Happy Spring to all!!! Greetings from all of us at EPHPHATHA !!! Well last week April 8th-9th we had snow.Approximately 4″ here in Central Maine.Though it was a shock it was a wonderful (albeit momentary) relief from the mud. Of course it didnt last long but it was an enchanting wonderland.
Now the snow has melted leaving wet muddy fields (sigh) The horses are knee deep in MUD!…..I know,I know mud season happens every year,but with two horses in the paddock and pasture,mud seems especially mushy this year.
We closed the lower pasture so that the grass will eventually reestablish itself. Our farmer friend Norman suggested that we spot seed it with Timothy and cover the seed with hay,older bales that we dont feed to the horses and hopefully it will germinate and create a cover over the most worn spots in the field. So this afternoon i am off to purchase some timothy.Timothy is especially healthy for horses. Luckily we can close this lower pasture as we have some really nice pastures across the street…and in a couple of weeks we can bring the boys over, after the ground has dried out. Everyone is anxiously awaiting GREEN….but the horses are especially anxious to taste the luscious spring GREEN grass. Of course we have to introduce it slowly so as to prevent colic.
Gus and Shadow our goats are very thrilled with the longer daylight and the warmer weather.They race around frolicking and bucking each other…. all in good fun of course. They love to munch the evergreen branches that we clean up from winter snows and toss in their small pasture.
Our hens (the chicks we bought last fall) are laying an abundance of brown and white eggs. Our customers (Ephphatha members and supporters) generouly purchase eggs and that income goes into our fund for feed, bedding,coop repair and maintenance. Thank you everyone!!! We also have eight Guinea Hens, that share the chicken coop. The Guineas are a very noisy bunch they make the sound: buckwheat,buckwheat,buckwheat in rapid succession and often at a high,fevered pitch( which is especially enjoyable {NOT} at 5:15 in the morning when they rouse and want to announce that fact to the world!! ) The are suppose to eat ticks (which we have an abundance of) We certainly hope so!! Then all the schreeching they make will be worth it!!!!
Just Last week we where invited to Bowdoinham to visit Apple Brook Farm to learn about honey bees. Caroline has five active hives. We cleaned each hive and found the respective queens of each of the hives. Caroline took photos of the respective queens to document their health and viability So far the hives look healthy and viable! Happy Honey making season to Caroline! Honey Bees are a project we are thinking of here at Ephphatha! We grow various strains of flowers to feed our wild native pollinators, and we practice organic protocols to help protect them from noxious pesticides, but we have never had our own hives here… maybe a future endeavor?
April is the time of seed starting and perusing seed catalogs and ordering seeds for the 2019 growing season. From Tomatoes to Sunflowers and beyond! For the right crops to start, We find that Johnnys Seed catalogs (Johnnys Seeds right here in Winslow) are a wealth of helpful hints and lots of information, and when calling if you need some advice….are always happy to help!
Spring comes again!! A busy time on the farm! Time for garden setups, pasture maintenance, animal immunizations, veterinarian checkups ( to keep our furry partners healthy and happy)But with all this intense busyness……We appreciate the Beauty of Dear Earth, as the gentle call of the returning song birds wakes her up from her deep winter slumber and once again we bear witness to the cycle of life. April is the month of RESURRECTION! Life is restored!…..Enjoy the miracle of new LIFE…. ALLELUIA !! HAPPY HAPPY SPRING
