Spring things...

We are having an absolutely lovely spring weekend here! The temps are supposed to reach nearly 70 each of the next three days and we are thrilled! We have a lot of spring things that need doing around our little farm and the pleasant weather makes us much more motivated! Here are a few pictures I just took today of some things that are happening here on Red Pony Ranch.


You might remember from two blogs ago (on March 17th) I posted a picture of our rhubarb just peeking out of the ground. Well, here it is today! I am so happy that it's doing so well, as you might remember me talking about its rough life the past two seasons. One thing we did to protect it is to use a plastic barrel sawed in half to keep the chickens out and us from mowing it. I do realize that this is not the most attractive landscaping feature, but it is functional for now. Frank says I should pull it off and just put it back on when the chickens are out, but I bet those leaves will spread out and I won't be able to get it back over the plant. I guess I need to graduate to Plan B. I would like to pick a couple of stems, but I also think I should let this plant get strong. Decisions, decisions.


We are very blessed to have a number of fruit trees. This is a picture of one of our plum trees blooms. I love this tree as it produces those really big, round, red-skinned freestone plums that are soo sweet and juicy. We also have an italian prune plum that makes wonderful fruit too! We also have two apple trees that were thoughtfully planned by some previous owner so that one bears early and the other bears when the first one is done. This keeps us in fresh apples for about three months, and up until Christmas with the ones we put in our unheated shop or barn. New last year to our farm were two hazelnut trees and a peach tree. They seem to be doing fine so far.


Every year we dump a bunch of manure on the garden. Here it is in the ugly stage before our neighbor with the tractor and really big tiller comes and makes it a thing of beauty. If you look on the right you can see what's left of our leeks from last season. It was fun to have them there all winter and go get one when I needed one. Leeks seem to do better here than onions as they have a better tolerance for the moist soil. Eric will probably come to till the week before Mother's Day, as that is when we traditionally start planting. He does a number of gardens in our neighborhood on the same day. It is so nice to have a neighbor with a tractor and all the implements! We are happy to pay him to do this and other tractor things around the farm as it keeps us from having to buy one of our own!


You've heard me mention a few times that "The Boys" have a summer pasture that we lease from the neighbors. What I really wanted was a picture of them grazing in this pastoral setting, but what I found when I had the camera was them napping in their shelter. Oh well, you take what you can get! There is a nice shelter that they boys are happy to share, and I am happy that I can see it from my back porch so it's easy to check on them during the day. I can see most of the pasture from up here except when they're grazing on the part that is behind the neighbor's house. They like having the boys around and not having to keep the pasture mowed, although the owner does go out twice a year with his brush hog just to knock the tall stuff down that they're not going to eat anyway. We are very thankful for this pasture and for such good neighbors.


Another sign of spring is when little Sophie the chicken decides to stop thinking she's a rooster (she crows all winter, just like Colonel!) and start laying eggs again. She doesn't seem to like laying in the nest boxes in the coop, and since she can get out of the run (for the life of me I have never caught her) she prefers the barn for her laying. I found these two eggs on the hay stack this morning. She's going to be unhappy when I have to feed that hay!


The big girls, however, have been laying like gang-busters for a couple of months now. We get between 6 and 9 eggs every day. Of course we can't use this many, so enjoy giving them away to people who now realize the huge difference in taste and quality between home raised and store bought eggs. I don't think I could ever go back.

Well, hopefully spring is springing at your place too. The clerk at my local co-op tells me there is a HUGE upswing in the number of people who are planning and planting gardens. I think the economy gets tough and people learn to be a little more self-sufficient. I know I sure think that way, even when things aren't tight. It just makes sense to grow some good stuff of your own. We sure enjoy it, as well as sharing the surplus with others who are not so fortunate to have the space and resources we have. We are truly blessed.