The Chicken Mama

Springtime arrives!  I spend a few moments being grateful and then spring into action.  There’s work to be done!

The big upgrade this year was taking out the t-post fence and replacing it with something nicer.  This served two purposes – expanding the barnyard and blocking the view of the storage area behind the garage.  The posts went in a few months ago and we worked on the fence when it wasn’t snowing. Now we’ve got less grass to mow, more room for the animals, and when we do our evening happy hour watching “chicken TV” we don’t have to look at our junk anymore.  Win-win!

Since the goat shed was has been a work-in-progress since it started out as a screened-in sleeping porch (never screened, never slept in) the roof facia is wonky and even though I stare at it a lot I haven’t figured out the design solution yet.  But I did get the windows framed. Baby steps.

We created a new area outside the fence to plant some trees for shade in the barnyard.  It’s now defined and the sod removed.  Don’t know exactly what kind of trees we’ll plant.  Some will be fast growing, like aspen for instant gratification and then one will be something that will grow to be big and strong – probably long after we’ve left this land.

I showed you the hoop cold frame I made back in March.  I can report that it was a success! Well, the design worked, but I’ve been a total slacker on keeping up with successive plantings of the lettuces, kale, chard and herbs.  I’ve only done one in the middle row that’s just coming up.  As much as I like eating all those things, I’m not a fan of planting those little seeds every two weeks for the continual supply of greens I want.  Hmmm.  I guess I either need to man up and plant more or admit defeat and get my greens at the store.

The tomatoes are in, surrounded by the tomato cages I designed and made myself, thank you very much.  Last year everyone made fun of those itty bitty plants in those big ole cages – until September when the plants were flopping out the top.   I love these cages.  They’re strong, they fold flat for storage in the winter, and they support the plants really well.

Some jobs need to be done, but are painful, right?  We built the awning over the patio four years ago.  It’s on the west side of the house and we lived here for 20 years BAKING in the summer sun.  We cover the awning with shade cloth in the summer, then take it off for winter. Great for both seasons, but putting the cloth up and securing it is one horrid job.  Up and down two ladders about a million times.  Took us the better part of the day, but it’s up.

Best of all, I hung the new sign I made on the chicken coop.  Makes me happy every time I look at it!

How’s your spring going?  Are your projects driving you nuts or bringing you joy?

(Shared at Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Homestead Barn Hop, Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Down Home Blog Hop, HomeAcre Hop and Link Love Thursday!)