The Storm!

Little did I know when I wrote that last post that there actually would be a storm! My parents came to visit this weekend and we woke up to this:

It's almost March! I was definitely not expecting a snowstorm.

None of the animals (except for the dogs) seem happy about this. On the left is the collapsed netting on the chicken coop. The chickens don't care because they don't want to even leave the coop.

Thomas and Zeb aren't stepping out, either. 

Abby and Ryan think the farm is even better covered with snow!

So did we...until day 2 of clearing snow off the greenhouse. What a workout...

Zoey is also tired of the snow.

Wait, what!??

Yup, that's our new puppy. It took us a few days to name her but Zoey suits her perfectly.

Zoey and her sister and two brothers were found in an abandoned car on a reserve at 6 weeks, with no mom to be found. That can make for some pretty timid puppies...but Zoey is great so far! She loves people and is a confident and happy. She is respecting Abby and Ryan's "go away puppy" signals (except for ignoring Abby this morning and jumping into her bed to cuddle with her...the look on Abby's face was sheer disbelief). She's a Border Collie cross mystery...we will see what she grows up to look like! 

She's completely different than Ryan was as a puppy (I got Abby when she was already 9 months). She's playful like he was and loves to tug, but she also climbs into your lap to cuddle and fall asleep whereas he would only turn off if I stuck him in his crate. She also races outside through the deep snow on her own to pee and poop and then back in over the steps...Ryan took about 3 weeks to do a step on his own....

Some more photos...

The Calm

It feels like this is the calm before the storm...we have things under control..for now! Once spring hits I don't think we'll feel  like things are under control anymore. 

 We've planted a bunch of seedlings (kale, onions, leeks, lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) and the brooder and tractor are ready for the broilers. The pig area is pretty much figured out - Nathan build them some feeders and we'll use electric line to contain them. We're still collecting all the manure and bedding that we can to cover the orchard with as much compost as possible. Since we won't be able to use newspaper or cardboard to keep weeds down, we're wondering whether the layer or compost will be enough or whether we have to look into some kind of plastic covering, as well. 

Ryan has been seriously obsessed with rat and mouse hunting. The rats have nested under a bunch of the trees in the orchard and eaten away at their roots to the point of the trees falling over! 

The goats are *so naughty*. Now that they sleep with the sheep at night, they aren't scared of them anymore. Yesterday May climbed through the fence to join the ewes and started playing a game of 'head but' with Oprah. When Oprah walked away to lie in the sun, May followed her and started bouncing off of her! I wish I had gotten a video.

They also try to eat Misha's grain every morning. I thought i outsmarted them this morning by lifting the trough and shoving it through the fence...

But no...

Seriously, Goats

You can stop with the cuteness, now. I mean, come on...

I was trimming May's hooves and she fell asleep (snoring) in my lap! I wasn't even holding her and I just kept trimming as she slept. After she woke up, the same thing happened with Maggie.

It makes up for the fact that they head butted poor Ryan this morning and then pushed their way into the barn house behind me and almost ate our new arugula seedlings.

Little Molly is pretty cute, too.

Meghan had her calf, Mac, yesterday. Apparently they're pretty much identical. I hope they come back here soon!

It has been incredibly cold here for the past few days - yesterday the high was -4 degrees. All of the animals find the sunny patches to lie in during the day. We put a heat lamp in the barn in case Amelia pops her lamb(s) out early. Last year, she was apparently bred (by Thomas) earlier than intended through the fence...we're wondering if the same thing happened this year. 

Abby loves her new nest bed. She's barely moved from it since we got it!

Spring not Spring

I was going to say that it was starting to feel like spring...until we woke up to snow this morning!

The first seedlings are planted - arugula is first to sprout again! Broccoli and kale aren't far behind.

The grass is starting to grow again and the sheep were happy to be let out to graze in the orchard while I planted some garlic (they decided to pull it up at Nathan's work so we transplanted it here - we'll see if it grows after being so disturbed). 

That's one big future veggie patch...

Our compost pile is HOT! Hopefully that will kill any seeds in the hay and we'll end up with enough to spread thick on the orchard. 

We moved the ewes out to prepare for lambing next month. They need a substantial amount of grain every day now and Thomas is looking even more pregnant than they are with his extra snacking.

Amelia is huge! There must be twins in there...or triplets...

Neither goats nor sheep are impressed at the new shared living quarters.

Nathan's mushroom spawn arrived and he has it growing in sterilized hay and coffee grounds. Yay!...mushrooms....!

(I don't like cooked mushrooms, but I'm starting to eat them on pizza and in pasta. Maybe I'll love them by the time these oyster mushrooms grow).

We missed having the calf born here by just a few days! Meghan's calf had her calf at her owner's property yesterday. We're going to go visit today. I wish the calf had been born here...we shouldn't have helped with the trailer loading!