It was a foggy morning here on the farm. The ground is muddy, and the birds were singing in the trees. Robins have finally returned to this barren strip of land. The rhubarb is poking through the ground, there are buds on the blackberry bushes, and I even saw an earth worm when I stuck my hands in the soil of my still slightly frozen garden.
Phoebe is showing signs that kidding season is about to start. The chickens are enjoying being able to see dirt again in the paddock and are spending more of their day outside, scratching for worms. Oliver is going through another teenage hormonal change, a sign that he should be ready for breeding in the Fall.
My back screened in porch is packed with containers that hold tiny seedlings, and each morning I check to see how many more have come up. Tiny plants that will eventually grow and provide us with food for another year. The baby chicks have moved from their dark room in the basement to the screened in porch as well. They’re still under a heat lamp at night when it dips below freezing, but they are adjusting to the cool spring weather in preparation to being moved out into the coop with the other chickens, after a slow introduction.
Life is returning to the farm. I can see the buds on our 3 proud birch trees that stand at the corner of the paddock. It was after these trees that our farm was named.
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Hubby and I are beginning to stir also. Hubby has been out staking where fence posts will go for our next paddock. I’ve begun to add fresh mulch to the garden, and yesterday it was all I could do to stop myself from planting the seeds for our root vegetables. Waiting just another 2 weeks seems so far from now.
Life is returning to our farm. The longer days have lifted our spirits, and the dirt under my fingernails make me feel complete again.
In the evening, once another day is coming to a close, I collect the eggs and take part in the joy that comes from raising chickens. They have also been gearing up for spring, and our egg basket now over flows. We are surely blessed.
This truly is the life.
