Sometimes Things Get Done

Yesterday, was a productive day.  I went to Boxerwood for a load of leaf mulch and John and I covered the hugels.  Wow, they look good now.

And then I planted some clover and covered it with straw.  I also raked some stick weed and did a few other things in the barnyard.  Enough to realize that it would not take much time to do the rest of the things I need to do.

Today, I sat at the camp fair with a slideshow and pictures of last summer's fiber camps.   It was fun to put the slideshow together and see the concentration, the camaraderie, the characters.  At the fair, I talked to a few new people but mostly reconnected with parents of repeat campers to give out cards with this year's dates  an talk about how these kids are growing.  It is great to hear the things that the kids say about fiber camp.  And the parents too.  Some of the younger siblings are getting old enough to come and some of the oldsters are ready to be camp councilors.

Tomorrow,  it's back to farm work, rewarded by going out for dinner, another fine week.  

Cold Again

At 18 degrees with snow, everyone was looking for some protein to boost body warmth.  At times their were almost a dozen little birds sharing breakfast with the big birds.  The chickens wanted breakfast in their coop.

The forecast of 4-7 inches ended up fizzling out and we actually only got just over an inch of snow.    But it was cold.   With previous  nights in the 20s, Cirrus was able to keep the water open in his tub, but with night temperatures in the teens he can't keep up.  This morning Cirrus  particularly wanted my attention.  It seemed he wanted assurance that he was going to be able to swim again soon.  I told him that warmer weather was coming.  I will have to try to get some water in his tub or put some water on top of the ice in the puddle pond.  The sheep don't seem to mind the cold as long as I give them extra hay.  I may have to get a couple of bales of hay to last the season.  In February, it looked like Spring was coming and we were going to have plenty.

Yesterday, it never got warm so I spun some wool by the wood stove.  I want to spin up a lot before this year's shearing event which is going to be April 15th.  It would be nice to have some fun and funky home spun yard available.  O.K., I will make it a priority.  A good thing to do in the cold.

Eloise and Penelope Moved to Another Farm

With 7 or more eggs in the nest, it was time for a couple of the girls to move along.

 I think Eloise might have been a help last year in bringing up Prince and Penelope but can you imagine 5 geese in a flock with 2 or more new goslings.   So they are exploring a friend's place now.  She has chickens and occasional other birds.  They seem to have settled in nicely.  There may be another goose and a gander joining them soon.

This is Eloise with her dad last year.  

These are the 5 that used to give the sheep such a hard time.  It seems so much calmer around here now, with just 3.  Group dynamics.

And sweet little Penelope who is not so little anymore.

The move went pretty smoothly.  Laure came over at the end of the day last Friday with her big cage. The geese all went into their run for dinner and as they were eating, I picked up one and then the other and put them in the cage.  No big squawking, no charging, it sure made it easier for me.  We carried the cage and put it in the back of the car and stood talking for awhile with the girls just watching and listening and maybe wondering, but seemingly O.K. with it all.  Prince is staying here for now.   The next morning no one asked where Eloise and Penelope went and no one seemed to be looking for them.

Sal hasn't shown any interest is sitting on the eggs yet.  But she rearranges the nest most every day.  One day the straw will be piled high above the eggs and another day you can see one or two uncovered completely.  We are going to have three very cold nights this week, so it will be interesting to see if Sal sits on the eggs to keep them warm or just piles on more straw.   I asked Laure if the girls were nesting and she said one of them laid two eggs but didn't build a nest.  I have 3 eggs in my refrigerator to give her if they do start nesting.  Do you suppose they don't bother to build a nest if the eggs are not fertile?  If the gander comes soon we will see if it makes a difference.  Anyway, that is for L. to figure out, they don't live here anymore, but I do miss them.