Merry
Meadows

Happy Spring!! We finally made it! Winter just had to get one more cold snap in before moving over for Spring. We had tomatoes, yellow squash and zucchini planted in the ground. We covered the tomatoes and looks like everything survived the last freeze. I say the last, that is hopefully the case. The trees are leafing out and the Red Bud trees and wild Plum trees are blooming. Definitely can feel spring in the air. Many people were traveling this week for Spring Break, but we were here on the farm watching spring break out! 

Have you ever foraged for mushrooms or other native eatable plants? Well, it is time to forage for the Morel Mushroom.  Many Oklahomans are out hunting for them. They are a very popular treat. I personally have not had a Morel Mushroom, but I am looking forward to finding my own this year and seeing what they are like. 

With the high winds and thunderstorms we have been having lately, we had one of the beehives fall over. Luckily we had the boxes strapped together so it fell as one unit and did not open up. It only took one minor repair to the entrance door, and it is as good as new! The bees seem fine and happy.  They are really very active now. We have a plum thicket just behind the hives. The bees are all over the blooms. I hope to get to enjoy a few wild plums this year. 

I ordered 60 baby chicks. They came USPS. How exciting to pick them up from the post office and bring them home. Do you remember the episode of the I Love Lucy show when they moved to the country and ordered chicks? Lucy and Ethel let all of the chicks out in the house to keep them warm. My chicks went straight into the new brooder box that we built for them. They will stay there until they are old enough to regulate their temperature and be able to live outside. These are not laying hens but are a Cornish Cross (Ross 308). They are meat birds. These chickens grow very fast and will be enjoying life eating fresh grasses and good bugs in chicken tractors. A chicken tractor is basically a mobile chicken coop. Each day it is moved a few feet giving the chickens fresh grass to eat and at the same time they are fertilizing the ground.  At the end of eight weeks the birds will be full grown and will be processed for meat to feed us. 

The goats are happy to find all the new growth on the trees and the green grasses on the ground. They travel all over the property finding goodies to eat. The babies are big enough now to go out with the herd. They sometimes lose their way, but boy do they have good lungs!! They will cry out and the mamas answer them until they get caught up. I think it sounds like they are playing a game of Marco Polo. It is almost time to start finding new homes for the baby boys. I am sure we will have them for sale at our booth at the Flea to the Market. 

Less than two weeks to go until the Flea to the Market opening weekend for the 2023 season. This will be our third year. I am amazed at all of the talent we have in our area. Such talented artisans and makers. So many wonderful people that I have had the privilege of meeting. The markets help to support our little farm and boost the economy in our area. I look forward to another great year. Please come out April 1st and 2nd from 9am to 4pm and enjoy good food, good friends and lots to see. We will be adding more entertainers this year too. Sit back and enjoy the day!