It’s springtime already!

We just returned from a fabulous visit to Costa Rica and found that it is springtime in northern Iowa already! With the chirps and songs of the Orioles, red-wing black birds and robins, it is a sure sign that spring is here. There is no snow, the smell of the ground defrosting, and early morning fog are also tell-tale signs. What does this mean? It means we have to jump into action!

The lambs are due starting April 1st! So it means it’s shearing time! Vaccinations and hoof trims for the ewes, too!

We need to haul corn and soybeans that were sold for March delivery. The mucky and wet yards of the farms are not good environments for semi trucks. The give and takes of farming….

We have a lot of fences to fix, gardens to plan and plant, grain to sell, and a list of other things now that the weather is warmer. We are trying to stay on top of it all while quickly adjusting back to the busy farm life that warm weather brings.

Wood guns, kittens, and lilacs

While picking up sticks and cleaning out brush, Johnny found this…

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We finished planting just in time before the rains came last Friday and already, the soybeans have reached their little heads out of the soil. It is pretty amazing how strong their little epicotyls and cotyledons are. The corn is looking great too. But with all the wonderful rain and warm sunshine comes weeds too. A coser look on crop counts and weed identification in a future post.

Spring now feels like summer and my grandma’s old lilac bushes are in full bloom. Their fragrance fills the air, and the house when the windows are open. Lilacs are the Midwest’s version of Magnolias in SoCal. Fragrant and plentiful.

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And I’ve got to stick this pic in of the four little spring kittens. They are such little fluff balls. I’ve called them Eeney, Meney, Miney and Mo.

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