Spring project kick-off

At the Cattlemen's Winterschool last weekend, we got some info about the Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation. It was formed to fund tree fruit research at the WSU Northwest Research & Extension Center in Mount Vernon, WA. They are holding their annual winter field day on March 7th, with seminars on pruning, grafting, pests, and general fruit and berry growing. Looks like we won't be able to make it, but the websites of the 2 groups have some very helpful tips for fruit growing in the Pacific Northwest.

There were over 700 people attending the Winterschool. We took classes on barnyard drainage issues, beekeeping, cider-making, composting, and chicken processing. We took a lot of notes and got some great handouts from the teachers and exhibitors. Looks like we may be getting a beehive this spring after all! We're really looking forward to next year's workshops, since you can only take 5 classes, there were a lot more we missed out on. And we're hoping they add an intro to draft animals, so we can get some ideas on putting Gemini to work at Seven Trees.

Magnus is teaching his own winterschool in advanced sleeping techniques. I love his method of falling asleep in the rocking chair while doing his laundry. A real professional!

We got the spare coop moved this weekend. We need to paint it before we put it up on pier blocks, and start getting it ready for the new chickies in March. Sometime this summer we'll insulate it and add a layer of plywood inside, so it's as warm & cozy as the smaller coop.

It was quite a workout, walking it across the barnyard. The steers are happy to have a little more room for roughhousing, and now we can enclose both coops in a varmint-resistant run. We're getting ready to start the next project, which is running power to the coops and barn. What a treat to get rid of extension cords and have a real electric light to work by. We'll also add a security light near the end of the drive, since the front porch light doesn't really make it out that far.
We're still eating last season's onions, garlic, squash & potatoes fresh from the garden, but not much left. We'll be planting even more this year. Plenty of canned goods left, green beans, pears & applesauce especially. I'll be making jam out of the blackberries & strawberries left in the freezer, to make room for upcoming harvests. Always something tasty in season here, once we figure out what to grow when, and how much to preserve.

Here's Doug & Buddy showing how excited they are about the coop-moving project. Doug definitely takes after his mom when it comes to being bossy and yelling for food....

From the 'auld sod' - Eastern WA

Here's the lovely coop we built to match the pole barn/house. The main coop was 4x8 and 6ft tall in the front. It had a giant picture window to let in what light there was in winter. We had 7 hens and 2 roosters in it, all banties.
Here's Hrifla, our Icelandic horse. She was nearly 3 in this picture, but wouldn't have gotten much bigger. She was wild, right off the range when we brought her home, but by the time she went to her new home she learned to come running when I held her halter & lead rope up. She could walk over any kind of surface, like plywood and tarps without spooking. We could sit on her, put Mark and the kitties on her back, and she walked right into the trailer like a pro. Having her was a great learning experience, but you can see from the mud in the background the kind of damage even a small horse does to a pasture.

A flock of wild turkeys used to drop by for visits. Having a creek bottom full of cover and things to eat made it a great wildlife habitat. These guys would sometimes drink out of the birdbath and rest in the shade in the yard. We had fun 'talking' to them during mating season.
And Mark the nature bird! He loved wading in the creek when we could find a shallow sandy bank for him. He'd go in deep enough to almost swim (which parrots can't do) so we'd have to make sure we could nab him quick if he floated off downstream.