Spring on the Farm 2015

Spring is in full swing on the farm. I took a few minutes today to walk a bit of the farm to check on our progress. I discovered lots of happy progress.

The grape leaves are still growing and we have lots of TINY grapes beginning to grow. Such a great relief as last year we didn't get any. They had been so overgrown we had to do a major pruning job - and as a result went a year without grapes. We should have lots of grape jelly and wine making going on this year!

The azaleas are in full bloom. Most others around are fading, but mine are just starting. They are quite overgrown, but I didn't want to prune until after they were done blooming. So they will get a haircut in a few weeks.

The blackberries are starting to flower! They are just at the beginning stages of flowering, so I expect they will be super pretty in a few more days. We just need a little more sun and some warm weather.

The peaches have a few fruit 'buds' on them. Considering how much the deer and/or sheep have enjoyed munching on these little trees, I will be surprised if we get anything we can eat. But I will be watching!

My potatoes have FINALLY started to pop up! I was worried we got them too deep and they would not sprout at all. This is the first time we planted them with the tractor. So, like everything else, we have done a bit of experimenting.

The birds are all growing quickly. All of our chicks arrived the end of March. About 125 new birds. The ducks are the fastest to get BIG. Which is normal. We will be keeping a few ducks on the farm this year in an attempt to get eggs.

The meat chicks are hitting their ugly stage. Gone is the cute downy yellow fluff.

The eggs layers are the oldest - and smallest of our 'new' birds. But they will be the prettiest. :) They should start laying late August/September.

The sheep are shedding like crazy. They are mangy looking creatures, but continue to be a joy to have on the farm.

We got a little more work done on the roadside stand. That is a slow process that we work on as time allows. We don't really need it done until mid June, so we are not in a rush.

We are trying hard to get the garden planted. It is a long process as I can only do so much squatting at a time. It is back intensive work. But the first round of all my veggies are now in! Hopefully I will finish the second round over the next week or so. We also need to get the corn and cotton in the ground.

PHEW. I'm tired.