Rain, rain, rain...

It has been a very wet Spring here in eastern Kansas. Luckily, Brent and I aren't trying to get crops harvested and/or planted like all the farmers we know. It's been a real struggle for them.

Our biggest struggle with this weather has been staying cheerful while the weeds take over the new lawn and the chickens grow like weeds!

We have managed to take advantage of the occasional sunny day to work on things around here. But the ground is soaked and water is standing everywhere - so progress is slow. As always, there are things to smile about - like this vision of beauty out our window:

The rain drenched deck

In spite of the rain, the guy that is helping us finish out the barn has also been able to make a little progress for the alpacas. He's finished the roof and the west side. And since it's dry in there now, we took a little time to move things around. The boys have a lot more space inside to get in out of the rain these days.

Walt standing by the feeder in the middle of the "spacious" barn

We also expanded their pasture. I posted a fun picture on Instagram of Brent and me splattered with mud. You can see it there if you search for either Patti Ragsdale or gardenrambler. Brent figured out how to set the telephone pole posts even though the holes we had drilled were full-to-the-top with water. And putting up one of the posts created a muddy rain shower that was pretty amazing - and very picture-worthy.

Getting up 4 of the 14 posts for the fence along the draw created enough fence line to move the pasture space out another 100 feet to the east. Brent, Logan and Jeremy strung some new wire fence last week and herded the boys into the newly available tall grass. The alpacas love to nose through all that grass to find the clover and eat it first.

Loki checking out the clover in the newly expanded pasture.

My most pressing project is the chicken coop. Even though it's only 4 foot by 5 foot, it's a big project for me and is taking way too long (as always). But, between rains over the last 3 weeks, I've made quite a bit of progress. And it's a good thing because the chicks are pretty much chickens now. They are pretty crowded in their "expanded" brooder.

The very beginning of the coop.

A view of the nest boxes and egg door at the end of the day yesterday.

So we are making progress - just slow because we are literally walking through mud. We should start moving a little faster in the weeks to come because, as of last week, I'm "retired" from my corporate job. I'm a full-time, focused farmer - or something like that these days :-)

In spite of all the rain that's slowing been things down, Brent and I have taken time to enjoy the fruits of our farm. Last weekend we walked out to the east-most border of our property to see if the mulberry tree had ripe berries. And it had a ton! Of course, we only picked what we could reach...and then we made a cobbler. It was really good - tasted like figs!

Mulberries

There just isn't any end to the things to do. And that's a really good thing because most of those tasks are outside in this beautiful place. And, even though I already miss the constant interaction with the wonderful people I worked with at Hallmark, this new farm-focused job will give me a lot of things to smile about - and, hopefully, the space and freedom to share with friends.