{Spring...is that you?}

SPRINGTIME: the Sun feels just a little bit sunnier, the birds are returning, the days are getting longer by the minute and it's offically spring according to the calendar.

The spring of 2013 was cold, wet and down right depressing as you can see in this photographic evidence taken on May 4th, 2013.

Despite the warm fuzzy feelings we get from slightly warmer springtime temps we are faced with many perils on the farm.

Thankfully, as the children are growing and getting stronger they can withstand the grasp of the dog hair tumbleweeds.  They lurk in the shadows waiting to spring onto an unsuspecting victim.  As the temps creep up the dog hair drops drasticly and without end, it seems. 

Here's a youngster in its natural habitat, the kitchen, inching away from the safety of the wall and searching for a victim!

Imagine the Jaws music playing in your head right now. 

Ew, looks like I need to wipe down my base boards. Just keeping it real.

The hosts, as cute as they may be, end up getting banished to the outside kennels until the tumbleweeds are eradicated and it's safe to travel through the house alone again.

 

Notice that one particularly large, dopey dog is not pictured. That doesn't mean he doesn't shed but the aggressive tumbleweeds are made up of 90% brittany fur!  Ruger's fur usualy just sticks to the family room blankets and rug.  It doesnt mass up in clumps.

 

 Outside is where it gets serious.  What happens when snow melts into gravel? Mud.  What happens when snow melts into the black dirt of a farm field? Black mud. What happens when snow melts into the paddock area where animals have been going to the bathroom all winter? Ok you get the idea.  Mud everywhere for weeks.  The driveway has a couple areas that love to pool up with water so on your way in you hit mud puddles then the next section is slightly up hill and the ruts gets extremely deep. 

I must hear it daily at least, "hey, you need to wash your car!" 

oh really, I didnt notice.

 

What does mud attract? Kids and dogs...and sometimes husbands.

 I've had to go on search and rescue missions in mud holes for missing boots that were sucked right off of a child's foot. 

 

Another springtime danger looks a lot like mud, if your mud gathers in large groupings all over your lawn.  Every year I say I'm going to keep up with the pooper scooper but I dont.  I just say a little thank you to Mother Nature when a fresh blanket of snow covers the ground.  As springtime starts I hope for a rainy day to help disingrate the clumps into the grass.  That's just smart is what it is, free fertilizer from the animals going back into the grass. It's like the circle of life.

 

Speaking of fertilizer, another springtime danger is manure spreading.  The farmers around us are going crazy with it.  My eyes start to water as I roll my window down just to get the mail.  If the wind is blowing in the right direction(wrong if you're us) you can forget sitting outside enjoying the weather, the thick stink in the air drives you inside.  

What makes all these dangers acceptable, what keeps me going?  The little bulbs that will be poking up in the garden and maybe a couple spots you forgot you planted some bulbs. More importantly, the peace I see in my husband's soul as we enjoy the type of life he's always wanted for his family.

~A.