Fire & Ice

In the mountains, the abnormal is normal. At least with weather. So it can be sunny, clear and a bright 75F one day and cloudy, dark, with a cold icy snow and temps in the teens. But no matter, because the plants keep growing, the buds keep opening, and more and more birds return everyday (the Violet Green Swallows are back to nest in the old hollowed out fence post near the field plot)!
As a farmer you learn to watch the weather closely and quickly develop that 'weather eye'. Every little change can effect your whole day and rearrange your priorities. And it's always better to plan for the worst but hope for the best. Plants have routinely surprised me at what they can tolerate, survive, and thrive in, but knowing I've given them the best chance with the tools I have helps me sleep a little easier, even if I also sometimes set a few midnight (and 2am and 4am lol) alarms to check the outside temp or the greenhouse temp or both!

It's like Easter everyday!

The end of last week was so warm it was time to take the back vent off the dome so the plants wouldn't roast away as the temps topped 85F in there. On the To Do list this spring is to rebuild the vent so it doesn't require complete demolition each time it's gotta open!

I got some help with the painting. Do you think she knows the panels are for her future pasture-able hut? She is one of the barn hens that longs to follow in her comrades grassy foot steps!

And the other hens get cozy in that same in-progress hut. Maybe they are just inspecting to make sure it's up to code!

The Raspberries went in with a little help from my handy dandy dump cart and some well aged horse manure that's been moved around a few times as the whole pile of it kept being in the way. It's current home is as the hens' favorite hill to climb that is slowly becoming a grassy knoll, but I was able to get some good rich soil by sneaking in underneath!

At the end of the weekend it decided to have rain that turned into snow and then froze hard into an icy coating on everything! *crunch, crunch*

After the icy snow was gone we got busy on the new Orchard fence! Posts are in and next we get to put up the wire before I can get my precious test fruit trees in!

The huts have gone mobile!!! And the hens enjoy checking out the old winter pads of their neighbors.

Underneath it's blanket of straw, the Garlic doesn't mind the cold nights and is stretching to the sky!

Hella's favorite time of the days are the lazy (for her) evenings where she can follow me around in the warm sun while I check that everything is set to survive until morning. She's my shadow who enjoys the moments when even she can cast a long shadow!

Where to find it all?

Just a few weeks until the 2021 Market Season starts on May 6th!