Preparing for Springtime on the Homestead

So within the course of the next two weeks or so the following will occur:

1. Starsign will be delivering the first of the boer-alpine cross spring babies. She might have two in there, but she's looking more deep than wide. There is a possibility that Birdie (our herd queen) could deliver too - she looks supremely wide but we're not sure if the breeding took place the first time and the second heat was false or not.
2. New chicks! Seth Eads from Snoozin' Goose Ranch is setting some mixed breed chicken eggs and we'll be getting some from him and some chicks from Rural King too. We're also going to be getting some of what Ohiofarmgirl terms "Creepy Meats"
3. Peas. We need to plant peas. The old farmer's say to plant peas on March 17 snow or rain or shine. This coincidentally is when Star is due and four days before the chicks get here.

So I've been spending my time doing small projects. I recently knitted a goat coat from this link and it's cute. We're putting together a birthing kit now.

Shoveling out raised beds and shoveling manure into them. Our pea bed is spaded and looking good and well fertilized with quail poop. The carrot bed has been fertilized as well. Due to the rather clayish nature of our soil certain crops absolutely HAVE to be placed in raised beds. Any root vegetable for instance. Most crops will do better in the raised beds in general.

There are however, some that do just fine wherever thank you very much. There is STILL family legend going on on the subject of the year my mother planted SIXTEEN hills of zucchini. Yes, SIXTEEN. Dad claims that people at church were locking their car doors to prevent the onslaught. No raised beds on those.

We also have pumpkins that came up volunteer this year. We did well enough with them that if we actually cultivate and take care of them? Probably have pumpkins coming out our ears!

Other than that, it's just the same routine until time two weeks from now when everything is going to go NUTS NUTS NUTS!!!!