Magic in the Hills

The Misty Woods

The Ducks Move Outside

Thursday was Moving Day for Ducks. For the epic journey, we packed them into a large Rubbermaid tub in the backseat of the car, much to their dismay. One of them decided she would rather not spend the journey in the tub. After wobbling around a bit (moving cars tend to have that effect on ducks attempting to stand in the back window), she settled into a comfortable position.

Their pen contains their tractor (where we shut them in for the night, along with some solar-powered nightlights), along with some tubs of water, surrounded by a solar-powered electric fence. (Mickey and I, as well as several of the ducks, can attest that it works -- zzzap!)

They finally figured out that the tubs are good for drinking out of.

As well as for bathing and general recreation.

They seem to enjoy hanging out in the tractor during the day, although when we come round it is a bit of a drama.

So we generally try to keep their blood pressure down, leave them to their own business, and tend to the nascent food forest and orchard. [Sarah's note: I had to look up the word "nascent," but it does fit beautifully!] Mick divided the comfrey and planted it near the apple trees, which are already beginning to bud out.

The Carmine Jewel cherries, complete with rabbit-guard, are ready to grow!

The lemon balm is back from its winter rest and growing large and green! I am excited for it to take over its corner of the vegetable bed -- less weeding and more lemon sun tea!

The gooseberries, many of which Mick transplanted after pruning his folks' plants last summer, are leafed out.

Mick sowed clover around the rhubarb. We are looking forward to harvesting rhubarb this year! and the clover will keep the weeds down and add nitrogen to the soil.

The orchard is nearly complete and looks amazing, thanks in no small part to David Mingle, who installed nearly all of the rabbit guards, thanks!

We even found time to pick up rocks along the driveway. One rock was buried in the mud and looked to be about eight inches across -- think of a large cantaloupe. Well, Mick kept digging, and after much slipping and sliding in the mud......

We also transplanted some young hemlocks from near the pond -- some to bulk up the privacy screen from the neighbors, and others to fill out the pine grove.

We planted yellow onion sets, red onion sets, and shallots (pictured below). They are all doing well, along with the yellow onions and garlic that I (Sarah) missed when I harvested last year. The volunteer leeks aren't doing so bad either!

Despite all the cultivation, this is still where the wild things grow. Leeks, Trout Lilies, Spring Beauties, wild strawberries, and some tiny raspberries are just a few.

The solitary flower is always the most beautiful.

Especially when it promises fruit and a harvest to come.

Spring Has Sprung!

I don't remember there being so many crocuses planted around the trailer! Maybe they grow especially enthusiastically after an especially wintry winter? :) They are beautiful! and I am beginning to believe that maybe, just maybe, the peas and beans I planted several weeks ago will actually sprout one of these days. Unfortunately for the highway department, the roads haven't survived the winter nearly as well as the crocuses. I took this picture this morning standing in the middle of the intersection where Clinton Street Extension (our future home address) breaks off from Clinton Street to head away from the village up the hill. The road looks positively hollow, yikes!

The rabbits are growing and still manage to entertain themselves quite well. This morning I couldn't find them in their hutch -- turns out they were making good use of the box they have collapsed, despite Mick's attempts to tape it solid. They chewed right through it! but seem to prefer the collapsed effect.

In the meantime we have been putting the remaining snow to good use! :)

(I think Mick likes the picturesqueness as much as the temperature effect.) :) To work up a thirst, Mick has been planting grass seed along the driveway with his handy-dandy grass spreader.

He covered the grass seed with wood pellets, to absorb moisture (on the right side of the driveway in the below picture). This picture also shows the stakes marking the apple orchard that will be planted next week! (on the left side of the driveway)

On Saturday (Mick's day off between two weeks of training at Fort Drum), Mick took out a lot of trees and is beginning to shape the pine grove (seen in the above picture) to be a private, enclosed sort of oasis in the middle of the pasture. I call the big tree in the middle the Party Tree.

We were also able to plant the 10 white firs that were my grandmother's Christmas gift to us -- thank you, Gram! The picture also shows a transplanted spruce behind and to the left of the fir. These trees will become part of the new and improved pine grove.

Spring has also brought along new clouds, the sort we haven't seen all winter! This one seemed strangely transparent, we had never seen anything like it before.

Someone else has been enjoying the clouds too (I took this picture for Aaron). :)

And finally, the food crops are beginning to grow! Several of the rhubarb plants are beginning to send up many shoots.

And there are leeks EVERYWHERE. We took the taps out of the maple trees on Saturday, but couldn't walk along the sugaring path without stepping on leeks, no matter how carefully we walked.

My, but we are looking forward to Spring! :)