It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade. – Charles Dickens
I am sure you have heard of the saying “In like a lion, out like a lamb”. March begins with the tailings of the winter months and leads us into what will become the months of spring. It’s the transitional period from those short, cold and snowy days into the sunny, warmth on the breeze and sunlight into the evenings kind of days of spring. It’s what I like to call, the in-between month. Because let’s be honest, most days in March aren’t sure if they’re winter or spring.
February had left us with a tease of warm weather, peeks of grass and lots of sunshine. Just enough so to awaken that spring fever hiding deep within. We have found ourselves into the second week of March with two new feet of snow on the ground and temperatures dipping below -20 degrees Celsius. Despite the chill in the air and the unwanted snowfall, I have hopes of spring as the pussywillows out back of our place start to bloom. Pussywillows are a definite sign of spring!
In an attempt to keep spirits bright around the farm, we decided on starting some of our
Spring garden planting indoors. If Mother Nature plays fair this year, we will be on track for what may just be the best garden we’ve had yet! We had dug soil from the garden during a bit of a thaw we had and had it drying out in our heated “Chicken Shed”. We brought in trays and containers from last year and filled them with a mixture of soil and peat moss. So far we have planted our bell peppers, brussel sprouts, giant pumpkins and so many onions I’m not even sure what we’ll do with them all if they all sprout! During the next month we will work on getting our tomato seeds planted indoors along with our melons, cabbage and perhaps a few flower varieties as well.
I was lucky enough to have Dan home from work early one day last week and so we took the opportunity to drive back to the back of our property to check on cameras and fences. I always say we should spend more time out there because once you are back there you don’t want to come back to real life. It is so serene and peaceful out back, where the snow lays untouched except for animal tracks and birds prints. What a surprise it was for us to find big moose tracks scattered around the paths. It was so much fun loading the photos from the trail cams onto the computer and finding out that just that morning we had had a beautiful cow moose pass through. I love all the things we get to see on our trail cams out back!
The animals must be feeling the change in the seasons as well. Our egg production from the ladies has certainly taken off and we are seeing more and more eggs each week. The best day we had this week was a 10 egg day, yes you heard right, TEN EGGS! Who would have thought that the most exciting part of my week would one day end up being counting ten eggs in one day in the chicken coop. Let me tell you, I really do believe that owning chickens becomes somewhat of an addiction. We are already talking about and planning for the little baby chicks we will soon be buying!
Our donkey boys are feeling spry and sure are looking forward to the new pen they’ll be getting once the ground thaws enough to pound in fence posts. They are quite the characters and are always brightening my days with their antics. And we mustn’t forget about the three little pigs! They are quite the hams too. Always meeting us at the gate for feeding time and snorting away until their food is in their dishes. We are starting to have a real barn yard feel here. When you walk out the door for chores George the rooster starts the chorus with his cock-a-doodle-doos, followed shortly there after by snorting pigs and finally finishing off with the hee-haws of the donkeys. It makes my heart so happy to hear our farm choir sing!
I brewed my first batch of my own home made Kombucha. If you haven’t heard of Kombucha, it is a fermented tea that you make using black tea, sugar and ferment with a scobey. A scobey is a weird living organism that breaks down the tea and sugars and creates a carbonated, very slighlty alcoholic tea with many health benefits. Its very high in amino acids and vitams. The scobey reminds me of some kind of organ and I find it very interesting, as it grows and develops as you continue to brew your tea. My first batch was made with a maple vanilla black tea. The one fermenting now is a PomTango black tea. I can see this has already become a new habit!
I have been trying to finish up some knitting projects I had on the go, including the very first hat I knit. I used a yarn my mom gave me back when I first started knitting. I had been waiting on a fur pom pom I ordered in the mail to complete my project. And I must say for a first timer, I am so happy with how it turned out! I also had the opportunity to sign up for Fibershare 2017. You fill out a crafting survey about yourself and then get paired up with someone with whom you share fibers, yarn or tools for crafting with. I am so excited to see what I get out of this exchange and so excited I get to share my love with someone else who loves knitting!
Amidst the cold days I have still managed to get in some “Me” time while Dan settles into his new job. He has gone back to consulting and that means no more weekends for us together. It also means I have to fend for myself again! When you want a wood fire to curl up next to you quickly learn how to chop your own kindling. It’s also allowed me to catch up on some reading, new TV shows and sappy movies that require Kleenex boxes and no boys around.
March always brings with it too the memories of home as my home town of Listowel, Ontario starts into their Paddyfest celebrations. Each year for the two weeks leading up to St. Patrick’s Day there is a giant Irish festival held. This year will mark the 40th year of Paddyfest. There are arm wrestling competitions, card tournaments, concerts and fundraisers. Each year an Ambassador is named to represent Paddyfest and host and support different events. It was ten years ago that I was named the Paddyfest Ambassador for 2007. I still to this day do not know how I ever won, but it was such a great experience and such a fun filled day that taught me so much about myself and made me break out of my shell. So here’s to all those back home who will be celebrating this year, CHEERS!
I have this feeling that March is going to be a good month. With Dan starting out with his new job, with spring just around the corner and with so many things to look forward to this coming year, I am so ready for Spring to arrive and to deliver us into the Summer months. I am ready to kiss this winter goodbye, to start planting and gardening, putting in fences and watching our little farm grow and grow!
