Even as I watch the snow gently falling outside my window, I am contemplating spring. In fact, the last couple of years, I've started to wonder whether I'm seriously afflicted with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I say this in jest (mostly), but I did add a Vitamin D supplement to my vitamin regimen just in case. I, like Girl 1 who was huddled up next to me whimpering this morning as we waited for the school bus in the blustery wind, just don't like to be cold. I would always choose to be hot and sweaty rather than chilled to the bone. So, temperatures alone would be enough to have me looking forward to spring, but this year, there's so much else going on here, too.
For example, this is Lydia. She doesn't live here yet, but if all goes well, she will become a member of our household sometime in April. She is a Nubian dairy goat. She will kid in April, and both she and her kid will call our blossoming homestead home. I am super excited about all the milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, soap, etc. that I will be able to make with the milk she and Smoochie will provide.
This is Smoochie. This cutie and her adorable, silver ears will come along with Lydia. Though she is not a registered Nubian, she will provide us additional milk and serve to keep Lydia and her kid company in their new surroundings. Our girls are currently on a great Nubian farm in Missouri. We plan to go meet them and see their farm sometime in February. John has the goat pen and milking shed complete now in the backyard. Sorry, I don't have any pics of this yet, and now that it's snowing I don't think I'll trudge out to take any (due to my aforementioned distaste for the extreme cold).
Also in the works, we will be attempting a new strategy for our backyard garden this year. Square Foot Gardening is a new method I read about this fall and am excited to try. Also, after reading an article about the importance of using seeds generated close to home, I placed my seed order with Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds based in Missouri and enjoyed their catalog more than is probably natural. The photos of the exotic varieties were breathtaking (over the top?).
Oh, and this is Cocoa Puff. She is our newest addition. She was a rescue from the local pet store where she was being housed in the "buffet cart" and intended as dinner for a giant snake. Yikes! While I really like the name the kids picked out, John had proposed that we name her Fertilizer Factory. She is, after all, intended to do more for us than just provide super-soft snuggles. Based on my reading, rabbit poo is just about the best thing ever for a garden. Because it is so mild, it can be added directly to soil as fertilizer, whereas our chicken droppings have to compost for awhile before being garden-ready. So, while she is a great pet, she is also working hard for us. Anytime now, the cats are probably going to begin to question their place in our family. After all, since they're not feeding us, they're not really pulling their weight in quite the way the chickens and rabbit are. :)