After tossing some ingredients in the crock pot for supper tonight and doing my few morning house chores, I hurried out to enjoy this glorious day. First on my list was to prune the grape vines. I usually wait a bit later but with the warm weather we are having, I decided now was probably a good time.

 I weeded around the base of the vines. I need to mulch them with some pine needles, I had none and  I wasn't leaving today, so that was moved to a  later list. I also need to fertilize but with all the rabbits gone, I need to find a new fertilizer. I was a bit more aggressive than usual- let's hope not too much!

Then I wandered toward the garden where I pulled huge armloads of chickweed and tossed it to the sheep. 

They enjoyed it immensely.
On to the barn. I move the stinky escape back to his pasture. He was VERY unhappy with me.

He wanted to be back with the ladies.

Now that he was out of the doe pasture I could put the young girls out with the older ones. After a bit of "she who reins", hierarchy was once again established and all was quiet.

Feeding chores completed, I checked the crock pot and headed to my sister's to plant more seeds. The greenhouse was so warm only a t-shirt was needed.

Today we planted more peppers, cherry tomatoes and the Turkish (orange)eggplant. We also planted a few flowers for the cutting garden. The tomatoes are doing great and the peppers from last week are jumping out of the ground.

Lot's accomplished and lot's to do!

The Stinky Buck Smell

On today's list was moving the bucks and rams back to their own pasture. The first to be moved was my large alpine buck. This is really a long overdue chore and after seeing him chase one of the does due to kid in a few weeks, a necessary one. I snapped a lead on his collar and started leading him up the drive.When I looked down at his feet I realized they were in pretty rough shape and desperate for a trim. I knew I should have done that before breeding season and before he smelled so bad. Yuck. And so we turned around and headed back towards the barn. He was so excited he practically drug me there, at 200 pounds that was a relatively easy task. I tied him up and started trimming, he was not thrilled and it was a struggle with me trying to keep him pinned to the wall of the barn. He was also really intent on rubbing his big stinky head on my leg. My trimmers were dull and I stopped long enough to sharpen and oil them. When I came back he was peeing on the foot I just trimmed. Disgusting. I may never trim that foot again. More wrestling ensued and finally I was done. Not a great job but one that would do for now. I checked his eyes. Nice and pink, so no need to worm him. Once again we headed up the drive to his summer home. He and the rams will be in the pasture with the new hay and equipment barn that is almost finished and far away from the ladies.
Now I smelled exactly like him but still had chores to do. I hoped no one would drop by for a visit!
I finished feeding and started checking the dairy does out. They need hoof trimming as well. I got a couple done and dosed them with some garlic and vitamins. Their eyes though not super pink, looked ok so I decided the give the garlic drench a shot. We'll see what happens.
I wanted to do some picking in the garden but decided I was way too nasty to handle food and instead ended up weeding the strawberries. Unfortunately with all this warm weather, they think spring is here and a few are blooming. The weeds were tossed to the goats, I could stand myself no longer so I headed for the shower.
Shortly after that my husband arrived home from work. He was putting out round bales for the cows and needed help opening gates. He was also going to moving a hay feeder to the buck pasture. While waiting for him to toss down a small bale of hay from the loft I heard a noise and turned to see big stinky buck standing behind me. "Don't you come near me!" I screeched. I did a little dance, herded him in the barn without touching him.
My husband said, " I thought you moved him." I did. Sigh. I went to see where he might gave escaped. A small gate, rarely used had not been latched and of course he found it.
So tomorrow I will move him, again. Right after I prune the grape vines.

Countdown to Kidding

I can't believe we are only a month away from kidding. The girls are really beginning to show nice round bellies and a couple are starting to show signs of a filling udder. Next weekend we plan to clean stalls and fill with fresh shavings.  The milking parlor will need to be cleaned as well and I need to check on birthing supplies. Yikes!

After feeding today, I headed to the garden. I was shocked at the amount of broccoli raab I harvested. This vegetable is the energizer bunny of the broccoli world!  Though the broccoli puts out a few side shoots at the time, this plant is covered in the long slender raab shoots. I have found it keeps better too. We have ordered two different varieties to grow again in the fall.  This one is called Apollo.

On a mission to create a broccoli recipe....

Seeds Are Sprouting!

I visited my sister today and we played among the plants. Seeds are sprouting left and right. Purple cauliflower, early tomatoes and flowers for the cutting garden are up. Chinese cabbage and some early peppers are in the mix as well. Our ordered seeds have been arriving all week and today was another good day to plant (according to the almanac) and so we added a few more goodies to the green house. We have heard that it is possible to grow celery here. I ordered a variety called "Tango". You must soak the seeds overnight and not cover much since light aids germination. The seeds like lots of moisture and even warmth, so that flat went under the lights in her basement. Artichokes were also planted. They like less moisture and cooler temps so they remained outside in the greenhouse.

Cauliflower seedlings:

Pepper seedlings-

And our helper of the day, Hope. She planted rocks....

Anyone have a good stone soup recipe?

Pondering Poultry

It won't be long until it is time to order our meat birds. We have decided to raise the Cornish rock crosses once again. Just need to decide how many. It will also be time to decide what kind of laying hens to start to replace the older girls that are aging out. I most likely will raise a few black sexlinks but am looking at some black copper morans or cuckoo morans. They lay incredibly dark eggs, almost mahogany and are beautiful. The sexlinks are just plain predictable layers. We have had them off and on for years, rotating them with golden comets.
We have also decided to add another variety of heritage turkey. Our Narragansetts have not proved to be as satisfactory as we had hoped. I am not sure if it is just MY turkeys or the breed but research tells me they are good homestead birds so I am ordering a few more and adding Blue Slates as well.
I really want ducks again but my husband hates ducks. Too messy, he says. True that. So unless I figure out a place for a pen just for the ducks, they will not be joining us.
Thus far, I have only gotten the turkey order secured as they tend to be limited in availability. The are slated to arrive the end of April.

Finally, Some Sun!

After many days of  clouds, cold rain and fog the sun came out today! With the temps reaching 60, it was delightful to be outside. Though still sloppy and wet I took the opportunity to get a few things done. I was able to get in the garden without the help of a canoe or hip waders and  picked an abundance of greens and carrots.  I had to rinse out water buckets from where the LGD's insist on putting their feet in them. They still could use a good scrubbing. I am still doctoring on the saanan's ear. It still looks pretty nasty but each day is showing improvement. Today I had the benefit of an extra pair of hands and got it really clean. If goats give evil eyes and looks could kill, I would have perished on the spot. I broke up a rooster fight, watched the honey bees work and sat in the sun and ate a salad. These are the days that give a body Spring fever.

Ordering Apple Trees

We decided to revamp the orchard. Apparently there are some apples that don't do well in our area. Mainly those I have bought from Lowes. Duh. After some research and knowing what we like to eat, we have settled on Pink Lady and Honey Crisp apples along with their pollinators, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith.
Today I walked the orchard and measured to see how many trees to order. (Finally I am doing some research and planning instead of flying by the seat of my pants!) The semi dwarf trees need to be 15 feet apart. I was amazed at how many trees we could actually plant. Today I ordered several apples, a pear and a cherry tree. They are due to be shipped towards the end of February. Before they arrive, we will take out the old trees and prune the plums. Better hurry, we only have a month!