Country Realities

It has been an incredible March break, but the last 3 days have been HOT!! and I mean HOT. The temperature on my deck every afternoon has been 35C. The weather people say 25C but my deck, because of the brick, for some reason is 10C higher in the afternoon sun.  I'm not kidding.  It makes for an interesting spring. One HUGE benefit is that most of the mud has dried up. 

The chickens and ducks are out. The grass is not as green as they would like it, but the bugs are coming out and they are busy pecking away at what they can, soaking up the amazing Vitamin D.

My seeds are beginning to sprout. So far I have garlic, peas, spinach, sweet peppers and celery planted. We will see how I do but that is it for now. I'm waiting for the tomatoes just in case the weather turns cold again. Today however, I actually brought my little seedlings back INSIDE so they didn't burn in the afternoon sun. How funny is that!


So keeping to reality, I thought I would show you that life is not all roses in the spring time on the farm. In fact, the to do lists are quite daunting.  Things would not be so bad if my husband was farming full time. (some day). There is only so much we can do in a day. I would do it all but frankly,  I have the kids and house and mom stuff to do on top. So It will get done when I get to it.

I stop reading some people's blogs sometimes when all I see is amazing pictures. I get discouraged at the gap between where I want to be and where I am, and what these people's lives 'look' like.  So for fun, I thought I would show you a little snap shot of the reality that is my life.... It will make you feel better about not sweeping your floor today.




I don't know if this picture does the pile justice....but this is the egg layer coop. It contains 4 months worth of poop mixed with carbon shavings.  It is composting underneath. That is a good thing, because I'm about to shovel in onto my gardens.   Want to know the problem?? 

It is about a foot and a half high now. And not quite done composting. So when I disturb the shavings a pungent amount of ammonia graces my nostrils.  But I need to clean it out like NOW, and move the pile somewhere else to finish composting.  1) because we need to get this coop mobile and onto the fields, and 2) because it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  I thought if I left it that is would just magically 'go away'.  That is not the case...just so you know.

The garden between my sunporch and my front deck. Remember in the fall when our water main burst and my husband had to dig up my driveway?  Well he also dug up my garden and this is the result. Pretty isn't it? It is a mixture of rocks, and really hard packed mud. I'm hoping my mother will rescue me/fix it for me when she gets back from Florida.

My tulips. I have yet to contain my chickens with a large perimeter fence to keep them front eating my tulips. They do it every year. All it takes is one to escape and make a bee line for the flowers.  Keeping them away has become this year's challenge.   Seriously....Get out of my flower beds!!! All I found were tomato cages. Not quite sure what they will do to keep them at bay, but I feel better trying SOMETHING.

Ah yes. This one is lovely.This would be the entrance to my kitchen. Notice the brick. It holds the heat so nicely that it is registering 38C on the window thermometer. Want to know the problem with that?
Notice the screen door, and the 'screen' that is rolled up with duck tape on it?? That is my attempt at fixing it.  Apparently it doesn't work.  The real problem with that?? The house flies come out of the brick for the first week of spring sun. In this heat, I have a feeling that a few generations have already hatched.  Oh.... and the rubber boots OUTSIDE my house is because all the poop is now thawed (lovely I know). And why is the cat food outside?? Because my barn cat had a worm sticking out of his butt.  Ah yes...country life.

What is with this last picture you say?  That is chicken poop on my deck. Because they like to escape their area and visit me. To torture me. With their poop. The flies love it. I don't.

So there you have it. My reality :)

Don't these pictures make you jealous ??? lol