The Color Green

It is a glorious color!!!! Green means that winter is headed out and spring and summer are headed in!!! I love it!
Thankfully it arrived just in time, as my hay has run out!

We have been keeping all the livestock loose and free ranging so they can feast on the green. This also allows their regular paddocks to recover and grow some green.

The calves in particular love having the free space to socialize and graze.

Dandelions mean the bees have some food for their hive. Please don't spray these beauties with weed killer!

The hens are fenced up with the egg mobile again, well half are fenced up. It has been difficult rounding up and catching all of the free rangers, but Hilda has no problem crawling under the fence and socializing with the hens...or rather cleaning up feed from the ground.

It was perfect weather yesterday for a walk down the drive to collect special rocks and to hunt for wildflowers.

It will be time to shear the sheep this month and Whiskey Creek has quite a load of fleece! He spends most of the day in the shade and will be happy, I am sure, to get a hair cut.

I have been busy these last 2 weeks deep cleaning and de-cluttering each room and closet in the house. To say this was a major feat is an understatement!
All I have left to do is clean the porches outside and also do something with this eyesore of a garden.

Before dairy cows I had time to garden. I used 3 raised beds and these half barrels to grow quite a bit of flowers and food. Milking cows and making cheese have decreased my ability to garden and now this spot is an overgrown eye sore. I plan to clean this up and at least get some flowers planted, even annuals would be nice.
I will likely only keep a few half barrels for a couple of tomato plants and I will buy the rest of my summer bounty from local farmers.

My first thought on cleaning up these raised beds is to burn them. I might spread cardboard and shredded paper across them and light them up to burn the new growth of weeds. After they are scorched I will go to a local garden center and get some rich planting soil to add to the beds.

My meat chicks ship out Monday so I will spend some time this weekend getting brood boxes ready. The actual chicken tractors will need some repair, though, before we can get any birds out on pasture.

The cows have been using the tractors as scratching posts! The poor pens couldn't hold up to an 800 pound animal scratch so Devin will be busy fixing these the next couple of weeks.
I am impressed that the tractors held up so well this long. This will be the 4th year to use them, and remember they were built with mostly scraps we had lying around the property.

Green!!!! It is a glorious color and always was my favorite! Bye- Bye winter cold and hello warm sun!

Happy Spring Thursday Ya'll!!!!