Saturday, April 23, 2011

Farm and Garden Report - April 23

Just after I wrote the last report, I heard all kinds of commotion out in the pasture. Michael had come up to visit, and was down at Matt and Margaret's when his dog Charlie, a Corgi/Yellow Lab mix scrambled under the electric fence and ran lickity-split up the hill, chasing various sheep and goats as he went along. Actually, it was more of a herding than a chasing, kind of nipping at their heels. I looked up Corgis and they are indeed herding dogs. Tom managed to get the farm animals into the barn and the doors shut, with no harm done. I was reminded of a little over a year ago when Lexi did the same thing. The charge isn't very strong this time of year because the fence needs repair.

The garlic and chives are coming up in the garden, and the chives are ready to eat.

Indoors under the lights, the leeks are thriving, and we just this week planted eight pots of tomatoes.

The woodcock has returned. I think it waited to come back until the snow patches were gone.

Daffodils are up maybe five inches with a hint of yellow buds.

The daylilies are up all over the garden.


One afternoon last week I sat out on the patio reading, and the air was filled with birdsong. There were four wild turkeys eating cracked corn under the feeders on my left, while on my right a little chipmunk had just traveled under our terrace and popped up in last year's leaves in the flower garden. I sat very, very still and watched it run over to the feeders after the turkeys had departed, joining another chipmunk, red squirrels, mourning doves, juncos, and chickadees.

On April 17, the pasture water came back. More about that source here.

Tom saw one bluebird.

For the most part, this has been a pretty usual April. Wind - steady and gusty; snow flurries - a little accumulation that melted the next day; rain - often mixed with sleet; and a little sun. Not much warmth this year but I'll take it. Last April was way too hot for me, and the ticks were out early in the month. Haven't seen one this year, so far.
In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.
Mark Twain

15 comments:

  1. I'd love to sit out on that patio with you, blinking at the sun, and watching the world.

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  2. Every time our daffodils come up, the bunnies gnaw them to bits. We have a veritable Bunny Buffet in our yard! I'm glad you're more successful. Happy Easter, Nan. He is Risen! (And, I very much like your single column format.)

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  3. A Corgi/Lab mix. THAT would be interesting. Yes...Corgs are herders. I have 5. We have no sheep or cattle. So they make do with the horses. And the cats. Who could care less. And can't be bothered by these 4-legged barking things. Glad the charge on the fence was low. And no-one got zapped.

    The whipporwill has returned here. She/he whip--or--wills all nite. Drives us nutz!

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  4. I so wish it would warm up and stay that way for a little while. It's been raining here for days. Today was actually very pretty and I sat outside with the dogs for about 4 hours.

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  5. Our daffodils have almost all gone; the lilac is in full bloom and will turn "rusty" in maye another week or so, and the cherry tree in front of my kitchen window has shed all its lovely white blossoms.
    All of this week, we've had sun and warmth, but it is bound to cool down over the course of next week.
    I had no idea you have red squirrels - I always thought there are only the grey ones in the US! We have only the red ones over here.
    Happy Easter to you and your family!

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  6. Good to hear that your spring is moving right along. We are in monsoon season right now.

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  7. Donna - Avon Musings....April 24, 2011 at 8:27:00 AM EDT

    Hi Nan: I love reading your farm reports. The weather here has been cold and wet. Every day for the last two weeks we have had snow or on the odd occasion, rain. In fact, yesterday morning we awoke to find more snow. I agree that last April was far too warm, but I just wish the sun would come out once every so often so I could go out with my camera and photograph some of the budding spring flowers. Happy
    Easter Nan.

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  8. I love your farm & garden reports! I'm glad the ticks aren't bad yet. I just remembered (yesterday) to put Frontline on Annie-dog!

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  9. It is a lovely place to be, Colleen.

    Thanks, Ernestine. The sky has looked like that for quite a few days. :<) Sunny today, though.

    Bellezza, I keep reading about people with rabbit trouble. I guess we have enough land so they don't bother with the garden. Once in a while we see one nibbling on grass in the evening and I am reminded of 'silflay' in Watership Down. I am exceedingly fond of rabbits, and would probably give them my flowers. :<) Thanks for the words about the single column. I'm quite happy with it. I'm sure your Easter was very wonderful.

    Tracey, they are adorable dogs. We have a great fence charger that is intermittent so that even if one gets shocked it isn't horrible. And how I envy your whippoorwill. They were here when we first arrived 30 years ago, but we haven't heard them for probably 28 years. I don't know if we changed their habitat somehow but we sure miss them. I wouldn't mind being driven crazy. :<)

    Staci, and what pray tell were you reading for four hours?! What a good long stretch.

    Librarian, I can't imagine how information like that gets around the world. In our area, the town squirrels are gray and the country squirrels are red. Why? I have no idea. I read an English novel once in which the man was an advocate for bringing the reds back to England which made me think they aren't common there? And now you have only red ones. I must spend some time studying this subject. Fascinating!

    Lisa, ah, weather!

    Donna, pretty much the same here. We didn't get a big snowfall recently but it did land. We've had it in May before. Not the spring the poets write about, is it?! Except for Robert Frost, of course.

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  10. Les, does it really work? Mostly we just take them off, and when I miss one, I sometimes see it, swollen and walking around. Totally the grossest thing ever. I hate them.

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  11. Nan, glad you had a nice Easter despite the chocolate caper!!

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  12. I really love these reports Nan! For me (the way we live now) it is like reading a very good book about another beautiful place and time! Thank you for sharing your sense of joy and peace.

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  13. Oh, Sallie, how very, very kind of you to say this. Thank you.

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