Albino

We have been doing lots of work but nothing that makes a big impact.  Chris has spent the last couple of weeks preparing for the bees.  He built some heavy duty hive stands and we installed them at Watermark Woods last weekend.  Chris worked in the woods clearing brush and other things.  I spent quite a bit of time in the garden cleaning things ups and getting ready for more planting.

The lettuces have poked their heads thru the soil and I am having dreams of fresh salad.  This past weekend brought a chance of snow, but we saw very little of that, however it was quite chilly so we stayed home.

We did have the good fortune to capture the resident albino deer in the game camera. 

Welcome Spring!!

What a fantastic weekend!  Saturday we spent the entire day cleaning up the yard at home and Sunday we spent the day at Watermark Woods.  We replaced one of the chainsaws and the gas hedger so we were anxious to get to work!

Chris cleared some brush around the deer stand.  We really like that area because it is right along the creek and it would make such a pretty picnic spot someday.  As we were standing along the edge of the creek admiring the water flow,  Chris noticed green handlebars across the creek.  We discovered it was a lawn mower.  That is just so typical of the things we find.  It was as if it quit working so they just left it where it was.

Jackson and I worked the garden.  We got 6 of the 12 beds turned over and ready for planting and we dug rows for corn at the rear of the garden.  Then we planted peas, limas, and fava beans.  We also dug outside the garden fence and planted a row of flowers.  Jackson scoped out a great spot in the woods and we planted mushroom spores.  Unfortunately none of the native herbs we planted last fall survived.  Next week is the native plant sale so maybe we can stock up and re-plant. 

Chris also hung some blue bird boxes by the garden.  On our way out we fixed the front gate and we were able to lock things up as we left.  Hopefully we have seen the last of those pesky thieves.

Below are some photos from our new deer camera.

Sorry for the lapse in postings.....

So much has been going on that I just don't want to post all the bad stuff so I'll start with the good stuff. 

Beekeeping class is going well and all four of us are enjoying it.  Our hives were delivered last week and the bees should be here in April or May.  Chris, Jackson and Cooper spent all of last weekend assembling and painting the equipment.  We all look so cute in our beekeeping costumes. 

We sold the tractor,  what a load off! We got almost what we paid for it so we are really pleased.  Now we can keep our eyes peeled for a smaller, newer model.  This time 4-WD will be a must!

All the seeds arrived for the garden this year.  I hope to plant lettuce this weekend and peas and beans next weekend.  We are supposed to have great weather both Saturday and Sunday so it will be a great weekend to work.

We put up the game camera(thanks Jim and Marie) and got a few shots of deer and a nice photo of four humans walking away! 

We are also working on getting certified as an Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary.  Wouldn't that be a cool thing?!

I am so glad I listed the good stuff first,  because now I realize there is more good than bad ;)

It has been really crummy weather and lots of rain on the weekends.  So we have not been out there as much as we'd like and the progress is slow.  After getting so much done in the fall it is a little depressing to have such little progress now.

Two weeks ago we were out for a hike and realized someone had gotten into our shed.  The took all our nice Stihl chainsaws, Stihl gas hedge trimmer, and loads of tools.  That was a big blow for us, both financially and mentally.  It is hard to think of some crook on our land and going thru our stuff.  There is so much more they could have taken so we are lucky, and we have insurance. 

Hopefully, over the next few weeks we will have a renewed energy and get lots accomplished.