Spring started early here in SW Colorado! By the beginning of March the highs were in the 50s and 60s and we had full days of sun. In just a couple of short weeks most of our snow from the Winter had melted away. Of course, right now I’m looking out the window and it’s… you guessed it… snowing… but still. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and near 60, so this will all melt tomorrow probably. But the last few weeks have been amazing to be working outside.

Bonfire!

We’ve had quite a few big bonfires to get rid of some of our big piles of brush leftover from last fall, and now is the time to have fires like this; a couple of months from now it will be too dry and dangerous to do such a thing. I also needed our biggest brush pile cleared out so I could start building my chicken coop! I have gotten as far as the floor, and just getting to that point has been a lot of work. Leveling ground, pulling out rocks, placing pallets, laying chicken wire and hardware cloth, screwing the whole thing together, flipping it over… it’s been a process so far. When it’s finished, it’ll be 10×12 feet, plenty of space for a few hens and ducks. And in the future, a rooster and some rabbits too. More details on the coop in a future post, when it’s complete!

Leveling ground for chickens.

Chicken house footprint.

The horny toads are back out and about! We love having our little meadow dragons around again. I’ve put my hummingbird feeder out in preparation for them to come back too. They apparently knew it was going to snow at least one more time and have not returned quite yet… smart little birds.

Dragon!

R also cut down another big unhealthy tree that was being crowded by healthier trees and needed to go. We’re considering turning one of the big logs into a bench to hang out by the fire pit. It’s a nice little spot to hang out. We’ve already had some friends over: bonfire, brats, and beer!

Future bench hang-out?

Loki laying in the fire pit. Obviously, pre-fire.

Just the other day was the official first day of Spring, so happy Spring! We’ve gone through hardly any firewood the past few weeks, we even skipped one night having a fire completely in the woodstove, but tonight it’s snowing and so cozy inside next to the fire. Since the time change too we’ve been working outside later into the evening, and by the time we come in we’re pretty worn out and it is time for bed. It has taken a little adjusting from Winter into Spring as far as our energy levels are concerned. We have a lot to do and we’re trying to take advantage of every moment of sunlight. Coffee has been my friend in the mornings. And I have found that my physical recovery days are days when I go into town to work at my day job. I work so much harder at home!

We’re not the only ones worn out at the end of the day.

But man is this life rewarding.

Just a couple of homesteading hippies!