With the warmer weather we have been having, my thoughts turn to spring.
I am wondering if this year I will be able to get into the garden earlier than last, or will I have to wait until June.
Even without the warmer weather, my thoughts would probably still turn to spring. There is only so much winter a Canadian can take, even if they live in the Yukon.
With every passing day, we do get closer to spring and there are signs starting to show. Like the hillside behind us. Areas of it have no snow on them anymore. And soon, even before all of the snow is gone, there will be crocuses.
Crocuses seem to be one of the few hardy flowers that don’t mind the cold and wet of spring.
So imagine my surprise when another sign of spring showed up unexpectedly. One of my geese laid an egg this week. In my excitement, I wanted to tell the world, so I put it on my Facebook status.
And, well, the response was less than overwhelming. In fact, my sister-in-law thought I had hit my head because I said, “I had just got a goose egg”.
To date, we have gotten three eggs. I am hoping that the goose will eventually want to brood
her eggs and raise some goslings. But time will tell. By the time a gosling hatches it should be warm outside, so waiting isn’t such a bad thing.
Lately, I have been opening the big front door of the barn for the chickens. They don’t like to go outside when there is snow on the ground, so this way they get some sun.
They also like to scratch around in the pen that is there. For the first part of the winter, we had pigs in that pen. While the pigs were there, they did us a favour: pigs naturally like to dig, and so while they were in this pen they turned the manure so much that it composted and now it is perfect for the garden.
It doesn’t even smell like manure anymore.
The chickens love to go there and scratch around. They also like to dust bathe in it. For a chicken, a dust bath is equivalent to relaxing in a hot tub. Especially when the sun is shining on them.
Some of the snow has melted from in front of the barn and this provides new areas for the chickens to explore.
With the lengthening days, I find myself needing new places to explore as well. In fact, a few weeks ago, I plowed the road to the garden, just because I could (and it was fun). Once plowed, the snow hardens and makes a great walking path.
So, on wonderful sunny days I can stay on the beaten track and still do some exploring and dreaming of spring.
