Monday, March 22

What a day! There were 16 emails waiting for me in my Inbox which was really no big deal because usually over half of them don’t need my attention. However, the other half? Good grief! To make a long story short I ended up with SIX Classified pages because of those half of the emails that did need my attention. Several full page legal ads came in which added to the two pages I already had at the end of last week. My fellow ads co-worker had five pages. (We publish two papers out of the same office.) That’s a LOT of legal ads!

Needless to say, the day FLEW by which is the way I like it.

After getting home I walked around outside enjoying the warm air and enjoying the signs of Spring.

The Forsythia is in full bloom, the daffodils are still showing off their pretty blooms and I saw a couple bees checking out the purple nettle down by the creek. I told them they needed to head up the bank to the beehive. Seeing them was encouraging. The bees are waking up and maybe a scout or two will find the hive and move in.

Before supper I washed the cabin sheets and after supper I started a batch of yogurt. It will be finished at 3:45 in the morning. sigh. I had eaten my last one for lunch today so it was make some more or go hungry and I’m not about to go hungry!

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It’s now after 8:30 in the evening. I think I’m done for the day especially since I have to get up in the middle of the night to tend to the yogurt. Time to do some reading then tuck myself in on the couch.

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Farm news: 25 eggs

Tuesday, March 23

It was a short day at work. We had the approval from the printer before 1 o’clock so I left a few minutes after 1. I wanted to take advantage of this pretty day. Before heading home I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some fruit and nuts then I headed home. CountryBoy was playing golf so after tending to LizzieBelle and unpacking the groceries I changed and started prepping the sunroom/greenhouse for starting seeds this weekend. Since we have no garage and no storage closets in the house the mudroom and the sunroom/greenhouse quickly become dumping zones. You know, for all the materials and supplies needed for projects or those items you’re just not sure what to do with. ugh. It drives me crazy but in most situations it can’t be helped. So, the first order of business was to move most everything out, clear off the shelves and sweep. After that I grabbed some scrap boards and placed them where my trays would go then CountryBoy screwed them into place so they wouldn’t shift. The rope light came in today so after I straightened it out I placed it between the boards. I am now ready to start some seeds!

The weather has been quite lovely these past few days. Our house, however, is still quite cold. So cold, in fact, that CountryBoy started a small fire in the fireplace after supper tonight! I’m currently sitting in front of it and absorbing the heat while blogging.

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Last night I set the alarm on my iPad for 3:45 a.m. so that I could get up and take care of the yogurt. Luckily it didn’t take long to turn the yogurt maker off, put the lids on the jars and put them in the fridge. Then, it was back to the couch to crawl under the blankets and get some shut-eye before LizzieBelle wakes me up so that I can take her outside. I’m happy to say that we are now only getting up once, sometimes twice, during the night – a VAST improvement from a few weeks ago. She has her 30 day checkup tomorrow. We’ll see what the Vet says and whether or not there will be any changes in her medication.

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Farm news: 22 eggs plus CountryBoy found a hidden nest with 13 eggs. We have a chicken or two that has figured out how to escape the confines of the paddock and she likes to lay her eggs somewhere in the barn. This afternoon CountryBoy caught her redhanded escaping from the top of Mabel’s door so now we know how she’s getting out.

Wednesday, March 24

Today was a busy, non-stop but productive day. Our list of errands after work was going to take us to three different towns. I only worked 3 1/2 hours at the B&B this morning which allowed me to get to one of the towns (to get a supply of fresh milk) in plenty of time before LizzieBelle’s appointment at another town at 3 o’clock. Before heading there CountryBoy hooked up the trailer and off we went. Her appointment went well and the Vet was really pleased with her progress. She said she appeared to be more bright-eyed and more alert. Her coughing is almost nil which is also good news and she is going to continue on the same meds until something changes. We had them trim her nails while she was there since she fusses when I try to do them.

After the appointment we grabbed a bite to eat then headed towards the last town of the day. Our mission: getting wood for the raised garden bed. The price of wood is still outrageous. I’m hoping it comes down soon as there are always a project or two.

I felt like having a hot fudge sundae with nuts ice so we stopped at McDonald’s. When ordering we were told they no longer carried nuts so I got the sundae without nuts. When we finally got to the pick-up window (the line was long) CountryBoy was handed the sundae and a utensil packet. As he was pulling away he handed me the sundae and the utensil packet and in the packet was a knife and a fork. No spoon. What, are you kidding me? He couldn’t back up because the line had moved forward so I had to walk around. I showed the young guy the utensil packet and asked for a spoon. He stared at me with expressionless eyes and replied that they didn’t have any. My response? “Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to eat an ice cream sundae with a fork and a knife?” The kid looked at me with eyes that said he didn’t know nor did he care. I think in the end he just shrugged. Luckily we had a new plastic spoon in the truck so I was able to eat it on the way home. Which is good because it would’ve been soup by the time we got home.

The forecast is calling for rain tomorrow so after changing clothes I started mowing the creek bank. My goal this year is to keep the bank clear of brush and weeds. It doesn’t take long for it to get overgrown so I knew that if I didn’t start mowing it soon it would be out of control and there would be no mowing it at all. I also knew that I needed to mow it before it rained otherwise the ground would be too soft.

It took me a bit to figure out how I needed to position myself and angle the mower so that I didn’t wind up in the creek with the mower on top of me.

CountryBoy had thrown some grass seed out there last year and much of it had come up. I’m hoping that the more I mow it the thicker it will become therefore crowding out the weeds.

It felt good to be out there mowing and I was feeling quite invigorated. In fact, it took me a while to feel tired last night and I stayed up a little later than normal reading.

Thursday, March 25

It was a long day at work with not much to do. Upon arriving home the Windstream fella was there working on our internet. It has been sporadic the last week to the point of having to reset it almost every hour. That’s not good when our cabin relies on the internet for bookings. He was here about two and a half hours replacing a line and who knows what else. In the end we ended up with a little bit more speed which was a pleasant surprise.

While he was working I hung out in the sunroom/greenhouse and got the green peppers and strawberries started. It felt good to be playing, er working, in some dirt!

We have guests arriving some time tonight. They were caught in the rain and some sketchy weather. The forecast is calling for rain and high winds during the night here so hopefully they are able to make it sooner rather than later.

It ended up being a late check-in (anything after nine is late for us since that’s our bedtime!) but after another unforeseen delay the guest finally made it safe and sound then we were off to bed.

Friday, March 26

LizzieBelle and I both slept hard all night. It did take me a while to fall asleep, though. The wind was howling and it was all I could hear. I finally dozed off – not sure if the wind died down or if I was able to finally tune it out. Either way, it was nice and calm this morning. It was a little cool in the house so CountryBoy started a small fire and we enjoyed the warmth while sipping coffee.

The morning started out cool and cloudy but eventually the clouds gave way to the sun which shone nice and bright all day warming up the air making it quite comfy to be outside. It was the perfect day to hang the laundry on the line even though it was a little breezy…

There is so much that needs to get done this time of year that I felt overwhelmed this morning while having coffee. I felt as though my mind was all over the place and wanting to shut down because it didn’t know where to start. I finally grabbed a pen and a notepad and jotted down a few things that I thought I could accomplish today. Things like: printing tags for my Dish Scrubbies and more labels for the banana breads that we leave for our guests; laundry; making soil blocks and starting the tomato seeds (we have three different kinds), and the marigolds; and packing up some items I’ve culled for donations. I haven’t made a to-do list in a long time but I’ve found that when I’m ‘all over the place’ writing a to-do list helps me focus and keeps me from getting side-tracked. We also drew up a rough layout for the garden keeping companion planting in mind.

While I was crossing things off my to-do list CountryBoy built a new stand for the beehive…

The legs on the other one were rotting so it was time to make another one. This one is much sturdier.

CountryBoy cleaned and readied the cabin for today’s guests while I took the clothes off the line and put them away. We spent an hour or so on the front porch enjoying the beautiful day. Hard to believe we have been able to enjoy some porch time in March!

After that I started supper – a shrimp and orzo pasta medley. It turned out pretty good.

We walked off a bit of supper by walking around the farm. The peach trees are blooming…

… which may be too early once again, as they’re calling for the possibility of snow next Thursday. Every year we get our hopes up for some peaches and every year we get a late frost. I guess if we want any peaches we’re going to have to devise a way to cover them or keep them warm during that typical late frost.

The cabbages however, were bought last year on clearance and looked pretty pitiful. We planted them in September but they didn’t amount to much. We left them alone and here’s how they look today…

… they have survived an eleven day ice storm followed by six inches of snow and yet they are looking better than ever…

It’s nice to have something already thriving in the garden!

This afternoon I spent some time in the paddock. Miss Speckles is always happy to see me…

… of course she’s rewarded with head rubbings, hugs, some scratching under her wings. It’s amazing how friendly and sweet she is.

Miss Mabel had some good company while she napped…

Mabel has been enjoying the beautiful days and has been napping in the paddock while soaking up some Vitamin D.

I’m always so grateful for days like today. I feel most at peace when I’m able to help out around the farm, hang clothes on the line to dry, spend time with the animals, walk around the farm, and just doing whatever needs doing at a leisurely pace.

Saturday, March 27

The sun came out while we were having coffee and my mind quickly came to the decision that it would be a good day to get started painting the boards for the raised bed and maybe we could start laying down some weed barrier in the garden. (I like to paint before assembly. It’s just easier.) It was supposed to be a warm, sunny day but before we finished our coffee the sun disappeared and clouds moved in. My mind quickly shut down knowing that it was not going to be a good day to paint or even to be outside. It started raining around 10:45 and rained off and on all day. I never did bounce back from the change of plans. Instead, I started a washcloth using the Tunisian crochet stitch, I washed the sheets and towels, and I read. Oh, and I made supper. CountryBoy made two batches of banana bread and took care of the barn animals. That about sums up the day.

Sunday, March 28

Today started out like any other but as the hours progressed I felt myself becoming more anxious. Spring time brings with it not only the wonder of the earth coming back to life but the list of projects grows as well. On top of that, I am filling in for a girl at the B&B – stopping by on my way home from work (at the newspaper in town) and helping deliver dinner two days during the week and staying longer, if necessary, on Wednesday’s to help. This ‘filling in’ is for eight weeks. Then CountryBoy mentioned that we were going to need to get more feed some time this week. My mind quickly tried to figure out when in the world we would be able to fit a trip to another town between my two jobs and guests coming and going. In a matter of minutes I began to feel overwhelmed.

Our guests left early enough so that we could go to church. yay! During the drive, I began to pray and tell myself to just take it one day at a time and before I know it the eight weeks would be over and everything would work out.

As many of you know, my heart’s desire is to be at home. Even with that desire I am extremely loyal to my employers which is why I’m still working both jobs. I have been praying for direction; for some sign and today I believe that prayer was answered. I won’t go in to detail but maybe after it’s all said and done I’ll share.