Our Canadian "friends" that visit our pond each spring
At our place spring has sprung.....finally. Last year we had an unexpected freeze on April 16th. It occurred more than a month after the time of the average last freeze. It caught us off guard. Apparently it also caught everyone else off guard too. By that time our vegetable garden was already started. It killed everything. It killed some of our fruit trees as well. Even the native oak trees were affected. Since they already were in the process of growing new leaves. Now, this spring we see the true damage that was done. Several of the big old oaks are dead. Fortunately we have many, many trees. Back where we used to live, it would have been devastating since we lived on five acres with only a few trees. I told "My Honey" that this crazy weather must be a sign of "that global warming" that "he doesn't believe in". He is in denial.
Now we are already behind schedule with the garden. Hopefully if the rain holds off we can get something growing soon. I so look forward to our fresh produce. We always have more than we can use and share with family and friends. So they are looking forward to harvest time as well. We like to grow some of the rare heirloom tomatoes that you can't find just anywhere. Brandy wine, Purple Cherokee, Black Krim and Orange Jubilee are some of the ones that we've grown in the past.
Signs that spring is really here around our place include:
1) our furry winterized horses are becoming slick and shiny again
2) the Canadian geese that "visit" our pond each year have returned
3) the horses are no longer interested in their rations of hay, they prefer to graze on the new grass, even if it is only a half inch tall
4) mowing is a never-ending chore, with over 2 acres of yard and many acres of pasture, we literally from now until the after the first freeze in the fall
5) weed-eating is also a never-ending job, to add the finishing touch to all that mowing
6) horse's hooves are growing rapidly, which means the back-breaking chore of trimming and around our place there are a total of 40 equine feet to tend to ( 9 horses & one donkey)
7) the insects return in full force, we have more than our fair share of flies, wasps and fire ants soon to be followed by mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers
8) everything that we "put off" doing this winter, now has to be dealt with, the tractor will
require maintenance, as well as a new battery, storms took a toll on the roof of the barn as well as the garage and our many "pending projects" will require all of our time, money and energy
9) the trails around our property boundaries, which we cleared during the winter are becoming overgrown, which is extra hard to do now because the poison ivy and snakes will complicate
the task, and the job of removing (by hand) the many rocks from the trail ways will take us another ten lifetimes
10)another sign of spring, brings problems to the hen house. When warm weather returns to our place, so do the snakes and possums which prey on our chickens and eggs
We are so glad that spring has sprung to be able to do all of these things and are very thankful to be able to work outside without needing long-johns and a heavy winter coat. So at least this change in the weather does lighten the load of chores in one area. Wearing less clothing will mean having less laundry to wash. Thank goodness for small favors !!!!
Now we are already behind schedule with the garden. Hopefully if the rain holds off we can get something growing soon. I so look forward to our fresh produce. We always have more than we can use and share with family and friends. So they are looking forward to harvest time as well. We like to grow some of the rare heirloom tomatoes that you can't find just anywhere. Brandy wine, Purple Cherokee, Black Krim and Orange Jubilee are some of the ones that we've grown in the past.
Signs that spring is really here around our place include:
1) our furry winterized horses are becoming slick and shiny again
2) the Canadian geese that "visit" our pond each year have returned
3) the horses are no longer interested in their rations of hay, they prefer to graze on the new grass, even if it is only a half inch tall
4) mowing is a never-ending chore, with over 2 acres of yard and many acres of pasture, we literally from now until the after the first freeze in the fall
5) weed-eating is also a never-ending job, to add the finishing touch to all that mowing
6) horse's hooves are growing rapidly, which means the back-breaking chore of trimming and around our place there are a total of 40 equine feet to tend to ( 9 horses & one donkey)
7) the insects return in full force, we have more than our fair share of flies, wasps and fire ants soon to be followed by mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers
8) everything that we "put off" doing this winter, now has to be dealt with, the tractor will
require maintenance, as well as a new battery, storms took a toll on the roof of the barn as well as the garage and our many "pending projects" will require all of our time, money and energy
9) the trails around our property boundaries, which we cleared during the winter are becoming overgrown, which is extra hard to do now because the poison ivy and snakes will complicate
the task, and the job of removing (by hand) the many rocks from the trail ways will take us another ten lifetimes
10)another sign of spring, brings problems to the hen house. When warm weather returns to our place, so do the snakes and possums which prey on our chickens and eggs
We are so glad that spring has sprung to be able to do all of these things and are very thankful to be able to work outside without needing long-johns and a heavy winter coat. So at least this change in the weather does lighten the load of chores in one area. Wearing less clothing will mean having less laundry to wash. Thank goodness for small favors !!!!
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