February 3, 2023
In case you are like me and start looking for (or fabricating) signs of spring almost as soon as winter begins, here is some proof that it really is out there, somewhere on the horizon.
Last week our brook was completely free of ice and the skunk cabbage along its banks was happily poking up through the mud. Spring, though, is always a ruthless tease and I know when we go outside to take care of the animals this morning, it’ll be dishearteningly cold. But after this arctic setback, the brook will quickly thaw again, and the skunk cabbage will resume its optimistic journey towards the sun.
Lately, all the branches on our willow trees have become decidedly more yellow. The change is subtle, just barely a whisper, but it’s definitely there. It’ll be months before the willow’s leaves emerge, but the yellowing is a sure sign that the carotenoid enzymes in its stems are already starting to stir. Carotenoid is the same enzyme that brings out the orange in carrots and autumn leaves. In the maples it’s the anthocyanin enzyme that’s waking up and turning its tender branches a reddish hue. The willow and maple trees are still technically asleep, but both are clearly getting restless.
We ordered the bottles we’ll need for maple sugaring and are planning to tap our trees on Monday. As long as the nights stay below freezing and the days stay above, we’ll be collecting, and boiling, sap for the next 6 weeks. Once sugaring starts, what little free time we have seems to just evaporate - not unlike the water from all the sap we’ll be boiling!
Our first lambs are probably another 4 weeks away, but we are ready. We scrubbed the bottles we’ll use for bottle feeding. They were already pretty clean, but it just felt right to give them an extra scrub! We set aside the old towels we’ll use for drying off the newborns and stacked them near the lambing pen in the barn.
We cleaned out our bluebird houses because I’m sure the bluebirds will be by to scout them out soon. They won’t start nesting or laying eggs until April, but they, like me, clearly like to plan ahead.
I’m pretty sure the chickens are starting to think about laying again (which is the precursor to actually laying more). We’ve found a couple more eggs every day as more and more of our hens come back online.
And let’s not forget that we’ve gained an hour of daylight since the solstice. Oh, ye of little faith! What more proof do you need?