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<\/a><\/p>\nby the house we have to rely on the leyland cypresses to provide green until the deciduous trees finally fill in.\u00a0 Everything else is still the brown leaf mulch of winter.<\/p>\n
But we still know that spring is coming.\u00a0 Because for every degree that the temperature rises, we end up adding another item to the To Do list.\u00a0 And the rush is on to get the hardest work done before the temperatures start to soar.<\/p>\n My first spring goal was getting the leftover chicken wire out of the woods.\u00a0 Because I wanted it for my next project.\u00a0 Also, because once the temperatures are consistently in the 70’s, fencing and woods goes hand in hand with yellow jacket stings and copperhead snakes.\u00a0 And I don’t like to hold hands with yellow jackets or copperheads.<\/p>\n Believe it or not, we used to use chicken wire as perimeter fencing for our goats.\u00a0 It worked fine.\u00a0 As long as we had Nigerian dwarf goats.\u00a0 Then we got some Nubians.\u00a0 Nubians can walk through chicken wire as if it is a spiderweb.\u00a0 So we had to redo the entire property with field fencing.\u00a0 Which was not the first time or the last time I had to redo something because I didn’t do it right in the beginning.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, if I had to redo my work any more often than I do, we’d have to call this farm the Do-Over.<\/p>\n In any case, when we put up the field fencing we simply cut the chicken wire off the trees and left it to sit.\u00a0 Until we got around to picking it up.\u00a0 Which took almost 6 years.\u00a0 So we could also call this place the Getting Around To It.\u00a0 Which sounds bad.\u00a0 Unless you put it in Latin.\u00a0 Then it looks like a fancy slogan that people will assume means something honorable and important.\u00a0 See:<\/p>\n Questus Circa Ad Eam<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Huh.<\/p>\n I take it back.\u00a0 Even in Latin it kind of hints at the fact that you’re going around in circles.\u00a0 Dang.<\/p>\n Really, what is Latin good for?<\/p>\n But at least I had a lot of company while I worked in the woods.\u00a0 The entire herd came down to surreptitiously keep an eye on me.<\/p>\n Except for Julia and Tulip.\u00a0 Who were convinced that the leaves trapped in the fencing I was pulling up were better than the rest of the leaves on the ground.<\/p>\n Which kind of made me wish they were as good at entertaining themselves as Bruno was.<\/p>\n But I appreciated the goats and the dog more than the pony.\u00a0 The pony who watched me heaving and hauling the fence out of the woods.\u00a0 While she calmly stood over the piles of wire, cool as a cucumber, and supervised.<\/p>\n Work, play, or get out of the way, big girl!<\/p>\n Eventually the fence made it to the top of the driveway.<\/p>\n Plus, as an added bonus I recovered a bunch of landscape staples that we had used to pin the fence to the forest floor (Nigerians are better at going under than going over).<\/p>\n And while I worked with the wire and the staples, The Other Half and the younger boys worked on clearing a dead tree from the back yard.<\/p>\n Is there anything more adorable than my munchkins in their hearing protection, safety goggles, and work gloves carrying logs to the fire pit?<\/p>\n Unless it’s my 13 year old that can manage a hammer and a fencing project as well as a full grown man.<\/p>\n Although it could be a bottle fed baby goat that follows everyone around looking for attention.\u00a0 Or a bottle.<\/p>\n With the fencing in place, Big and I started hauling mulch from the top of the driveway.\u00a0 Right before winter the power company sent crews to clear limbs and brush from around the power lines.\u00a0 We convinced them to leave us a truck of mulch at the top of the drive before they left the neighborhood. Combined with the leftover fencing and staples, that mulch meant our first spring project was entirely free.\u00a0 Take that, Home Depot!<\/p>\n Although, since the boys had the wheelbarrow, Big and I had to use trash cans to move it from there to the fencing.<\/p>\n Now I guess I’ll have to choose between asking for an extra wheelbarrow for Mother’s Day or a gift certificate for my favorite hot towel aromatherapy massage.\u00a0 Why are there so many difficult decisions in life?<\/p>\n All the work was worth it, though.\u00a0 By the time the boys had finished off the tree….<\/p>\n ….we had the bushes my uncle gave me last year safely mulched and barricaded behind chicken wire.\u00a0 To save them from chicken or baby goat attack until they’re big enough to withstand the nibbling.<\/p>\n \n With the first spring project out of the way, everyone could get back to important business.<\/p>\n Like having a little snack.<\/p>\n Or finding the perfect sunny spot.<\/p>\n Because spring is coming fast.\u00a0 So you should know where the best place is for lounging.<\/p>\n Unless you’re Simon or Isaac.\u00a0 Then you need to find a shady spot.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n