*preparations under way

 Preparing has to take place in order to make ready. We have began to make ready our garden spots for the coming planting season!  We have been tilling, turning, building and getting excited about this season that is on our doorsteps.

Eric has been turning the well mulched garden spots so we can begin our planting in about one month.  We have decided to seed our garden about mid March, praying that no frost will set in after that date. Last year this time he was still in North Carolina, so he gets to be a part of the garden from the ground up this year.

This year we are adding two more hives to our property and instead of buying the hive boxes, bottom board and top boards, my talented beloved is building them.  We still have to purchase all the frames to go inside each  hive box or supra but we are still saving a considerable amount of money with him building them.  One of the hives will be a gift to Eric's mom and dad. They showed some interest in honey this past year, so as a Christmas gift to them, we are giving them a completed hive with two supra's, they will just populate it with the purchase of the bees.  The bees are starting to become active again which is exciting to see.  Beekeeping is really quite rewarding with many benefits.

We will be breeding one of our Nubian's in a month or so, and with this in mind we need to have our goats become accustomed to getting up on the stand to be milked, have their hoofs trimmed etc.  Eric has had some plans printed out for a little while and this past weekend he made it come to life.  I love the way it turned out. We did have to purchase the 2 X 4's to make the stand, but he repurposed some wood that was already here to make the base of the stand as well as the ramp.  We had some tinted stain from some project when we lived in NC and this is what we stained it with.  You should have seen having each goat come up the ramp individually to introduce them to the stand. We gave them some dried beet pulp as their treat along with some grain which they love. They were happy to follow the cup with treats up the ramp to a certain point. It did however, take both of us to get a couple of them up on the stand and in the right place. 

 Husan is doing a great job keeping his hens together. He watches over them carefully, and he is kind to us. This kindness is good for the sustainability of his life. *wink*

 This is Ellie, one of our "easter egger" or Americauna hens, isn't she beautiful?!

 We often see this... a bird of a feather, flock together.. Two Barred Rocks together and two White Brahama's together.

Aren't those some beautiful brussel sprouts there?  Our hens are really loving life right now!  They already have free roam of a huge area of our property but within a fence for their protection from predators. Since we have been out working in the gardens and building in the barn so much lately, we have been letting the chicks go beyond the fenced area and into the gardens.  There is still a fence beyond that as well for their protection. The pickins are much better in a new spot of land that has not been turned over on a regular basis. I love to sit and watch our chickens turn the ground over seeking out bugs, seeds and whatever else suits their fancy.  We try and let them out an hour or so before the sun goes down, this way we are pretty much assured that every one of them will be in to roost as that beautiful rose colored sunset sets.  We supplement feed our chickens with cracked corn and grains as needed, but we much prefer they go and work for their food, I think they like it best that way as well.