Rain....rain...and well, rain.

It rained yesterday......it is raining today.....and it is supposed to rain tomorrow.(Thursday) Friday looks OK but rain over the weekend, both days. I did get a chance to go mushroom hunting yesterday. I walked about 10 miles in 4 different wooded areas...for 3 hours. NOT ONE MUSHROOM! Frustrating!! Maybe after all of the rain...I will get another chance to go again. Work is going to be really busy over the next 3 weeks so I don't know if I will get a chance to go or not. I will be really sad if I don't get any Morels this year. My potato plants are just starting to peek through the mulch covering. YAY! It is such a good feeling to finally see something growing in one of the gardens. The strawberry plants are growing great, blooming like crazy! However, I have been battling a mole over by that garden. I WILL win this battle. Hopefully BEFORE it eats everything I plant. The cats seem to not be interested, or doing their job. So either I am over feeding them and they have become lazy....the rain is keeping them from hunting that area because it holds so much water..or this is one stealthy mole. I have never used Mole traps but this might just have to be the year I do. YUK! This morning I must head out to get the chores finished a bit early because I need to run in to work for a few hours. It is wet and foggy and quite cool out there, in the upper 50's. Time to get this " show on the road"

Whew! What a week....lets start THIS week off different!

Last Monday....was a " typical " day....to start out. Hubby got up and went out with a friend...to do a few little side jobs....mainly just to get him out of the house. He has been laid off work since December 2015 and has been in a slump trying to find a job. At his age, that is no easy task..he is 56. So, after he left, I set out to work on the little gosling pen. I was out there a few hours when I get a call from our friend. Hubby had a massive heart attack, and they were at the hospital. Luckily they were only 2 blocks away when he had it. The Doctor said if he had been 30 seconds longer, that they would not have been able to bring him back. They had to shock him twice to get a normal rhythm. We almost lost him. He is doing a LOT better....so today after I get the morning chores finished...make sure everyone outside has an ample supply of water, ( since it is going to be 85 degrees today) I am going to go take a LONG walk in the woods...and if I happen to find some Morels...well, that will make my day even BETTER! LOL Now, for the little Gosling pen. My big geese have a decent size yard so I decided to put the gosling pen in the goose yard. This way they can protect them from the " monsters" that want to eat them...and they can get to know each other as the littles grow. I had a volunteer come by and donate her time to help me with this. Peyton has helped me several times out here...she is a great young lady. I started with a small crate that I used to have call ducks in. This crate will need a bit more work, but it is sturdy enough for these babies.

Once my helper got here, we added rabbit fencing to the outside of the yard, covering the original "fence" and I had made the lid for the yard, covered with rabbit fence and added hinges. There is still some work to do to finish this little place...I want to add some metal roofing to the house, then paint the wood around the yard and the little house....I need to add rabbit fence to the little window and a latch to the window cover...and add large rocks around the outside perimeter. Once I am finished, it should be a fairly well protected place for the little goslings.

This morning after chores, I am going to load the lawn tractor up and take it to get work done. I hope this doesn't take too long. I really need to get this mower back soon! Once I get hubby back home and settled in...I am going to take some personal time and take a long walk in the woods....and hopefully find a few Morels. Or a LOT!

Finally Spring....Gardening...YES!

Today started with a trip to town. This trip to the feed mill was one of those you love once it is all put away...but dread putting it away. 15 ` 50 pound bags of feed...all put up before noon. I am so glad THAT is done. Now I wont have to worry about feed for at least a month....well, for the most part anyways. I might have to grab 6 or 8 more, for the pigs. From looking at the weather future cast...I think...dare I say it?? Spring is FINALLY here. Temperatures in the 70's and 80's for highs, and the lowest is tonight at 48 and after that, lows in the 50's. Yes, I think Spring has sprung! We worked outside most of the afternoon and was able to get quite a bit done today. I am hot, sweaty, sore, tired....and I am LOVING IT! This makes me happy.......

This little apple tree should produce quite well this year. It is going to be the best year yet with it....I hope. But, this next picture makes me even happier!

Do you see it!?? There is a honey bee getting itself some yummy apple pollen...and doing what bee's do for fruit trees. Last week I was able to get about 20 pounds of seed potato's planted....today the hubs and I moved 4 loads of mulchy type stuff, clean out from the barn over the winter, on the potato rows after I watered them.

This will help keep them moist, and keep the weeds down. I also planted the onions today.....3 dozen of "Kandy Sweet"

I planted these last year, and boy oh boy, they ARE sweet onions. We really enjoyed them. Hubby tried to till the area for the beets....still too wet. I think maybe by Monday it will be dry enough. I then concentrated on the strawberry patch. I have been saving the cardboard for a few months now so I took it out and laid it between the rows and up to the plants...then covered it with the same stuff from the barn. I only had enough energy to do about half of 2 rows. Tomorrow I will get busy early..and HOPE to get it finished. The strawberries are blooming like mad, so I need to finish this soon!

Oh, and this is on one of my Peach trees. I am not sure what it is but I am leaving it alone. I don't think it will harm the tree...just some critter cocoon...

So, tomorrow there will be more of moving barn mulch....and planting the rhubarb plant I bought. I am hoping in about 3 years, I will have some yummy rhubarb for baking with. So, what is your weather like? Are you able to get into the garden?

Oh for crying out loud!

I wish there was a "magical" switch someone could flip on so Spring would just warm up already! We have had a few nice days....warm enough that the garlic is starting to come up...the strawberries are blooming...the peach trees and apple trees are blooming...and now..UGH! The weatherman said we will have several days coming up that we will wake up in the mid to upper 20's. I had to cover the little peach trees the other day....I was lucky that the winds were not too strong. I was worried that they might break branches with the weight of the sheets. Whew! So, now that they are in full bloom...looks like we are going to get a few more days of hard freeze. Where is that switch?? I NEED to get planting in the garden. I say " need" because I NEED fresh greens and such. Oh, I could go buy veggies at the grocer....however with all of the recent recalls I fear the "fresh" veggie isle. But I crave fresh greens. COME ON SUMMER!!

Shearing a sheep....vet trip....and a super windy day!

Shearing sheep is one of my LEAST favorite tasks here at Heavens Door Acres. Luckily, I only have one Ewe to shear every spring. Her name is Laura. She is the last Shetland Sheep we will ever own. Not because I don't like them. On the contrary. I just LOVE the Shetland breed. They are small, easy to manage and have wonderful personalities. However, I am just getting to old to be shearing sheep. I don't have electric shears, nor do I have electric out at the barn....yet, so I have to shear her by hand. April 1st, was shearing day. One of my neighbors volunteered to help so I took her up on it. I am sure she will never offer again, after the long day we had on the cold floor of the barn, for 4 hours! *sigh* The scissors I had were not the best...so it took way too long. Poor Laura suffered through, she behaved so well. Because it was taking so long, we didn't get to trim her up and make her look "good" so she is looking pretty rough for now. I will have to give her a week, then get her down and finish the trimming. Here are the before and after pictures. Don't laugh...Here she is in all her glory....

And poor Laura after we "finished" shearing....

My poor Laura...but at least she feels better. Today I had to take my big boy, Caesar, to the vet to be weighed so I could get his flea pills. He is a big boy... 74 pounds....and very protective. He has a mean bark that makes some peoples blood run cold. However....he is terrified of riding in my truck..this is how he rode to the vet and home...

Yes...my big farm dog rode all scrunched up in the floor board of my S-10. I tried to get him to ride in the seat next to me, he would not come out of the floor board. I stopped on the way home to get him a hamburger as a treat for being so good at the vet. He was so scared he would NOT eat his hamburger in the truck. Only after we got home, and he got out of the truck, did he want his treat. *sigh* Today the winds were crazy!! There was a constant wind of 20 - 30 mph with gusts of up to 60 mph! There are several reports of power outages and downed trees. We have a lot of branches down...and my poor old barn really took a beating. Looks like I will have to call the insurance company tomorrow.

With the one piece missing, the hay inside is exposed. Luckily I had a large cardboard box and was able to get the hay covered. It didn't cover all 70 bales....but at least that corner is mostly covered. I am hoping I can get it fixed before we get too much more rain. Now the weather man is saying we are supposed to get a few nights of FREEZING temps. I really am ready for this cold weather to be gone, ready to get in the garden and to have fresh vegetables!

Sending off March....with a BANG.

Today....30 March 2016...The weather is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL. 74 degrees however, the storms are coming. Yes...Tomorrow evening there are threats of severe weather. Today however will be a great day to get out there and get a few more things done...things that will make my daily chores a bit more simple. For one...the small chicken coop. There are 4 separate "coops" in one building. This helps keep the breeds separate as well as all of the "extra roosters" As it is right now, each "coop" has a typical swing out door to their yards. These little doors are about 2 1/2 ft tall...and NOT very easy to open in the winter when there is snow on the ground. In the evening when I go in to close them all up, it never fails that a rooster or 2 will run outside....forcing me to clamber my way through that tiny door to chase them back inside. I am getting to the point where this is almost impossible for me to do. My plan is to remove all of the doors and make them "lift style" doors that I can control from the inside with a rope. I will then have to go in the coop area to latch it closed. This will make closing the coop much easier...and it will be safer for the Bantam chickens. Yes, I believe I will work on this today. The sooner the better. I also need to build a grow out pen that I can put the Bantam momma's with their little hatch-lings, until I am confident that the wee ones will be safe around the others. It will be a pen within the pen, with a yard within the yard. This needs to be finished soon since I already have a mother hen with 6 wee ones, ready to be moved from the raised brooder, soon! Daisy is growing with leaps and bounds. Her personality is that of a ornery preteen. Every few days, I will put her lead on and walk her around the pasture. Just a few laps to teach her to lead, and behave on the lead. She is really coming along with this. Her little stubborn stops, where she puts the brakes on and refuses to move, are becoming fewer and fewer. However, now when I am ready to turn her out we stop and I give her extra scratches and praise before I unhook her lead. Once I unhook her, I have to be careful to get out of her way quickly. She will take off running, kicking up her heals, tail up in the air. Her obvious joy in being turned out could end with me on the ground, wincing in pain. I am pretty sure she will outgrow this....I just hope it is soon.

I am also hoping to get the potato's in the ground today. I only have about 20 pounds of seed potato's, but if I plant them properly and keep up with the weeding and adding soil....we should get quite a few to at least get us through most of this next winter. Every growing season I try to add something "new to us" in the gardens. This year I would LOVE to plant a raised bed of Asparagus. Since my husband is not a fan of Asparagus, I will not need to plant a large area. First I will need to build the raised bed. I've only a few more days off from work so I need to get busy, making sure to utilize every bit of good weather I can. As I sit here this morning, with my cup of coffee, waiting on the sun to come up, I plot out my day. Springtime is a very busy time on the homestead. Planting, clearing, and repairs from the long winter. I have to remember to stop...and take in the beauty of Spring. Oh, and I was just reminded of another of my favorite things about Spring....Morel Mushroom season. Yep, It is just about time to go on a little "treasure" hunt. I am excited!

March' ing on...

OK, so maybe that title was a bad way to say.... " March is passing quickly" It is hard to believe it is already the 23rd of the month! Today was a beautiful day, weather wise. Most of the mud has had a chance to dry up...or, firm up at least, since we have had a few super windy days. This morning after I finished the animal chores I dove right in on getting a few things crossed off of the list. I cleaned up one of the paddocks that I opened up for Daisy, Laura and Sissy. The grass in there is thick and getting pretty tall. There was a few pieces of roof metal laying by the fence, I moved it so they don't cut a leg or something on it. Then I came over to the house area..cleaned out the small flower bed by the bird house and planted my Moon vine seeds. I am hoping I didn't jump the gun on the seeds, but last year I was so late getting them in the ground that by the time they set flower buds and were just about ready to open up, we got a hard freeze. I didn't get to smell one flower from them. This year..I hope I do. After planting them...I grabbed the 3 little Grape Hyacinth that I bought the other day at Wal Mart for $1.00 each and got them planted under the Cedar tree by the front steps. They will get plenty sun there, and be safe from the mower and weed eater. ;) I then moved to the big garden area. One of the smaller raised beds that held carrots last year needed cleaned out. So I pulled weeds and turned the soil...then planted my garlic in there. That didn't take too long so decided to clean up the area that held the tomato's and Brussels sprouts last year. I was able to get about half of that finished before my back said.... " ENOUGH " I was finished outside for the day. Tomorrow we are supposed to get more rain..thunderstorms. If I can beat the rain, I want to plant the 3 pots of Mums from last year, over by the goose house. I hope they didn't get froze out through the winter. I believe they will really brighten up that area. IF I can't beat the rain, well, I guess I will work inside tomorrow. There is PLENTY that I need to get caught up on in here since working so much I have been just doing what was necessary to make it day to day. "Spring cleaning" needs to be done...I might just start with washing all of the curtains. This year, Spring cleaning means throwing out the old, unused "stuff" Hauling it to St. Vincent DePauls. I should be able to fill my little truck at least 3 times by the time I am finished. I am looking forward to opening the windows and letting in the fresh air.