Friday, March 23, 2012

Gone With the Wind

I thought I'd capture some of the pastel Spring we are experiencing here today.  The apricot trees were first to bloom and their blossoms have already blown away in the wind.  Pollinators were busy on the peach and pear trees and the weeping cherry is at the height of beauty.  Lilacs are about to flower.  Redbuds soften the treeline near the hay shed.
You can click on images to enlarge.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Marching Forward

All of the fruit trees are blooming in a profusion of pinks and whites. 

Yeah, I know there's probably still some cold weather in store, but we might as well enjoy it as there is no stopping nature.

Redbuds are beginning to soften the edge of the treelines.

I saw the first asparagus spear emerging from the ground.

Today, it is raining a little, so I'm taking advantage by dividing up peonies and daylilies and transplanting them to new locations.  I also planted some blueberry bushes.  I've been weeding vegetable beds and transporting the beautiful black compost from last year's pile.  We are going to make a new compost center and move our electric compost sifter to the same location.  Once we do it, I'll be shredding junk mail and cardboard and adding it in.  There is no shortage of manure from the goat barn and it's good to have a use for it all.

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Springlike

The last two days have been dry and sunny -- perfect for doing some of the physical labor that needed to be done near the rebuilt old goose house.  So, I cut down junk trees and hauled them into a big pile.  I also helped my husband with the repairs by climbing up on a ladder and lifting the long boards up to the top of the outside wall.

We can see our progress.  In fact, I'm thinking that this is getting to be too grand for a goose house.  It may just turn out to be the second goat maternity barn.  Building a new barn would have been an expensive proposition, but re-using an existing structure makes sense.

There is a small shed nearby and with pond access that I've been eyeing.  It wouldn't take much to convert it into a spiffy goose house for the second flock.  We'd need to put hardware cloth over any open areas at the roofline and make a small door with a ramp.  That's not really all that complicated.  The chickens would sure be relieved to have those water loving pals out of their nice, dry chicken house.  The geese would sure love to once again have access to the second pond!

Now, the wind is howling and dark clouds fill the sky.  It'll rain soon, so we'll switch gears and do some inside work for awhile.