The latest View. The weather’s been warm and sunny for the past few days, but the nights mainly cold, often drifting down to zero C and a bit below. No rain, and the ground’s getting dry. Finally got round to cutting the grass (no more soaked feet in the morning). The white pails all about are for the spring cleaning of rocks pushed up over winter. Nothing green in the way of crops to see from up here, but just about everything seeded so far has emerged. Overall, nice!
sky
A beautiful day
A beautiful day in the snowy field, looking back at the outbuildings from the greenhouse. I used the Kubota (the trusty compact tractor) to clear the path, more to take it out of the shed and give it a little run than because the snow’s too high to trudge through. The temperature’s around zero C, the sun is getting higher in the sky and warmer as she climbs, snow is melting at the edges and through the thin spots wherever you go… Is spring in the air? Sure feels like it!
Roof is working out
Here’s the barn with the new milkhouse extension, doing fine. We were slightly concerned that the slope of the new roof might be too shallow for snow to slide off, particularly with roll-off from the roof of the barn. The starting point was determined by an existing heavy cross beam in the barn, while the next beam is halfway up the wall – sloping the roof from there would’ve required tons of extra work and materials. As it is, it seems to be working out. Not having much snow or much of a winter at all helps. I doubt the sky will be falling in!
Fields of plenty
This is a great time of year, with everything growing, the sun high and strong, and still a good two months of prime harvest to come.
First day of summer
A horizon-to-horizon rainbow stuck around for a good half hour this evening of the first day of summer. Here it’s arcing over the goat barn (which, despite it’s appearance, is far from caving in!).
Sunny day
When it’s raining, you wait for the sun. After a few days of sun, you look out for some rain. Cloudy and dry isn’t much good for growing, but it’s perfect for working in the field, ideal for transplanting, and better for germinating seeds as long as it’s also warm. Windy isn’t helpful: even in a stiff breeze, sprinklers are way less efficient and steady wind will dry out the soil, and plants, faster than anything. Then again, air movement moderates temperature, spreads pollen, and generally keeps things moving. So you kind of need it all…
Red sun at night
This means nice weather tomorrow… Guaranteed!! At least, quite likely! Well, we’ll see…