Springtime on the Farm
To quote Charlotte’s Web: “This old world is filled with wonders, but to me there is no place more wonderful than a farm in springtime … everywhere you look, little miracles are happening.”
One of the miraculous things I love experiencing every spring is gathering fleeces from the sheep. Wool is a truly marvelous thing. It is a temperature stabilizer and creates a thermal barrier– not only can it warm you up when you’re cold, it can also help you stay cool in warm weather! It is wrinkle resistant and fire resistant. It naturally repels moisture. Wool has antimicrobial and antiviral properties! And, of course, it’s very resilient and elastic and can be turned into so many wonderful things! Wool is truly a miraculous fiber.
Another annual springtime occurrence is cleaning out the barn! A dirty, smelly, fairly nasty job that ends with lots of great compost material for the orchards and gardens. A farm orchard blooming in the spring brings renewed promises of life.
Spring is also the time for planting! Dormant berry plants, fruit trees, flower bulbs, cool-hardy vegetables, and much more can go directly into the ground. Summer vegetables can be started inside in preparation for planting in warmer weather.
And, of course, spring is the time for babies! Frog and toad romanticizing in the pond, followed by lots of frog and toad spawn. Poultry hatching their eggs everywhere and balls of fluff following clucking mothers around the barnyard. Lambing time can be stressful and busy for shepherds, but it’s oh so miraculous...particularly my mom’s Tunis lambs, which are sweet little redheads.
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