What we did this weekend.
Weekends are tremendously busy. It feels like there are just not enough hours in the day. Plus, the forecast for us for the upcoming week is chilly and rainy. So, we were really busy getting things done around the farm. Yesterday, in addition to the normal chores caring for the animals, we started planting the trees and berry bushes for our orchard. We have about 40 fruit trees, 50 berry bushes, 10 nut trees, and 20 sugar maples to plant over the next month. Jackson and I did about 35 plantings yesterday from our first delivery. Two more deliveries this month, and in about five years, we will be in fruit heaven. We also had a nice visit with friends and tidied up the house, as is our usual Saturday routine. For dinner we had grilled chicken from the chickens we raised this fall, grilled portobello mushrooms, spinach with garlic and almonds and brown rice. For dessert, chocolate ice cream that Mike made and pina colada sorbet. Yum!
Today, we reinforced the paddock and let the cows out. We have been letting the sheep out in the pasture in the mornings, it has been going very well. The cows seemed to really love their space, they have all been exclusively living outside for their entire lives, so being in a barn stall for a week was probably not the most pleasant experience for any of them. They all went right to the tree in a portion at the back of their pasture and rubbed and rubbed and rubbed. The girls still come straight to me any time I have grain, but the steer is a bit shy and skittish. Now matter, really, he will only be here until fall.
After lunch Mike and Charlotte rested while Jackson and I cleaned out our cars and then turned over the pigs old area, a 16×16 square we will plant with some wildflowers. Once Charlotte and Mike were back out, we moved the rabbit hutch to the area next to the chicken coop, cleaned up all the animals manure from their old spots and moved that plus our compost heap to the new spot at what will be the edge of the garden. We also moved the pigs to their new spot, after moving them a total of three times, they will have “tilled” our entire garden space.
Here is the pigs old area, note the soil has been turned and the chickens are eating the bugs. The pigs are in their new section, which after about three weeks, will look just like the old section and we will move them once more.
We are all so tired, it feels very good to be working outside and building such an amazing future. At the same time, I think we are all ready to be finished with these new, one time only tasks and ready to find a regular rhythm and routine. By the end of May we should have Phase I complete here and hope to spend the summer and fall maintaining instead of building and planning. There will be plenty more of that to come, but for now, we all need a break.
