Garden Season Approaching

Garden season is fast approaching us and we have started to get the garden area ready for it.  My husband has done the first tilling of both garden areas and will do it again just before I plant.  This makes the soil nice and loose for easy planting.  He also threw some "fertilizer" on from the chicken house that he tilled in with the first tilling.  Many old timers will advise that chicken droppings are the best!

With plans to attend farmer's markets this year, I have added some new crops to our garden plan.  These include spinach, beets, head lettuce, eggplant and kohlrabi.  These will add to our already large variety of produce including veggies, herbs, cherries, plums and peaches.  I have also thought about planting garlic and cilantro.  I will be mapping out the gardens this week to give me a better idea of what will be planted where and how much we can fit.  We have enough room to add another garden if needed.  I would be planting by next weekend, but since we have 3 dance recitals in those 2 days it will not happen until the following week.  I probably could have gotten it in this week, but with the unpredictable weather we have had I decided it was better to wait.  I get pretty nervous about planting anything before May 1 at least.  

I also am going to do at least some of our garden plant shopping at the local nursery instead of the big name stores.  They often have varieties available that the big names simply don't have.  This would include some of the heirloom tomatoes and spinach varieties to name a couple.  They are a little pricier, but not enough to make the difference to me.

Every year I get so excited at garden planting time.  It is so much fun planning it out, shopping and getting all of them planted.  I always feel a great sense of accomplishment and then the work and wait begins for harvest time.  That is always my favorite!  There is nothing better than the first tomatoes and zucchini.  

As always have a wonderful day!

Udderly Enormous!

All the girls were up in the barn lot tonight so my daughter and I decided to go out and check on them.  We have a heifer, Red, that is due in a couple weeks with her first calf, but she has really been bagging up recently. I am so excited to see what her babies will look like since she is built like a brick, well, you know the rest.  When we looked at her tonight all I could do is feel sorry for her as it must be so uncomfortable, but this is what we saw:

This photo taken with my phone doesn't quite do it justice but believe me she is gigantic!  I think if she doesn't calve tomorrow I will start taking bets on when it will be or if it will be before she has an udder explosion!!

On a cute note, I got some decent photos of my little girl (she might become my favorite) in the barn lot. I love to look out in the pasture to see her playing in the field by momma.  She is just the meaning of adorable!

Love this girl!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day and I will post as soon as our next little beauty is born!

Are We Crazy?

The short answer is, yes, we probably are, but that is a different story altogether!  I have, through the years since we moved to our country paradise, thought about the pros and cons of living in the country and raising livestock.  

During the winter months the thought crosses my mind many times about how much easier life would be in town.   At times, we get snowed in and when the roads do get plowed sometimes it's only one lane.  The wind is worse in the country which means that everything drifts worse than in town.  And we definitely have more to plow here than we did in town.

It is, in general, more expensive to live in the country.  Everything from electricity and water to our weekly gas budget costs more.  This is a huge downfall if you're not aware or prepared for it.  We have learned to live with it and do what we can to save by growing our own food in the summer and raising our own livestock.  

Country life is tons more work than living in town.  From daily chores to maintenance on equipment, fences and barns the work can take it's toll.  We all pitch in, with my husband and I bearing the brunt of it.  Before we moved I had no idea just how much more work it would be.  Not that I don't like work, but I just had no idea how much it would entail.

The beauty of living in the country is that I can see about 5-10 miles in all directions of our house.  I can see storms coming from the west long before they get here.  I only have one neighbor who really doesn't care what we might be doing.  We can do just about whatever we want with our land.  We can make a garden as large or small as we want.  We can plant trees or bushes without a building permit, yes a building permit was required in the town we came from.  My kids have plenty of room to run or play as they wish.  I love having animals and treat each as a part of our family.  I get so excited when the babies are born and it drives me crazy with anticipation when they are close. I also believe it is good for children to grow up having chores around the farm and caring for animals of their own. 

In the end, the list of pros is endless and the cons only represents a few of the things I don't like about the country.  I wouldn't give it up for anything.  It is our home and everyone knows there's no place like home!