "rule" about knitting with dark yarns on dark needles in a pattern, oh well, I love the Harmony needles, so it's worth a little eye strain.
Today? After work I want to work on the chicken pen and see if I can find another element for my stove from the "Stash Of Used Pieces and Parts" that every homesteader worth their salt keeps! Hoping I don't have to buy one!
In the meantime, it's a bit chilly today, but the sun is shining and Life Is Good!
