What a week!
Everything has awakened! Time for new growth and life. So many facets to spring!
The first of thunders came, waking up mother earth in the most beautiful ways. Watering and nurturing all walks of life!
We are now foraging for greens! Already going to start dehydrating. Avia and I have made the rule that every day, we forage for greens. This past winter we ran out, and we are actually craving them. We have noticed the drop in energy from not getting enough natural vitamins and minerals. That wont happen this year!
Every year we forage more and more. The clovers and violets are coming out. The spruce tips will be here soon too! So much that we don't need to grow, its right there for us. Exciting times!!
Still no babies. :(
We had to dump the nest for the little silkie that was brooding. We have learned a lot with this clutch. We had her feed too close to the nest. so she never left the nest. It got extremely dirty, and the eggs started turning bad. She REFUSED to leave the nest. We have cleaned it up, and used diatomaceous earth so that she can get a fresh new start. She is now set up with a dozen fertile eggs and we will see what comes in 21 days.
I have also learned that the hens you buy from the feed store have been inoculated to be sterilized. They can never reproduce. I have also noticed that these hens lack any maternal instincts. They would often bully the silkie off her nest, to lay their non fertile eggs and would actually crack open the eggs that she was setting on.
This really concerns me for the people that are buying these chickens, thinking that they are going to self sustain. Please remember that these places consider your animals an industry. Nothing more, nothing less. I think that this fall we will cull all of them. At this point I don't even think that I want to eat them. I will sit with it until the fall.
The ducks should be hatching very soon. 2 are setting and the third almost has her full clutch ready. They seem late this year, but they know more than I do, so I trust that nature knows the way!
Lucy thinks that she is one of the dog pack. lol She comes to be petted, just like the pups. She is doing really well. We are still working on her feet. I do a little at a time, because it is so hard on her. She gets better every time. It is my hope that she will just come and present her hooves when I have the clippers. Just the way that my dogs do when I clip their nails. She is so smart. The fence is working for now, but the garden isn't lush yet, so its not a big attention grabber for her yet. lol
We are being swarmed with black flies, the blueberries are flowering. They will be here for another couple of weeks. We have the welts to prove it. They are not as bad as previous years, or maybe we are just finally getting used to it after being 5 years on the buffet. Mosquitos have not been that bad either so far. Just at dusk and dawn, and before big storms.
We are having a huge infestation of birch shield bugs. (aka stink bugs). I have never seen them like this before. They are even getting into the house. They smell like funky cilantro, with a hint of mint. Not a fan of the smell. I guess that they will dine on my garden, apparently they like all the things that I am planting. The guinea hen is the only one that likes them so far. Hoping that the ducks will come to aquire the taste of them.
I just finished canning the last of the meat that has thawed from winter. I did 20 pints of meat. When I run the canner I like to make sure that it is a full load, so I always can my beans to fill the canner to the maximum number of jars.
Here I canned chick peas to make the the most of the propane that I use to preserve my meats from the winter.
We are now heading into summer mode, without refrigeration, so this is what we will eat all summer. I will have a cooler from time to time for the treat of fresh meat, cheeses, butter. I have looked into propane fridges, but they are so pricey and they use a fair amount of propane. We are really trying to keep life simple, not bring the city to the bush. Its amazing how wasteful we are when we are attached to the grid. We no longer have the staple processed foods that require refrigeration.
I am sorry that the pictures are all sideways. I will try to figure out why that is happening, when i get some time to sit and figure things out. Must be a glitch somewhere.
Next week I will be posting about the garden I suspect. I have been slowly working on bringing the fruit trees here, and the grapes, haskaps, asparagus, rhubarb... every year I try to bring in fruits and vegetables that will make it in Zone 2. I truly want to be self sustaining in 5 years. Its a slow process, but fun trying!
Huge love to you all! Thank you for dropping by!
Have a great day!!
It is nice to see Lucy just lying there being relaxed with Cleo. Life is good. Especially that you can go out for a walk and forage at the same time. That is just awesome. You are great at what you do! Lots of hugs from us :)