Baby goats mean that Spring has arrived. This year our Alpine goat "Flower" had the usual...2 bucks...despite my "wishful thinking" I did not get a doe...never have...from this goat. Unfortunately this year she did have a doe, but sadly it was dead at birth...maybe next year. This goat usually has her kids out in a field...perfect mom..never have had any complications...I guess the trauma of having 2 kids..then a mal-positioned dead kid made her reject one of the bucks.... so, we have had the pleasure of bottle feeding this little guy named "Peanut". It amazes me how quickly an animal bonds to the first species that feed it. This guy just loves us!

Esmont had some high winds this month and lots of rain...good for the grass/pastures, but not so good for the chicken coop. One morning I looked out and saw that the 400 pound coop was no longer in the chicken yard. It had lifted up and over the fence, landing on the corner of one of our portable chicken coops...unbelievable! Only one chicken died...probably of a heart-attack at the startle, because we couldn't see a scratch on her!

Today we finally completed the fencing that opens up about 5 acres of grazing for our cows. We have been working on it gradually, buying fence posts and electric wire, as we had the money...installing as we had time. The 3 big cattle gladly moved into the new pasture to munch on the virgin-grass! It has been over 15 years (or more) since animals grazed this land...we are happy to increase the fertility of the land with the presence of cows. God provided this awesome cycle of energy. The sun provides energy to the "producers" (grass)...the "primary consumers" (cows)eat the grass...that energy converts to meat and milk, which the "secondary consumers" (humans) eat...providing energy via protein/sugars and fat to nourish us! Amazing! Not to mention that the bacteria present in the soil improved the cows rumen/stomach for good digestion...and then the manure decomposes, passing nutrients to the soil so that the plants can grow more strongly! Miraculous if you ask me!

The girls and I visited Colonial Williamsburg last week. I was inspired by the beauty of the Colonial gardens. They utilized raised beds and cold-frames, with lettuce and chard growing beautifully. Today I worked in my garden...setting up semi-permanent "raised beds". These beds are 3'x15'. I planted beets in the 1st, turnips in the 2nd and prepared a 3rd bed for spinach, which will be planted next week. I planted peas (snow-peas and sugar snap peas) several weeks ago, and they are finally peeking up out of the ground. They are located near our pool-deck so that they may be supported by the deck, as they need a trellis. Onions, cabbage, broccoli, basil, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and some hollyhock flowers are growing indoors under lights! I have all of my seed/potatoes ordered and a fairly well-planned garden this year. So far so good!

I am most excited about the hops vine that I bought for Dennis this year for Valentine's Day...quite romantic...I know! It should grow to about 20' high...we plan to let it grow up on our pergola to shade us while at the pool. Hope we can learn to make beer this fall. We will grow corn and barley to add to the mix. A local brewery, Star Hill, recently released a beer that was made with the same ingredients Thomas Jefferson's Monticello produced quite some time ago. My grandma "Mutz" used to drink an occasional "light" beer, in a glass, with an ice cube! Sounds so funny to me...I must take after her though, because I do prefer beer over wine, especially after a long hard day of gardening. I'll have mine dark/amber...in a frosty-mug...no ice-cube please!