Have we had a few days of really, really cold temperatures lately? Brrr and yes, but the sun is high and strong and the very near future promises much warmer weather. Yeeha! So, we’ll march on through the month readying ourselves for what’s to come…..sowing seeds, turning over soil, boiling sap into maple syrup goodness.
I’m not going to squander a minute of March. Before long we’ll be doing that “sun up til sun down” thing we do every year. I’m using these last days of winter (yes, soon to be spring) to finish all the wool spinning and dyeing, all the knitting and felting, all the rummaging through boxes of family papers, all the reading (thank you Rick H. for the package of books you sent!!) I can muster before it’s too late. 
This past weekend both Liberty Tool Company and Liberty Graphics opened their doors for another season. This is great for all those who travel to Maine looking for something special to bring home…like a smoothing plane, or a mortising chisel, or a really nice locally printed tee-shirt. For us locals, we wait all winter for the village to show signs of life again. After a winter of staying close to home, gathering at Liberty Graphics for a cup of coffee and a good chat is a sure sign of revitalization.
Even our chickens seem to have a pep in their step, grooming the landscape for spring morsels. Deep snow and cold temperatures keep them close to the coop until the bare ground starts appearing. Then the door is flung open and out they come, busy the rest of the day rototilling through the gardens and the woods.
Enjoy your days, peek out into the gardens, tip your face to the sun….spring’s a comin!
Mar
5
2017
Fernwood Nursery & Gardens 
It has been a wee bit chilly, hasn’t it? But your chickens look unfazed. I am also madly trying to finish my inside winter projects (a quilt and a deep housecleaning for me) so that I can turn my full attention outside. I am itching to start pruning our apple trees. It feels as if this winter has flown by!
It has flown by! I agree! Yes, aside from the things I mentioned in the post, there is still some painting, housecleaning, and basement re-organizing I should tend to as well. Oh my! I look forward to getting out doors and working the soiling, peering into the gardens to see what’s emerging, but winter is precious time here ( for you too, it sounds!), so I will not wish a moment away! Starting leeks, onions, and shallot flats today….so a bit of gardening will be done!
That it is, today has brought us a wonderful sunny day. The birds are queuing for the bird bath – yup queuing. Didn’t realise you spin and dye your own wool – those skeins are a wonderful mix of colours.
The sun, despite the hardly above zero (f) temps, has been glorious. The chickens here have even made their way out beyond the house where we hang feeders for the birds…they look quite silly rummaging around beneath the feeders with the chickadees and nuthatches! Yes, I raise a flock ( 30 or so) of Blue Face Leicester sheep and have been spinning, dyeing, knitting, and felting wool for well over 20 years. My “go to” creative outlet, you might say. These last few days of winter I hope to spend as much time playing with wool as I can. Besides, in another month we will be shearing sheep and there will be even more fleeces to process. I’m afraid I could insulate a very large house ( mansion) with the wool I have in the studio. Oh my. So you see, I HAVE to play in the studio,I HAVE to spin wool, just to make room for my family (or build on).Hee hee.
I really do have to come to Maine, love working with Blue Face Leicester wool! We can get it locally, but undyed. I’m having to step up the knitting a bit – have to finish a major project before we go on the road and get unused wool used up 🙂
Always projects on the needles to finish! This fiber thing, madness, really!! Yes, come to Maine for a good visit, a tour of our state, and to take some BFL off my hands!
That is too good to resist!
A Speckled Hen!
I think they are the most beautiful, and usually so personal.
The chickens are so fun to watch right now, with the weather beginning to turn and the snow melting , they are strutting about looking for edible delights. I love having a “hodge-podge” of chicken breeds, and yes the speckled ones are quite fancy!
I love them, and really miss my little secret backyard clan. I had them for 3 years and made them the most ridiculous blinged out chickey mansion. Complete with two chandeliers – well, one was a christmas ornament, but it was to scale 😉
Oh my, would love to see your chicken’s fancy digs…my friend Sally built an Irish gypsy wagon for her chickens, their a very special flock but they do like to roam a bit! ha
Well, mine was very inventive, and it kept growing although I didn’t make any posts on it. Eventually the chickens got to roam the whole backyard at least 6 hours per day. It’s how they liked it 🙂
My favorite was turning an old TV cabinet into a separate outdoor nesting box, good fun.
Maybe this will work, a link to the Chickens Category on my blog, there are just a few posts on there with pictures and crazy chicken ramblings:
https://ahorseforelinor.com/category/horses-every-day/chickens/
ooh la la!A chicken palace!
whoops, I meant “they’re” not “their” (lets keep our grammar correct!)
Does anything say “spring” better than a sap bucket on a big old maple?! I’ve been worrying, too, about all I wanted to accomplish during the winter . . . but I’m still ready for these signs of spring!
The sap has been running on and off during these cold days, but you are so right….a line of maples with sap buckets hung from their spigots does indicate spring here in New England. Oh sweet, spring! Maple sugaring is so much work, but I think for so many who have been waiting for a sign of life, it’s our first step into the spring season. And of course, a pantry shelf lined with with jars of maple syrup makes the world a better place!