We found this perfectly good umbrella in the trash!  About a month or so ago.  It was just laying there.  Maybe it’s the wrong color or something, or they were moving and couldn’t take it with them?  Whatever the reason, it looks awesome in our spool table.   We had one before, but it just got all old and fell apart finally.  Now we have a new one!   We gave it a test run and it’s going to be nice when we do fire pit lunches!

We took a little time to get the weed patch pasture checked out and ready for everyone to come out and graze.  There was a low spot in the fence that we had to put in a few post and give it a good stretch, but other than that, the fence line in there was pretty good.  This hard winter has done a number on some of the fencing, but overall, it’s not too bad.  We’ve been just going in and doing a good check over, fixing a bit or adding a post and then letting the flock in to enjoy the new spring grasses.

This pastures is not lush, yet… but it’s not too bad.   We will probably let them in for a day and then give it a day or two rest, that sort of cycle for awhile.  We’re trying hard this year to really rotate and keep the pastures good and growing.  If that means a day or three in the paddock with hay, we will.  Because we’ve found that if they burn out a pasture, it takes weeks to recover.  So, we are trying to avoid that.  They have several big areas available and we will also rotate the ponies through the places as well.  I believe we can do it easily without over-grazing any area too badly.  And thankfully, hay is really getting to be cheap now, too, so a day or two in the paddock’s won’t break the bank!

We opened up a spot in the sheep and goat paddock for a new gate.   This gate will be great because it gives them access to the weed patch, which is now the dedicated sheep and goat pasture.  We had an extra gate on the feed room door, so we moved it here and it’s a way better fit!  Just love when we can move and repurpose things without just buying, buying, buying all the time!  Finally, we are able to do things from our stash of materials and such!

Jelly Bean is our little buddy!  He loves people and likes to hang out with us Food Ladies…  we are the cuddlers and he likes that a lot!   He’s so adorable…   we sure hope he has some little friends soon!   Come on sheepies!!!!

Maggie is our power tool pro…   she got this awesome powerful drill from her Dad for Christmas and man, that thing is sure amazing.   Sometimes, it’s too powerful, so you have to really watch that you don’t just strip screws and such!  We had a little cordless drill, which was nice, but just didn’t have a lot of “oomph” and would run out of steam halfway into a project all the time.   This new one is corded, so we have to drag extension cords about, but thankfully, we have power just about every where we would need it, so it’s a great trade off.   Good power tools are essential on a small homestead.  They make projects sooooo much more enjoyable.

The chickens are sure enjoying this lovely weather, finally!   The roosters take their ladies all over the place, searching out food everywhere they do.   Our feed bill is finally coming down LOW!   The chickens don’t really want their old scratch or grains much anymore!   They are full on bugs and worms!

Success!  Everyone is out in the weed patch, grazing and enjoying a fresh grass buffet!  Of course, there are a good supply of weeds for everyone to enjoy!!!!  They are happy campers for sure…

 

 

And last but not least…  we had to put on more post in for the boy pasture up front.   Howdy has discovered that if he climbs on the fence at a certain point, it gives enough for him to jump!   Bad Goat!    So we put a stop to that…  Harley and Dreamy are inspecting Jessy’s work…

 

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