It’s official; Spring has finally arrived at the Homestead!
Albeit a little early than expected and I’m under no illusion there won’t be meteorological backsliding but she’s here, escorted in by her trusty bullyboy sidekick, the Nor’Wester. The first gust gut-punched the Homestead in the early hours of Wednesday morning, fumbling around under the deck roof and flinging all manner of debris at our west-facing bedroom window, and I spent the rest of the night trying to remember whether I had replaced the heavy tyres on the resource pile when I’d extracted some wood earlier in the week (I had) or flipped the outside table (nope, but the Nor’Wester kindly took care of that) and hoping The Farmer and Princess had tightened the strops on their sleepout bedroom (I assume so as they were still in place when dawn broke). Then, at about 10am, all fell quiet and Spring, in the form of abundant plum blossom, neon yellow daffodils and gambolling lambkins, was here – and we’re full of the joys of it.
Babette the cat has now reined in her Spring joy having quickly found out first hand that, with the lamb count currently at six (Amanda the pirate lamb having delivered her not-so-little girl, Luna, over the weekend), that’s more than enough lamb-power to well and truly ruffle your fur when you try to join the frolicking squad and don’t fully understand the rules of the game.
Oh! And there’s little to compare to the joyous first-of-the-season gift of not having to haul the evening’s firewood upstairs. Yep, this week we even had an evening warm enough to forgo lighting the woodburner!
The bullyboy wind also provided the means to begin next autumn’s fire-starter reserves. I’m a sucker for getting something from nothing; those leaves don’t compost well and the lawnmower hates them but pop one in with the kindling and they fair turbo-charge the woodburner after a summer of drying off in the garage.
In honour of the climb in temperature, however temporary, I spent an afternoon putting my irrigation theory into practice. This kind of DIY carry-on can have the effect of a lead balloon on Spring happiness but not this time. It turns out elevating the sprinklers equals more efficient crop dousing for way less water usage.
Yep, right now we’re all Happy Happy Joy Joy
~ with echoes back to the 1990’s Homestead, the fledgling Engineer and Farmer’s unbridled, uncontrollable belly laughs, and the idiocy that was Ren and Stimpy – just because it’s Spring.
Union Homestead 
Bring on Ren and Stimpy!
Spring certainly came in with a bang, but how lovely everything looks.
Great to get the free Firestarter. I, too, love getting free stuff.
I found myself singing that silly song as I did the morning chores😊
A perfect song for spring!
Do you think the lambs will allow your cat to play with them one day?
They seem interested in her now, she was certainly part of the gang but they tend to change direction enmasse and she obviously doesn’t speak the language and misses the signals. I think it will be less likely as they get older. The sheep grow so quickly; several of the lambs are already towering over her.
Hooray for spring!
The raised sprinklers must be a good idea, so I am glad that it worked.
Not a unique idea but I was very pleased my method of raising them utilizing bits I had lying around paid off. There was a fair amount of sniggering from those privy to my plan😁
Look how neat and tidy everything is. Yay, you!
Thank you! Spring always makes things look prettier – even the weeds😁
At last I have caught up with your posts. I have enjoyed reading about the joys and pitfalls of your lives both on and off farm. I was sorry to read of the deaths of Leia and Clover and heartened by the births of lambs. I can understand the significance of the early signs of spring. Winter is not my favourite season and this year has been especially horrible with freezing temperatures (at least by Central Victorian standards) and health issues which have kept me out of the loop. The cold temperatures delayed the flowering of the Golden Wattle which normally sets the bush ablaze in July. But now, the bush is awash with yellow and Castlemaine is bedecked with pink and white lace. Temperatures are becoming milder and my mood has lifted with the increased hours of daylight. Good luck to Farm Girl in her engineering ambitions and best wishes for an abundant spring and summer.
Lovely to hear from you again, Margaret. I hope you’re feeling much better. It’s certainly been a rollercoaster ride for us. Saying goodbye to Leia was especially hard. Let’s hope we’re both in for a comfortably warm, not too hot, super pleasant summer.