SPRING MIGRATION

“This is the beginning of spring migration,” said Mike Sunday morning as we packed for the farm. We didn’t take much really – just a little food to see us through this overnight stay, my sewing machine, our new wind catcher, and a few odds and ends. Our internet service is not yet connected, so I left my laptop behind. We trailered the 4-wheeler.

So, it wasn’t an interesting stay – not really. We worked. Here’s what I did:

·       Cleaned the refrigerator (one of my least favorite household chore)

·       Washed kitchen counters

·       Dismantled and stored the Christmas tree

·       Cleaned bathrooms

·       Helped clear yard of limbs and horse stuff

·       Put away laundry and other things

·       Made the bed

·       Picked rhubarb and made rhubarb cake

Strawberries plants look good

·       Changed the decorative lights in the kitchen window

·       Planted spinach

·       Weeded the strawberries

·       Transplanted a struggling rhubarb plant from the pond to the fenced area

And then I rewarded myself by spending some time in the sewing room. I pulled out my most vintage unfinished project and brought it back to town. More on that later – maybe.

And what did Mike do? Well, I’ll list part of it:

·       Tinkered with lawnmower and got it running

·       Mowed and trimmed (hours of work)

·       Checked fence at rim of canyon

·       Replaced old compost bin with new one

·       Burned two slash piles

Wind catcher in compound

·       Cleaned his new/used Bowflex machine in the barn gym – and then worked out

·       Assembled and installed his new wind catcher, a gift from Sister Harriet

Especially with the first trip, it feels like a puzzle of first things first, and naturally, we helped one another when needed.

"Watch now!"

Late Sunday afternoon, I walked Bess and Nellie up Plank’s Pitch and back to the house across June’s field. I don’t think any of us needed that walk, but the dogs were happy to go. Meanwhile Mike made a trip to the canyon edge to see if he could close the fence where the horses come through. Whatever – it evidently didn’t take because before bedtime, Bess was alerting us to their presence.

Bess & Nell side by side at the pond

“Bark – growl – bark bark bark,” states Bess vehemently. And then she continues, “. . .and furthermore, this place belongs to me and my folks. Go away and don’t come back. Bark!”

She said it at 9:00 and again at 11:00. And she said it at 2:00 (that’s when she gave the coyotes a piece of her mind) and again at 4:00.

Sunday at suppertime Mike said he’d had enough for one day, so we put off burning the slash piles until Monday morning. We only burned the two in the north field – and that kept us busy. We had wanted to have bonfires at Christmas, but the piles were covered with snow.

I took a tick off Nellie and a tick off Bess and two off myself. KW