Farm Wife Diaries: Spring has sprung
Holy smokes spring just erupted with a vengeance. Snow piles we thought would take weeks to melt slipped away in a manner of days. One day our canola swaths were hidden under a white blanket and two days later they were exposed to the sun! Today the wind is howling which hopefully will means those swaths will dry and we can be out there with the combines finishing up the job we should have completed last fall!
With the snow thawing in such a quick manner the still frozen ground has little opportunity to soak it in resulting in mini rivers springing up throughout the area. Our dugout over filled into a lake and the culverts had inadequate opportunity to keep up to the gushing water. Overflowed spill ways seeped out into the fields making the waterfowl very content as they had been stomping around on the frozen ice for some time demanding that it liquify so they could get on with swimming and whatever else it is they do!
Farmer Hubby and I used this indulgence of spring like weather to get on the quad and spend time inspecting the various waterways and of course to determine the amount of moisture in the field soil.
In a few incidents I ended up receiving a full mud bath and I still am wondering how it is I become covered in mud and he remains pristine when he hits a ‘wet’ spot and goes careening back and forth as he wiggles his way through the mess! My revenge is simply it takes him longer to hose off my side of the machine; I guess you have to take gratification wherever you can find it.
On one adventure we discovered about four adorable little muskrats; a couple were swimming around in the water, one was sitting up on an ice flow and the last was laying on a bed of twigs catching a few sun rays. They are such quirky little creatures, usual so reserve and shy we stood there completely captivated just enjoying the sense of happiness they were emitting.
After a massive fuel up on bird see all my little chickadees have migrated to wherever they go after spending the winter with me. I miss their cherry little songs and seeing them flirt between the feeders and the tree branches. Hopefully soon the little golden finches will come back and with any luck in a few weeks the hummingbirds will return as well.
This week has seen me working on my ‘outdoor’ spring cleaning. In the orchard I have been using my rake to peel back the quilt of leaves that blanketed the ground exposing the lovely green grass that is hidden underneath. It is such a rewarding task as with every movement I expose more and more pockets of green. It will be a while yet until the trees break out in buds that will blossom into those gorgeous shades of pink and white and I will be so delighted when that occurs.
I have spied a few pansies starting to emerge and the strawberry plants have a deep shade of green to them, so I am assuming they have survived as well.
I hear my greenhouse gently calling to me and have some ideas of new ways to experiment with growing all the lovely vegetables that I so enjoy. I cannot wait to get my hands covered with dirt as I fill up the starter trays and plant the seeds to produce the first tomato and cucumber seedlings. The pumpkin plants I started in February in the house, unable to quiet the need to be growing anything look not bad, a bit spindly and not a vibrant green but I am hoping some nurturing in the greenhouse will rectify that!
Despite spring throwing her arms wide open and welcoming the time of year that represents all things new and renewed; a sign of hope and rejuvenation I just want to say that my thoughts still remain sometimes confused and concerned. Much good has come from the last few months of solitude, a time of internal reflection. A resurgence of family time, ties and value; an opportunity to re-evaluate what is of importance to us, a time to slow down and as my Aunt Albertha says to ‘smell the roses’ which has been all positive and good. But it is also a time of worry that many of our small-town businesses may or may not survive this economic slow down. Living between two small towns I value each and every entrepreneur that has invested their time and money to provide us with a service but in return depended on our day to day support. I feel for those who do not live in the wide-open space like I do that are trying to remain sane tucked inside walls without fresh air and sunlight. For teenagers who need that daily interaction with one another, for athletes that are trying to keep focused on their sports not knowing when they next will be able to participate in them.
I try not to read too much off FB as the information can be somewhat conflicting and who is to know if we are or are not doing the correct thing in an attempt to circumvent the increasing of numbers of infected people.
How to honour those that go daily to our modern day ‘trenches’ to fight for the lives of those who are infected and cannot overcome the symptoms with out much assistance and for those who fail to recover. The overwhelming knowledge that in some cases no matter what they do they cannot stop the disease from taking a life. Dealing with overloading expectations and the knowledge they may not be able to any longer give their best despite the desire to do so.
I try to console myself with the knowledge that everything happens for a purpose; that struggles make us more resilient and setbacks maybe open our eyes to new possibilities. Whatever lies on the other side of this I can only hope that we emerge better people, better prepared and more loving.
Submitted by:
Farm Wife Diaries