What a difference a month makes.
The last time I posted we were suffering a cold snap (one of several). This week however feels like we're on the cusp of spring. If I was tapping trees this year I would be starting now. Not that I know much about the process but this week the daytime temperatures are nudging above freezing and the nighttime temperatures are dipping to about minus 10. From what I've read that seems to be just about right for ideal sap flow. We've decided to wait another year as we still haven't set up a outdoor work area where we can boil the sap. Not having a kitchen fan, I don't want to introduce all the humidity to the house.
I can smell the difference in the air. I took the dogs for early morning runs both Monday and today. This is possible because it is now light before seven (another bonus). What snow there is is hard pack and in the early morning I can walk on it without breaking through. There's lots of bare ground and you can smell it starting to warm up. It's earthy and fresh. This morning was perfect -- bright and sunny, crisp and without any wind. If this keeps up we should be able to get the block of ice out of the stock tank and begin using it again. It froze solid earlier in the month... we just couldn't keep up with breaking the ice
It's been so nice I've taken Joe's blanket off for a few days. He doesn't love having it on, so I'll leave it off until the weather turns again. He is already starting to shed.
Dahlia has a thick lush coat and I'm sure we'll soon be seeing her shedding. Her horns are really starting to develop and are big enough to use as handles. They're also big enough to leave a nasty bruise if you don't move out of the way quickly enough. I found this out the hard way the other night and I'm now sporting a three-inch bruise on my thigh. A sound reminder to keep my eye on her and not the dog. On another cow note, Rob believes she may have had her first heat cycle. We'll need to watch and see if we can track as we're thinking of breeding her this summer.
