Happenings!

So much is going on I haven't had a chance to blog lately. I'll try to catch up a bit:
With this warmer weather, the chickens are venturing far and wide. The 4 chix that reside in the loafing shed with the cows found their way to the patio and helped themselves to the sunflower stash meant for the wild birds.




It's SO, SO muddy! We spread straw on the paths to the coop and barn and on the driveway in front of the house to try to reduce the amount of mud tracking in. Nevertheless, it is a constant battle against tell-tale boot and dogprints on the wood floors.


A bunch of pie pumpkins forgotten in baskets in the barn froze over the winter, so I dumped them into the compost piles. The cows had a feast. "Wow! These things are juicy!"


The daytime temperature has been above 40F the past few days, which means the sap is supposed to start running. We tapped our two silver maples by the barn on Saturday. These two trees gave us about 120 gallons of sap last year. It must take a few days for the trees to get pumping - we didn't get any sap Saturday, but today we got about 4 gallons from each tree. It takes 60 gallons of silver maple sap to make 1 gallon of syrup - we have a ways to go!





The holes we drilled to tap the trees last year healed over with fresh bark.




Last night we attended the informational meeting for temporary vendors at the Rochester Downtown Farmers Market. There are a lot of new vendors this year -it's exciting to see the market thriving and growing. It's not long until May 1st, the first market of the season.


Today our SeedSavers order arrived! (minus the potatoes) It is hard to believe that in a few short months we will be harvesting a couple tons of vegetables from the contents of this little box!



A few of our future crops...



In just a couple hours I leave for my Guatemala trip (yes -it is crazy -we are catching the shuttle to the airport at 2:30 a.m.) I made the decision to go last December and now that it is here I am wondering what was I thinking- there is so much to do! I am excited about this adventure, though, and won't miss being here for the peak of the muddy season. I won't be posting on the Squash Blossom Farm blog for a couple weeks, but I have set up a Guatemala blog, if you are interested in following the trek: www.stovesforguatemala.blogspot.com.

Good luck, Rog and Sara-don't let those geese nip you, or the cows get out, or the dogs eat all the eggs!

Stack Cats

"Stack Cats" - a palindrome (palindrome: a phrase that is exactly the same read backward or forward) I came up with at 2 a.m. last night. I hate how sometimes the body can be exhausted but the obsessive puzzle part of the brain wants to play. Anyway, as a result, I give you a stack o' cat photos, starting with this one of Weasel, the formerly feral kitten, as she was crated up last Friday to go to the vet to be spayed.



The next day Weasel came home. Her absence seemed to be more traumatic for Orange than for Weasel. He curled up possessively around her as she rested and recovered.


Orange makes a great lion-like entrance sculpture. I wish we had two of him, one for either side of the front steps.



Shamu curls up with a good book.


Weasel snuggles up between Rog and Sara on the sofa. Hard to believe she was a spitting, hissing, frantic wild thing a few months ago!

A Walk Around the Neighborhood

Rog and I are determined to get back in shape after the long couch-potato winter. The warmer,springlike days have been inviting for walking the big loop - about 3 miles. First, a few glimpses of the restored prairie to our south.

Then, a few shots of a few of the picturesque neighborhood farms - and sweet young heifers from the dairy farm across the road.

I Heart MudPuddles

Sloppy signs of spring.

Bare ground showing through the snow in some places!

I'm not sure who is happier, the geese, or the people.

I am kind of jealous that many of my favorite farm blogs have posts about their adorable new baby lambs and goat kids...I'm writing about puddles.