50s and 60s during the day and anywhere from 28 to 45 at night. It certainly feels like Spring came early...maybe the groundhog really did call it. I think as long as we don't have really hard frosts really late, everything will be OK with this early warming.
At this time last year, there were inches of snow on the ground and the year before it snowed right about now. No snow in the forecast so far, so I've been raking leaves out of beds at Penland and replacing them with wood chips---somewhat cosmetic, but the leaves do mat down more than the chips and make it harder for plants to emerge. The chips this year come from the huge piles that came from the tops of all the trees cut for the new dorm. If I buy chips I always go for shredded pine instead of hardwood because I found that hardwood gets more of those weird fungus that look like neon colored deer puke. The mixed chips I've used at Penland seem fine though.
I have been doing lots of cutting back and also weeding, hoping to get a jump on the weeds before they get even hardier. So far that has mostly been Crown Vetch, which adds nitrogen and has pretty flowers, but sprawls and takes over and even worse, develops a root system that winds up being impossible to take out without digging the whole bed. Dandelions are up and similar to Vetch they have positive and negative traits. Dandelions do the job of tilling and accumulating valuable nutrients from deeper down than other plants can, but they are such a recognizable weed that I pretty much have to take them out. Others include Yellow Dock, Burdock, Wild Onions, Clovers, and Grasses. We had a really dry spell for a couple of weeks, but thankfully we've gotten some rain that makes weeding much easier. It also makes raking much harder because the leaves are so heavy.
Crocus and Snowdrops have already bloomed and I saw my first Daffodil open today. Tulips and hyacinths are not far behind. Set up my compost bin and I'm getting ready for Penland students to arrive.
At home, I've been keeping my chickens inside the coop, which is really hard to do when the weather is so nice. It has the benefit of letting the pasture grow a little without the constant pressure of all that pecking. I also know that I'm finding all the eggs and the other day I got 14 in one day, which is a record for this group of ladies (and gents). Getting almost a dozen a day feels way better than the 2 or so that I feel like I've gotten for the last couple of years. I think that when I had the sheep last year and the chickens did not have access to food at all times, that probably limited their production. I also think they lay elsewhere when they are roaming outside. I find them every so often, but I've looked many times and can't figure out where they go. At least one hen really likes the carport and I can't, for the life of me, find her roost. It feels so good to see them in the sunlight and its nice that there are starting to be some greens for them to munch on besides my compost. Most of the tiny green plants poking up are on the other side of a temporary electric fencing (poultry netting is what I call it) I put up, but my charger must suck because they never look like they get shocked and they'll cross over to get to the pasture, but won't be able to get back over so they huddle against the fence in the evening and I have to go carry them into the coop (another reason I have been leaving them in the coop for nights that I'm not around or just don't feel like going into a muddy pasture to scoop up a couple of hens). A funny thing happened the other evening when a couple of hens just decided to roost for the night on the ground, on the RIGHT side of the fence so they could have just walked into the coop if they wanted to, but I guess they were so used to being trapped by the fence they just sat there and waited for me! My buddy, Cheryl, who also raises birds, has a bunch of youngin's already, probably from her incubator, and she wants to borrow my rooster, Clapton, for some fertilization. I really like Clapton. He's really sweet and I feel like we have a good understanding. Newspaper is still just a freaknut.
I spread all last years coop scoopin's onto the veggies garden and my berries. I also sheet mulched the berries, laying about a cup of Steve Solomon's COF around each plant, then putting cardboard below the pine shaving/sheep poop/chicken poop mixture from the coop, with a layer of chips to top it all off. I hope the poop isn't too active (hot) for the berries and the perennials in the veggie garden. I am assuming that by the time I plant the home veggies, it will be fine. I think I'm doing mostly later season hot weather stuff at home this year. Got half of the bank by the road cut back, but still need to finish and clear out the wooded part of the chicken's pasture. Neighbor Gordon and neighbor Danny are excited to collaborate this year, which could mean chickens and/or corn and taters and /or some hops!! Our neighborhood definitely has potential! Starting my roommate search for this season, crossing my fingers. Getting psyched for the OGS this weekend!!!
PEACE
Coop
