Monday 30 March 2015

March

Isn't March wonderful?  All sunshine and light - love it.  Good riddance February.  I don't mind that we are still in winter boots, coats, hats, snow pants and my driveway is covered in ice.  We are consistently getting 13 hours a day of light and that makes me happy.


It has been a busy month!  Seeds have been started, March break has come and gone, the chicken coop has been freshened up and the doors into the barn have thawed and shrunken just enough that we can close them again.  Next on the list is to clean up the breezeway, power wash all the cobwebs out of the barn, thoroughly clean the horse stalls and pick up all the dog poop.  I lead a glamorous life ya'll. 

This year has started off as a busy one at work and at the farm.  I'm doing some travelling this year for my job which I'm pretty excited about.  And my husband is now working 2 other jobs besides the farm work so some of the farm work has shifted to me.  This leads to long and exhausting days.  Thankfully the days are lighter longer which bouy's me along when I'm leaving the gym at 7:30, coming home for 8, putting on warmer clothes and going out to the barn to the horses and chickens, and then getting the kids and myself ready for the next day.  It will all be that much easier when the horses go back to their owner and summer is here. 



So I've been planning and dreaming of the gardening I hopefully will have more time for this year.  The weeds completely took over my large garden last year so my plan is to put straw between the rows this year.  I've started kale, beets, jalapeno's, tomatoes, green peppers and basil.  I am going to add some perennial flowers to the gardens around the house and plant zinnia's in my patio garden again. 


We've had some weasel trouble in the chicken coop and it's taken 3 chickens.  We think we've found where it is getting in and sealed the hole.  We'll be adding 5 more chickens this year and we are seriously considering a couple of turkeys.  I've been doing some reading about them and they sound fairly easy to care for but my big concern is the coyote's around here.  We don't want to confine them so they'd be on their own at night.  Any and all tips and advice welcome.