On Sunday, the last day of winter, we spent much of the day cooking sap at the farm. This little guy (Squirrel!) spent the whole time in the poplar tree near by. I will be sharing more about this years maple syrup season in an upcoming post, but for now I wish you all a Happy Spring. 🙂
Over the weekend, as we looked ahead at the 10 day weather forecast and saw that 8 out of 10 days were predicted to have high temperatures above freezing, we decided it was time to tap maple trees. Here is the link to my past from last year about tapping maple trees. https://donteatitsoap.com/2016/02/20/tapping-maple-trees/?iframe=true&theme_preview=true
So yesterday, (Monday, February 13) we set a total of 18 taps (and buckets) in 8 maple trees at our farm. It seems early to be tapping the trees, but the sap began flowing as soon as the taps were in place. I guess, like many things farming related, weather conditions mean more than the date on the calendar. We also set up a fire pit where the sap will be boiled down.
Today, after lunch, we went to the farm to collect the sap. When all 18 buckets were emptied we had collected 10 gallons of sap. Our plan is to collect the sap for the next couple of days before we begin boiling it down. Our intention is to leave the taps in place, and continue to collect sap and make syrup, as long as the sap runs clear. When the sap turns cloudy maple syrup season is finished.
Throughout the month of December the chickens’ egg production gradually slowed, and through the month of January we only collected one or two eggs per day. Last week we began getting 5 or 6 eggs daily and now we are up to 8 or 9. As the days grow longer, and the chickens enjoy more sunny days, egg production will continue to increase. This makes feeding the hens all winter worth while.
The bees were out today when the afternoon temperature climbed to around 50 degrees. I don’t think there was anything for them to forage, but at least they could take a cleansing flight. Later this week when temps get back into the 50’s we will check their food supplies and feed them if necessary. We do have honey and wax reserved for them so we do not have to feed them sugar water. We did lose one hive earlier this winter. We could not determine the reason for the loss, as the hive was not full of dead bees. At this point it seems as if the three remaining hives are okay, and we plan to start two new hives in May. We will also capture swarms to if the opportunity arises.
Regardless of the date on the calendar, or the groundhog’s prediction, all signs on the farm are pointing to an early spring.
I do love spring in Michigan. I’m not really sure that I’d call it my favorite season. In fact I am happy to live in a place where we can enjoy the unique qualities of each season, seeing the earth come alive in the spring, then the summer heat and growing season, followed by the crispness of fall and the glorious colors when the leaves change, and while I’m not a huge fan of cold weather I do enjoy a fire in the fireplace and snow in the winter.
To me spring seems to be a magical time. As we walk our farm I am fascinated by seeing the life emerge from below the ground. I observe the daily changes in the vegetation as the trees get their buds then the buds turn to leaves and blossoms. I enjoy walking in the wild areas of the farm and trying to identify the various plants, as much as I love seeing our first asparagus shoots appear, the blueberries blossoming, or picking a piece of green garlic and chewing on it.
I have to say that I am truly thankful for my husband who also has a great appreciation for nature. We shared the excitement of watching the daffodils flower, we were delighted to see the bees foraging on the dandelions, and we marveled this year as our forsythia’s, that were just small twigs 4 years ago when we planted them, have brightened the back of the pond with their beautiful yellow blossoms. Yellow is the color of early spring on our farm. A very appropriate color in deed. Yellow is a happy color. It makes me smile.
My husband doesn’t think it’s corny when I give him daily reports about what is blossoming. He indulges my crazy ideas, and he will help preserve the natural beauty of our farm by doing things like moving wild rose plants before we disturb the ground in which they reside.
He has also designated an area where we can transplant Mullein this year. We have discovered mullein coming up in several areas where we will be mowing, and rather than kill these valuable plants we have decided to give them their own spot. Mullein is a medicinal plant which I will use for teas, infused oils and tinctures. This website explains it’s uses http://www.herbcraft.org/mullein.html
We also enjoy bringing new life to our farm. So far this year we have planted 4 basswood trees, 3 willow trees, 25 new asparagus crowns which are sending up small shoots, a row of potatoes which are beginning to grow, a small row of sugar peas, and two rows of cabbage.
We also planted my Mother’s Day gifts from Tina and her husband Ken. Tina knows of my love for growing things so she called me a couple weeks ago and said rather than her just picking out something, she thought it was a good idea to ask what I wanted. Upon going to the website of the nursery she shops at I discovered that they had the one plant that I thought would be hard to find. Solomon’s Seal.
Solomon’s Seal grows in wooded or shady areas, and although we have some wooded areas where Solomon’s Seal might grow wild I had never noticed it growing on our farm. It is another plant that has desirable medicinal properties, and even though I will not harvest it this year I intend to use it for teas, infused oils and tinctures in the future. You can check out this website to learn more http://www.herbcraft.org/solseal.html I also planted the three Thyme plants, that Tina and Ken brought me, in the prayer garden.
The new life of Spring is not limited to plants. We had the first hatching of tadpoles in the pond this week. I believe these are baby toads since we have seen many toads in the pond lately. Toads are beneficial for the farm as they live on the land and eat insects, grubs and slugs that that might cause problems in the gardens.
Another part of spring in Michigan that we enjoy is seeing the birds return to the area. Seeing the first Robin and Red Winged Black Bird are sings that Spring is here. We have fun watching the Killdeer protect their nest by doing the broken wing act to make the dogs chase them in the opposite direction. We also try to identify birds we are not familiar with.
This year we have two birds that have become rather annoying. One is a duck who is visiting our pond regularly. Since we use our pond for swimming and fishing as well as irrigation we really don’t want ducks in the pond. There are many other ponds in our area that go unused where this duck could stay and no one would care. Even though we tell Trooper and Scout to chase it away whenever we see him, he just keeps coming back. The second is a robin who likes to sit in the maple tree outside our bedroom window and sing. There is no nest being built there, and there are plenty of other trees in the area, but this robin insists on sitting in this particular tree, every morning in fact. It starts singing before the sun comes up – sometimes as early as 3:30 a.m. While we are usually up around the time the sun comes up, and it may be true that the early bird catches the worm, we find this birds wake up calls to be a little too extreme. I do suppose this is one well-fed robin.
We have several neighbors and family members who, like us, have a great appreciation for farm fresh, free range eggs. A couple weeks back, the hens started laying more so my husband put the word out to some neighbors that we had some eggs for available. Immediately we had requests for more eggs than we had on hand. At that point we decided that we should add some laying hens to our flock this year.
I wanted to get an early start with the chicks, so when we found last week that the local farm store had chicks we decided it was time to get ready. Over the weekend my husband brought the brooder (stock tank) inside and took the chick water and feed dishes out of storage. Tuesday morning, before we went to the farm store, he brought out the heat lamp and put wood chips in the brooder for bedding.
Scout and Trooper have been through this with us a couple times before, and Scout especially loves baby chicks. We have taught him that those are “his babies”. When we got home from the farm store the boys were eager to see the chicks.
You might think it is risky letting the dogs get so close to the chicks, and yes to some degree it is, but the boys have learned that they have to “be nice” to their “babies”. Sometimes the chicks get nosed around a little or even get doggie (tongue) bath, but we have yet to lose a chick because of the boys.
We planned on getting more Silver Laced Wyandotte’s and we compromised on getting nine pullets. When we got to the farm store we discovered that the Wyandotte’s both silver and gold laced were completely sold out. So we decided to get Buff Orpingtons.
Although Buff Orpingtons were not our first choice they really are a nice breed. Of our adult chickens I think they are the friendliest, they lay consistently large or extra large eggs, and of the three breeds we have (including Rhode Island Red and Silver Laced Wyandotte) the Buffs are the only ones that have gone broody and raised chicks. They do make good mothers. I am not sorry we got the buffs.
For the first couple weeks or at least until they get their feathers, their brooder will be indoors and Scout and Trooper will come running whenever we tend to the chicks. We put a step stool next to the brooder so Scout can put his feet up and look over the side. Trooper is tall enough to just look over the side.
After they get all of their feathers and the weather is good enough we will move them to a hutch on the deck where they can still have the heat lamp for warmth, but they will have more space.
It didn’t surprise me, on day two of having the chicks here, when my husband took this empty “Silk” carton and made them a play house. In fact I’m more surprised that he hasn’t made them a jungle gym with a tire swing and a seesaw… Yet. He’s such a good chicken daddy.
As for me I am enjoying hearing “peep peep peep” and “peck peck peck”. It makes me think spring 🙂
Don't Eat It! Soap and Skin Care 