Activities abound in April

First of all, since I am known for having difficulties stopping to smell the flowers, a talent my husband definitely has, I will begin by acknowledging the beauty that is emerging from the ground around us as I write. The crocus in shades of yellow, purple and white are wonderful little surprises to behold as we make our way to the goat pen for feeding time. And one of the early daffodil varieties (I don’t know the name, but it has a yellow outer petal and a yellow frilled center) is also open, tempting my daughter to pick them.
The warming weather enables beautiful bulbs to emerge and flower, but also brings many fun-filled days of duties this coming month. We have many things to build, prepare, plant, transplant, and tend to. Many of our seedlings (several varieties of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and flowers) are happily growing in the greenhouse and well on their way to transplanting. In fact, our first vegetables (cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, peas and onions) are already in the ground. Although, I must admit that they aren’t all in the ground yet. We have so many more seedlings growing than bed space available. This will necessitate that more beds be dug.
The first of our fruit trees (a Pixie Crunch apple and a Sundance apple) and shrubs (a Gogi berry, two varieties of honey berry, and a butterfly bush) we ordered arrived and were planted the day before yesterday (March 26). These will require a little extra-tender love and care while they get established.
Additionally there is the matter of our livestock. We will receive our first baby chicks (Golden Laced Wyandottes) this month. They are due to arrive April 28. Although the farm in its earlier days has seen many baby chicks, it has been a very long time since any were here. And because of the poor condition of the former coop we actually tore down the structure last summer. We haven’t built another one yet, so I guess it just became obvious what one of our major building projects is in the next couple of weeks. The coop site has been picked (although the new building will be moveable), plans have been drawn and we have started gathering the material; so, the construction will hopefully occur soon and go smoothly. We are excited and expectant about our chicks’ arrival. We have timed their delivery to coincide with the celebration of our daughter’s birthday. Another project, more of a repair type, is the bee hives we purchased from a local farmer. Though in decent shape overall, several key hive components need attention to prepare them before the bees are delivered in May.
The beginning of our harvest season also begins this month with nettles, dandelions and morel hunting—oh what fun! (more on this later). We harvest wild nettles to make a soup we were introduced to by a Russian friend of mine. I may include the recipe at some point. Though we made several batches of wine last summer from other sources, we have not tried our hands at dandelion wine yet. I am hoping to be able to make a batch and put it away to age throughout the summer. My hope is this way there will still be some left after the delivery of our second child, so that I may have the opportunity to partake with others.
And then there are the projects which occur inside on the rainy spring days, which seem to be too numerous in the spring for my liking. Let’s see....finishing a closet, sprucing up my germination closet (which I love and for which I am very thankful), addressing some electrical needs, and completing the installation of a pocket door on the laundry room. Sounds like a bunch, but I’m excited about all that is going on at the farm!

Flowers and Veggies

Zinnia Purple Benary Giant

planting between raindrops

beginnings