If we were having coffee, I’d give you a great big hug and thank you for joining me on this busy weekend for a quick cuppa! I’d be on my way to work (yes, on a Saturday) and on a limited time frame, but so very happy to see you!
I’d ask how you’ve been, how March is treating you, and whether or not the trees are beginning to blossom in your neighborhood yet? I’d ask how work is, how your family is, and if you’ve been being kind to yourself?
In turn, I’d tell you that work has been stressful, though I’m excited about facilitating a conversation this morning with families around how to garden with babies and young children 🙂 I’d also tell you we spent the last week tag teaming the care of our sick toddler which was like trying to keep a tornado in a bottle. Then, yes, I really must figure out my own self-care rituals as they’ve taken a back seat for a bit now and it’s beginning to wear on me and I’m too young to feel this old 😉
If we were having coffee, I’d show you pictures of Mama Mello and tell you that we’re so very excited because we do believe she’s actually pregnant! Then, I’d ask you to guess how many kids you think she might have (because a poll is always fun) and we know she’s capable of triplets given the trio she welcomed in 2015 right before she came home to live with us.
[yop_poll id=”5″]
I might ask what your plans are tomorrow to round out your weekend and then share that we’re having a Family Farm Work Day, initiated by my oldest daughter! So, we’ll clean out the acequia in anticipation of it running soon (more on this later, in another post), pick up some of the randomness that’s exploded around the property, and maybe even work in the garden a bit to clean up the garlic and (maybe!?) put in some peas. Then, we’ll all share a meal and enjoy a few beers since it’s forecasted to be 66* tomorrow!
Spring, my friends, is literally right around the bend!
If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that our baby chicks are so big already and feathering out beautifully! The Leghorns are such a sweet pale yellow still while our Ameraucanas are such a variety of colors and combinations (black & white, rusty, cinnamon, browns & golds). I’m super excited to see how they all mature!
Then, I might ask if you have any experience raising ducks? We’re thinking about getting a few to help with the pests around the property and in the garden (so many squash bugs!) but are still doing research on which we should get.
Unfortunately, if we were having coffee, I’d have to say goodbye now and wish you the happiest of weekends! I do hope we’ll get to catch up again soon as I miss our time together, face to face.
Take good care and know you’re in my thoughts!
xoxo,
M
Linking up to Part Time Monster’s #weekendcoffeeshare
Poor you having to work on Saturday! Did you get a day off in lieu? I’m so excited to hear that Mama Mellow is pregnant! My vote was two 🙂 I will be excitedly awaiting her news 🙂
We have our closing of summer here, I pulled out all my tomato bushes…what a haul for us! The best tomato season ever! I’ve got one pumpkin vine left to brown off and the summer patch will have finished.
I’m also excited about you getting ducks! We’ve only kept chooks, but I’d love to add ducks! Indian runners for me as I think they are so darn cute! But I worry about the poop as they would be pretty free range…our yard isn’t big enough…I’m looking forward to also following your duck adventure!
Hi Linda! Ah yes, I took a couple of hours off today to make up for Saturday, but it wasn’t enough! I’ll have to flex a few more hours later this week.
I’m so happy to hear about your tomato haul! They’re my favorites!
We may (maybe maybe) have ducks as early as this weekend! There are a pair for sale south of us that we may need to make a short road trip of picking up 🙂 I’m excited to maybe even have our very first ducklings hatch here shortly!
I love reading this section Melissa..I look forward to this post so much! 🙂 I love talking to you over this hot cuppa coffee and listening to all that’s been going around in the farm. yours is literally my most favourite corner on the Web and I’m happy to be a part of the Ever Growing Farm 😀 Cheers…
Hi I had ducks for years and if I was able I would have them again. I agree they are messy and love mud but I had no trouble with bugs or slugs. They loved lettuce but other than this they were not distructive, other than not looking where they put thier feet so seedlings needed protection they were easy. I am also willing to answer question on care etc.
Wonderful insights! Thank you! What breed(s) did you keep? Any hard won tips you can share will be totally appreciated!!! 🙂
I’m here through the InLinkz :).
I know very little about ducks but I will warn you that they are aggressive and smart!
My aunt and uncle used to have some for their pond and the bloody things would knock on the front door when they were hungry since she kept the food in the house to keep them from breaking in UNDER the house into the cold cellar and tearing up the bags!
Good luck!
Oh man, that’s crazy!!! We’re definitely still debating but would love to have some help with the pests here! Thanks for your insights!
I haven’t noticed the trees blooming yet but more robins and other birds have been hanging out in the as-yet-not-blooming trees.
Oh good! I hope yours hold off a bit as ours are way too early! Hope you have a great week!
Yay ducks! In short. Much messier than chickens food/water wise but way less destructive of garden plants! I’m happy to attempt to answer any more duck questions. I’m not an expert but we’ve been keeping them for about 10 years.
Hi Jessie! Thanks you for the offer of info! We keep hearing conflicting things about whether or not ducks are good for the garden 🙁 What breed did you have that was *good for the garden? Really, any tips or tricks you can offer will be so very appreciated! Thank you!
Sorry! I keep forgetting you aren’t a wordpress blog that will give me auto notices of replies to my comments I have to remember to check that little e-mail notification box at the bottom! We’ve just had Anconas the last few years but at one point we had Kakhi Campbells, Runners and a few adopted drakes of mixed heritage. I think that as far as the garden goes, putting them in now is great and then if you keep them out while the plants are little then their big ole feet won’t squish any. Once the plants are bigger I’ve never had issues with the ducks eating any of the plants or trampling them too badly. Or most importantly digging them up in attempt to dust bathe and find food like the chickens do! One other thing I’ve noticed that is different with the ducks vs the chickens is that they will go back in their house at night the same but they really don’t like going into a house that is significantly darker than the outside. We used to have a duck house with just a small little window and the ducks would never file inside until it was DARK out. Super pain. We moved them into our brooder house the last few years which has giant windows. Ducks went to bed same time as the chickens did and I never had to try to herd them in. Ok, one last thing and then I”ll stop this comment is getting huge! 🙂 We found someone that was throwing out an old green turtle shaped sandbox and it has made the perfect duck “pond” for years. The molded turtle shaped sides make it pretty easy for them to hop in and out of and it’s not too big for dumping and re-filling. Feel free to shoot me an e-mail behindthewillows@gmail.com if you have any other questions. Then I’ll feel better so when I bombard you with questions when I start building my goat barn! 🙂
Jessie recently posted…Cogling by Jordan Elizabeth
Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for all of this!!! I appreciate it a lot! I’ll shoot you an email soon so we can be connected that way and chat back and forth whenever 🙂
Sounds great! 🙂
Jessie recently posted…A Bugs Eye View
I love that photo too. It looks as though spring has sprung. 🙂
Congratulations to Mama Mello! Looks like 2 is the popular answer right now.
As to your questions, March has been treating me very well. I saw a few tulip trees blooming when I was out and about today, but none of the flowering trees on our property are blooming yet. All is well, and all is well. Can’t ask for more than that. No plans for tomorrow. It’s going to rain, I think, so it might be a good day to relax and hang out in my PJ’s.
Robin recently posted…If we were having coffee: Gentle days edition
Oh my goodness…a day in my PJs sounds divine! Enjoy every second of it 🙂
Our rain continues to come at night and days are in the fifties. The trees are starting to bud. I do like you blue mug. Thanks for the hug and here is one back.
Betty Louise recently posted…COFFEE SHARE MARCH 12
Sounds like spring to me 😉 The mug is a good one! A Christmas gift <3 Hope you have a great week!
Love these posts! Sounds like you have a fun weekend planned. We are getting ready to move to West Virginia in May to join a homesteading community! So very excited…wondering how much to share on my blog because the folks there are rather private. Perhaps I’ll start a new private blog to document our adventures. Glad to have your site as a resource as we start our journey. You have always been an inspiration! Xoxoxo
Hi Kelli! Thank you for your kind words <3 I am so excited for you and your new move! How thrilling! I am excited to read about your adventures :-) A couple of ideas...start a new blog that's anonymous (no one knows it's *you writing it) or keep your location secret (West Virginia is large, which is a good thing, but you could also only say you're located in the South or something like that). Ooohhh...this is going to be so amazing for you!
I love the photo you shared with us. So much so I had to go find you on instagram 🙂
Colline recently posted…Weekend Coffee Share: A Week with a Difference
Aw…Thank You, Colline!!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!