A Spring Saturday

A little glimpse of a spring Saturday, leaves me breathless but fulfilled. 

It can be hard to get out of bed for the day, but boy scouts called with soccer immediately following.

Goals were scored and the kids played very hard, ready for next weekends tournament game.

The herb bed was weeded and new markers placed.

The rabbit hutch was assembled.  We took the easy way out on this one and found a great quality one on sale.  We are going to use all of our wood to further refine the chicken coop and build out a pig stall!

Pork Chop (Chi Chi) is in her new home and will remain in there until we get our Mini Rex, and then she will be moved to an enclosure below.

Chopped asparagus slaw with supper.

And as we got a soaking 2 1/2 inches of rain here, B's folks were taking cover.  Thankfully, the tornado touched ground again about a mile and a half from them, but the two pink heavy areas, basically flank their house...made for some tense moments!  Hopefully our warm up and storms later this afternoon will be all show and no crazy!  How was your Saturday?

What A Difference 48 Hours Makes!

 On a delightfully foggy Saturday morning in March, you never know what you are going to come across on your way to collect eggs in the barn.  As I stroll up the drive, something catches my attention out of the corner of my eye.  I then shake my head to a double take and skip a little when I see that there is masses of asparagus making its way up.  Some of it large enough to pick!  Please keep in mind that the last time I searched and poked around for some sign of spear life was Thursday evening and there was nothing to be found.  What a difference two days of rain can make!

Unfortunately, that same rain quadrupled the number of very aggressive weeds growing.  So what does this homesteader do?  Forget about the indoor chores that I had started and had every intention of completing. Squirrel!  Yes, that whip of my head is all it took to begin the arduous task of weeding so that our precious little asparamaguzits (as Sidney called them when she was little), can flourish.

With a good chunk of that task done, I picked some tender spears and headed back to the house.  My weeding senses heightened, and a sudden sense of awe at how our property has transformed in the last 48 hours, led me to noticing that my weeding tasks have only just begun.  I think the herb bed is next.  Oh, and honey,  I don't think we're going to be able to stall switching from the snow blower to the mower deck.  The grass is already shin high!

Asparagus and strawberries, tasty companions together, the garden bounty has only just begun!  To check out how the garden progresses this year check out the Back to the Garden tab,  I just began this years first updates!

Spring?

It's hard to believe that I'm sitting here in the middle of February with a few windows open and listening to the sounds of birds return.  As we headed out to soccer this morning, sure enough, I caught the first glimpse of crocus' peeking through.  That was enough to inspire me to do a little light clean up.   Who wants to be doing indoor chores when the sun is calling? 

I began dead heading a plants that I'd left up for winter interest and with the lack of snow just look dead and scraggly.  Funny how these things start, I did the one bed and then another.  Then decided to walk the yard in the glorious sunshine to pick up the trash that had blown in over the last few months.  As I get close to the barn, I begin to inspect the asparagus bed.  It will be some of the first produce to come up in the spring.  As I look for little tops, I notice not only is the bed almost completely thawed but there are actually weeds growing!  So one thing leads to another, I set down the collected trash and weed.  I had almost forgotten how good it feels to get my hands dirty in the garden.

 Now, do I take all of this back to the fire pit?  No, it occurs to me that maybe a few avian would appreciate a lush green snack.  That they did, attacking it like it was candy.  All the while the rooster kept a watchful eye on his harem to make sure they all got their fill.  I'm sure the winter (though I use that term loosely this year) is not over yet, and maybe I have just jinxed myself by getting my hands dirty early, but it sure feels like Spring outside!