Again O Wise One and I have sat around all winter and watched it snow, and snow and snow. Every year we say we are going to walk on the treadmill more. Exercise more so that spring doesn't hit us so hard. And every year we don't do it. The last three days have been beautiful. The birds singing, the flowers blooming and the work was waiting to be done. So we donned our gloves and I scooped all the poo and old straw bedding from the chicken house. And layered it with last years cornstalks O Wise One had cut from the field. In about 2 years that should be some good compost. Chicken poo we usually compost atleast 2 years if not it will burn the plants. Then I raked the straw mulch from last year from the garden and applied compost so O Wise One could disk it into the soil. We are constantly feeding our soil. Compost, rabbit poop, goat poop, more compost!
Below old straw mulch, and finished compost to side dress new plants as they are set out in the garden. And the far pile cornstalks and chicken poo and straw and leaves to compost down.
Once compost was applied directly to the garden it was disked in.
While I mowed grass for the first time this season!
Leaves were raked off the asparagus bed and composted. The fence on either side is to keep the deer out. It is not wide enough for them to be able to jump in it. They can reach in and get the tops once they get so high but are unable to get the tender new asparagus shoots that they love.
We hang soap off the fruit tree branches. Deer love to hit the crabapple, apple, peach and plum trees when they are budding out after those new green buds. Soap helps some as it puts the scent of man on the tree.
If not this is what happens. You can see where they grab the lower limbs and twist them.
Seed potatoes were cut and we did get a row and a half of potatoes planted and a row of onions.
About 12:30 Friday afternoon O Wise One and I were standing in the middle of the garden planting onions when the radio in the truck announced severe weather warnings. 80 mile an hour winds and heavy thunderstorms less than 20 miles from where we were standing. So the gardening was abandoned and we scrambled to close cold frames and batten down the hatches. We have seen too many tornadoes here to play with this kind of weather. Tomorrow is another day. So we gathered our tools and sought shelter in the house to nurse our blisters and sore backs. We watched it rain and reminded one another about our promise to exercise more in the winter so we wouldn't be so sore in the spring. Afternoon naps are in order all around. Tomorrow is indeed another day : )
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
I am glad that we are not the only crazy souls that try to kill ourselves each and every spring! I am saying this while I am sitting here only briefly taking a respite from the "Other house" where we have been working on the yard since sun up today. We came to this house to bring back the dump truck and shower for some quick muscle relief and grab dinner out on the way back, bed down and hit it again at sunrise tomorrow morning. A bad way to spend Easter Sunday but we don't have many days together to get this work finished. So I do know where you are coming from my friend!!
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter to my friends in the holler!!
It looks like you have made good progress on the garden! I've had so much work around the barn with remodeling, fixing stuff, and working with the goats that my usual spring time sore muscles didn't happen this spring. I've stayed pretty active this winter. But, that also means that I didn't get a winter break before the really busy time of the summer season!
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