No name

I don't know what to call this post--a lot going on this week!

G was away in Vancouver and Denver this week.  I still seem to be still dealing with that stupid sinus cold, but for the most part I'm having good days.  Or at least one good day, then more rest and just the basics the next.  Which at this time of year seems still a lot, when I'm not locking beasts up and getting inside until 8-8:30 pm.

Point form list of happenings:

We rented a four place snowmobile trailer so we could go to tractor supply store in WI to pick up 30 16' cattle panels.

And my recent Craigslist find--a 10' x 10' chicken pen for $20.  Needs a bit of repair work but it's worth several times that in just the hardware cloth alone.

During this fun daylong outing we stopped for lunch at our favourite Indian restaurant in St. Croix Falls.  We carried on the rest of the day with happy bellies and endorphins flowing from amazing spices.  

I am still having trouble downloading any photos from my camera, so phone pics will have to do for now.

Swale action.
The problem with free ranging chickens is that they eat all of your cover crop seeds and dig apart your carefully mounded soil. Oh well! Our pocket gopher is unimpressed with our presumption that we know about hydrology.  He had to redig tunnels and entrance holes, mostly in the swale. 

Cold grumpy Fern and Granny Rose.
Or maybe they are just sad I'm tearing out our herb spiral...
 Yes Miss Rose is still with us! Enjoying our last few weeks/months together very much.  She's a very funny hen, and she and Fern are getting along great.  Every time Fern makes a new friend she ends up losing them.

Captain Jack helping with herb spiral breakdown. The only perennials I saved out of it are three achillea plants.

The Flan crew working on the veggie garden expansion area. 

G is being overly critical at how fast this crew is breaking ground.  These are mostly our 'retiree' birds who have been with us for years.  They don't quite have the energy of birds constantly laying eggs. But they are still doing a good job! The weather just needs to improve a bit more.  Pepper has arthritis in her feet, which doesn't help. I will be bringing her in for laser treatment, which thankfully is only $17 per treatment. (but longer lasting and more therapeutic than pain killers). 

There's nothing she loves more than being out in the garden when G is there. She knows very well what a shovel and spade are for, and that worms rain from the sky all around her when G uses those tools.  

Crazy Myrtle, showing me where Orloff has been laying eggs...

Oakley's worst nightmare

Terrifying hen in the barn rafters

I sat down on the paddock chair and Prince came over and laid down beside me. It's nice to have such great company, otherwise this can be a pretty lonely job some days.

Almost 10 yards of free wood chips from the arborist who felled our ash trees!

Perfect stormy weather for digging and hauling wood chips and working up a sweat.

Brilliant lightning storm that night! My reward for hard work.

Getting ready for bees! Arrival date April 18.

My seeds from Ontario finally arrived! Getting started with a few, and some are ok with direct sowing after last frost.

Expecting thunderstorms again tonight.  We really really do need the rain....We've had a little bit but not enough to fill the swales and saturate the ground.  

I brought Fern to the vet yesterday for a treatment to shut down her ovary.  She looked like she was going back into lay, and since it almost killed her last time, it's the best decision to extend her life. 

Considering taking a farmscale permaculture course in Iowa in October!

http://www.versaland.com/workshops/farmscale-permaculture/

Some of our trees arrive tomorrow.  Some we can plant right away as we already have sites chosen and prepped.  Others will go into pots.  This year we are prepared! ISH.