The weather has been lovely, and we are all enjoying the respite from the cold. The horses like to take long naps stretched out on the grass in the sun, the ducks have taken to wandering farm from their pond to search for tasty bugs and such in the grass, and the dogs are running around with glee. The horses are really shedding their winter coats in earnest now, and although Teddy will still usually walk away from me if he sees a halter and lead rope in my hand, he will come up to me if he sees a hairbrush! I've been using it to scrub him all over and get that loose, itchy hair off. Maybe I should build a scratching post for the field... just a post with broom heads screwed in all over it!
My fruit trees are all starting to bud, the drakes are chasing the ducks, and the songbirds are busy singing and thinking about nest building. I drained the pond (about 16,000 gallons, I believe) last week, shovelled out some of the accumulated muck and silt on the bottom, and refilled it, with the plan to get some koi. After the flood last September, I didn't have any fish left... just a whole bunch of frogs and toads! I'm still not certain if the ducks will eat the koi, but I think the fish are a lot faster than the ducks. Besides, the ducks also spend time in the neighbor's pond and all around the farm looking for tasty snacks.
The daffodils are blooming, as well as the tulips. The dogwoods are not yet in bloom, but probably will be soon. I also need to clean up the vegetable garden and get ready for spring planting. I'll probably do tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, strawberries (they are everywhere!), carrots, snap peas, and maybe lettuce. Any requests / suggestions?
My fruit trees are all starting to bud, the drakes are chasing the ducks, and the songbirds are busy singing and thinking about nest building. I drained the pond (about 16,000 gallons, I believe) last week, shovelled out some of the accumulated muck and silt on the bottom, and refilled it, with the plan to get some koi. After the flood last September, I didn't have any fish left... just a whole bunch of frogs and toads! I'm still not certain if the ducks will eat the koi, but I think the fish are a lot faster than the ducks. Besides, the ducks also spend time in the neighbor's pond and all around the farm looking for tasty snacks.
The daffodils are blooming, as well as the tulips. The dogwoods are not yet in bloom, but probably will be soon. I also need to clean up the vegetable garden and get ready for spring planting. I'll probably do tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, strawberries (they are everywhere!), carrots, snap peas, and maybe lettuce. Any requests / suggestions?
