GROWING

After a few days of rain all is lush and green. I have to savor this , since I know the days of juicy grass leafs are counted. By early summer they will eather have turned into milk or gone dormant until the heat makes way to some late summer rainfalls.
In the garden the radishes and lettuce try to outgrow each other, just to be passed by some laughing peas in a few days. Tomatoes have found an outside home as well and the peppers will join them today. The strawberries are flowering, the currants (red, white and black) are showing little risps of berries and the raspberry hedge I planted last year, is ~much to my delight ~ taking off. Then there is the other side, the pear tree which surprised me earlier this month with first blossoms, lost all of them. The plum tree is riddled with aphids and the dog trampled some tender plants, all the time wagging his tail, happy to have found me.




If you peak in the hen house you will find seven little puffballs starting to feather out and already scratching happily for whatever treasures they can find. The old girls are laying much better and I actually have eggs to barter with. A neighbour down the road has a great blackberry patch, maybe she will trade some blackberry starts for fresh eggs.
The ewes I milk are back into their routine and now it actually is enjoyable to go out at 6 o'clock to greet the day and milk the girls. Ebony worried me a bit this morning since she is one of my greediest eaters and she did not want to have anything to do with her grain. So I checked her udder for signs of mastitis , which were not evident and then decided to let her out and have her lamb relish the milk. I worried ~ until Ebony went out the gate and right to the flake of alfalfa which I treat the sheep to in the morning. Her message was clear: I do not care for he whole oats you tried to serve me this morning (usually I feed rolled oats and corn)!
So out the gate went a quart of milk and an opinionated, but healthy sheep!
The variety of cheeses are growing as well, besides feta and garlic/chive soft cheese we have yogurt in the fridge and today I will try my hands on some mozzarella, which is a first for me.
It is nice to start reaping the fruits of your labor again. Winter and especially spring always seem like a lot of work, with no eminent rewards ~ except of course all the frolicking babies !