Bulbs in Bloom

We are rocking the spring gardens this year.  Our daffodils are epic!

Our tulips are beautiful too, though there are far fewer of them.  They are a tasty squirrel snack.

And the boys' favourite....bleeding hearts.

Lucky for us, things are just getting started.  There are lots more blooms to come!

Ian Hates Dandelions

I have been waiting weeks for the dandelions to finally bloom only to have Ian decide that today he should mow the lawn. #hungrybees

Loading Up on Asparagus

Liam and Seamus were very excited about harvesting (they got to use grown up scissors!) but not so much about eating our homegrown asparagus.  Ian and I thought it was delicious.  They said it tasted like feet.

Our Bee Tree

After a very busy week, we enjoyed a nice quiet day on the farm. 

The boys and I explored the front yard.  We checked for caterpillar nests, smelled all the different spring flowers, and were thrilled to see our new currant bushes loaded with soon to be berries.

We also noticed that our Norway maple tree was literally buzzing with activity.  Our honey bees had found it and were collecting pollen in droves.  The boys are too small to participate in hive inspections yet but it was amazing for them to stand under the tree and be surrounded by the happy humming of hundreds of honey bees going about their work. 

Spring is such a glorious time on the farm; thank goodness it is finally here!

Wild Wool Cuts

Our sheep are usually roasting by this time of year under their heavy wool coats. However, with our delayed spring bringing cooler temperatures than usual, they were quite surprised to see Mr. Ross, Sheep Shearer Extraordinaire, this afternoon.

This year, shearing was a family affair.  The boys were excited to see what colour the sheep were under their thick wool coats.

We got some great before, during, and after snapshots! 

Abbott before.

Abbott during shearing.

Abbott getting his horns shortened.

Abbott after his wool and horn cutting.

Molly before.

Molly during.

Molly after.

Violet before.

Violet during.

Violet after.

I think we might have some chilly sheep if the nighttime temperatures keep falling to 4 degrees C!  I might need to break out the sheep sweaters.

A Red and Swollen Appendage. Sigh.

Today was just one of those days that makes you wonder why in the world you had kids, raise chickens, and keep bees.  Houdini Hen got marked this morning with spray paint to make absolutely sure that she is the only one escaping.  She is.  She was out of the run by 10 am this morning.  I caught her, removed her free ranging privileges, and she spent the day locked in the goat barn.  She laid me an egg as a peace offering.  Sigh.

Shelley, the provincial bee inspector, paid a visit to the farm today.  She examined our hives.  The good news is that three of my hives are strong, queen right and varroa mite free (that's right - a zero mite count on three!).  Sadly, my fourth and weakest hive is queenless.  This is not a huge deal but will require some intervention on the next sunny day.  I could add a bought queen but since it is so early in the season I will more likely move in a frame of eggs from another hive so they can make a new queen themselves.

I am always in awe of beekeepers who do not cover up from head to foot.  Shelley was one of these.  She wore a veil and jacket but her sleeve cuffs were super loose and she did not wear gloves!  Amazingly, she did not get stung at all.  Meanwhile, I was covered from head to toe and still managed to get myself stung badly in three spots on my right hand.  Sigh.

Swollen hand.  No knuckles.  Boo hoo.

Hopped up on Benadryl to reduce the effects of the stings (itchy hands, feet, armpits, groin) and localized edema (swelling), I fell into a drug induced sleep nursing Alistair in the rocking chair.  As a result, I nearly missed meeting Liam's bus at the end of the driveway.  It was only fluke that I awoke when I did and heard Seamus calling out his window, "It's okay Ms. Lynette.  You can let Liam off the bus!"  Apparently the bus had been waiting for a while at the end of the driveway.  Sigh.

The icing on the cake of my difficult day was that the boys were in no mood to go to sleep.  I had to resort to threatening to make them sleep in the barn - something along the lines of "If you are going to behave like barn animals, you can sleep outside like barn animals."  It worked, but was not my finest hour in the parenting department.  Sigh.

On the bright side, I did get to witness a beautiful sunset while outside at the barn with the boys.  It reminded me that despite all the craziness of kids, chickens and bees, I would not trade them in...permanently.

Though, after a day like today, I might be persuaded to trade them all in for one glorious day of binge watching some travel show on Netflix and imagining myself on some amazing adventure far, far away from runaway chickens, irritable honey bees, and nocturnal children.

Rainy Day Gardens, an Insubordinate Hen & a Salted Squirrel

In a lucky turn of events today we got a large portion of our box and pallet gardens planted before the rain started. 

The boys were helpful in this endeavour; the Houdini Hen was not.  Unluckily (for me), the hen decided it was a good idea (for her) to scratch up all the root vegetable seeds that I just planted in the box garden.  Sigh.  Such insubordination cannot be tolerated.  She must be stopped.

P.S.