Busy, Busy

It’s that time of year.  Things start to speed up at Baker’s Green Acres and we start to wonder how everything will get done.  It’s been sunny, but the wind is really chilly yet, which has complicated some projects. Mark & Kyle did manage to get the skeleton of the chickens’ clear-span building up.   The weather finally looked good enough, so Mark had an experienced and/or willing crew over on Saturday and they got the cover on the building.  We needed to get more chicks, but were very limited by space.  This should help with that problem.  I fed everyone lunch–it was nice to have that large shop area!  We had duck soup.  Our two ducks had swum their last in my goat water trough this week.  They were two of the best ducks I’ve eaten yet.  Either I’m getting the hang of cooking duck, or revenge is sweet.  Sunday evening we moved the first group of chicks into the “chick-inn.” It was about time for that. They were happy hens (and roosters) for sure!

The Amish neighbors are back at work in the fields.  Dorothy and Joe  spent Saturday afternoon “working” with Stephen.  It’s amazing the difference between horses and a tractor.  They find the most incredible things–stuff you probably wouldn’t see or  hear otherwise.  Like a lot of old tools–probably lost off plows and tractors over the years.  Like a whole pile of snakes ( a quarter of a family, according to Dorothy).  Like an old knife blade, pieces of leather, assorted pieces of rubber.  Normally the kids are like barefoot gulls running behind the plow or other implements.  I saw Joe adding his weight to the “culli-packer” they’re using today.  It’s pulled by 5 draft horses–quite an impressive array of power.

In the last two weeks 5 baby goats decided it was time to join the herd.  Most of them are boer/nubian crosses.  For various reasons they’re all off the moms, who are dairy goats anyway, and take bottles.  I don’t normally do that, but circumstances decided for me.  The kids are great help.  My nephew was here Saturday and had a blast feeding the “sheepies.”  He wasn’t the most effective feeder, but he sure had fun and all the little ones got fed!

Today was spent finishing preparations for the arrival of our Mangalitsa pigs.  Tomarrow, most likely, Mark will head down to the state line to meet the hauler and pick the piglets up.  It will be fun to finally have them here.  Now, if the weather ever warms up to make the pasture grow, we’ll be all set.

I did hear a radio announcer, in the middle of the weather report, ask his listeners to let Mother Nature know it’s April.  Time to warm up! And meanwhile time isn’t waiting for us and the farm presses forward!