Vernal Equinox, part 2

Out in the nourishing darkness tonight, I closed up the chicken's hatch to their outdoor pen as the snow pelted the lush spring grass.  Overcast skies blotted out any moonlight, and I made my way attended by the beam of a very small flashlight. A soft purr of concern rose up from the flock as soon as I arrived outside the barn, and I calmed my birds with a whispered assurance, "Just me."

 Inside the dark barn, I collected eggs from under sleeping hens, my hand slipping between the hay nest and downy hen feathers, warm as an antique quilt.  As I gathered the eggs, the hens' wings curved around my hand in a practiced move, trying to gather back in the wayward eggs. Had I rooster right now, I'd let those eggs lay where they are.  But it's all ladies in the flock.

Back outside, my dog and I stopped to experience a snow squall ride in to our hilltop from the far ridge.  A dusky cloud of snow swept over the landscape, blotting out the little I could see of the fields and fencerow trees this dark night.  My dog and I paused to drink in the cold air, to feel the frozen prickles of snowflakes on our noses, and hear that lovely singing sound snow makes as it lands on open ground all around you. The simplest prayer is just to listen.

 Good bye winter.  Goodbye snow.  I carried the basket of warm eggs back into the buttery light of the house to where the broccoli and onion seedlings grow under lights.

Welcome spring!
Betsy

Happy Spring Equinox

A snowy first day of Spring follows a mild winter, and finds Hawk's Hill decked in green grass and blooming daffodils.

Earlier in the week, we dug the last of last summer's potatoes. A full pantry and a bounty of spuds last fall led us to experiment with leaving 5 or 6 rows of potatoes in the ground.  We used the earth as our refrigerator over the winter.  For the most part it was successful. The potatoes held indoors in pantry storage have grown long sprouts and gone rubbery. Out in the good earth, we dug up about a bushel of solid, unsprouted spuds. About half of the overwintered potatoes in the garden had gone mushy or frozen. We harvested the other half.  As I write, a pot of Kennebec potatoes boils to make mashed potatoes for dinner. Yum!

Giant Kennebec potatoes 

Natascha golden roasting potatoes and Banana Fingerlings

And the hens are laying, providing me with a favorite springtime treat -- egg salad sandwiches.  Here's a pot of eggs recently boiled.  I love the variety in colors in the brown eggs -- some rosy, some tan, some earthy brown.  Soon, the hens will leave their wintering home in the barn, and roam the fields again, eating fresh green grass.

Wishing you all balance and a return to contact with Nature at this Spring Equinox!
Betsy