The Hunnicutt Homestead

Spring Planning

There is a proverb that says "If you are too lazy to plow in the right season, you will have no food at the harvest.."  Simple enough, but I wonder what would be said today in the wake of artificial sunlight bulbs, expensive planting mixes and heated seedling trays.  Our last day of frost here in Ohio is May 15th, but yesterday we began to till the compost we had collected into our garden.  We are getting ready to plant 45 strawberry plants which will also be under row covers.  I have started my seedlings and am looking forward to a fruitful season.  We have already had 13 inches of rain this year (the average is 8) and so I'm not too worried about drought.

Shane has finished the Waldorf-Astoria of chicken coops and we now have 15 chicks peeping under a heat lamp.  We purchased two different breeds: Rhode Island Reds and White Leghorns.  When they get old and are no longer laying well they can go in a pot of soup.  We've told the kids to give them names like "Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner" but the kids have opted for "Fluffy, Fooey, Beaky" and the like.

We have two female cats who are pregnant and two other males (neutered) living in the barn.  Both female cats have come from elsewhere and we are really looking forward to the kittens as none of us have ever had the full experience before.  The kids are very excited and love to watch Bella's tummy move.  Bella is kept in the laundry room so we won't miss anything.  Koshka showed up later and is not as far along.  She will probably hide them somewhere in the barn as that is her favorite place to be.  All our cats are extremely friendly and love to be pet by the kids.  Anyone out there need a cat?

My bees seem to be prolific.  This week I will be painting more supers and will go from 2 hives to four this spring.  I'm hoping to have a harvest of about 130+ pounds of honey this year.  I will also be trying my hand at raising honeycomb and may even enter it into the fair.

Shane needs to prune our apple trees and spray them with dormant oil, we need to fix our field fences for goats and continue to plan our garden.  Shane is also growing a window cleaning business which is looking promising.  He also has many tree branches to cut up for firewood as the ice storm we had a few weeks back left some damage.

It is quickly becoming a busy time of the year.  It is eagerly welcomed after such  a long dreary winter as it indicates that warmer sunnier days are just around the corner!

Untitled Comment

{ 05:42, Sunday, March 30, 2008 } { Posted by HomesteadingCarnival }

Hi there!
Just wanted to stop by and see what was going on with you! I hope you're having a blessed Lord's day!

Can't wait for Spring to come and stay here in Indiana. It's been nice having some warm weather!

Please, stop by to read our latest post, The JOY of a 16yo Carnival-Owner, and please submit something to this week's carnival!

Blessings!
Miss Jocelyn for THC