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Oh, March…you are going to be busy!

Amber Shehan March 8, 2010

So far, March has been a damn sight better than February! Now, mind you, we woke on Tuesday to snow that didn’t stop falling until it was 6 inches! So we did the logical thing; played dress-up, went outside, and had Sarah direct a photo shoot of me mincing around in the tumbling snow! It…

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So far, March has been a damn sight better than February!

Now, mind you, we woke on Tuesday to snow that didn’t stop falling until it was 6 inches! So we did the logical thing; played dress-up, went outside, and had Sarah direct a photo shoot of me mincing around in the tumbling snow! It was a great way to spend a cold, gray day – cause I can tell you, the fascination of just staring at the snowflakes gracefully falling went away about mid-December…

But this evening, as I gaze around, I see more green on the ground than the frosty white and muddy red clay. The birds are out thick everywhere, singing and fussing and picking the ground for the insects that are rousing. It has certainly been warm enough to imagine their reemergence – we were just at 60 degrees on both Saturday and this fine Sunday afternoon.

I let myself sleep in until 11 am on Saturday…it’s been a long week, after all! Post-coffee, I  set myself busy making some Chai Honey. I have to fill the abundance of Etsy orders that poured in last week! Then I get the call that I have empty shelves at the local shop, the Candler, NC “House of Herbs.”  I put three jars of honey in just about a week ago, and two of them have already sold!

Feeling motivated and accomplished, I put on jeans and boots and ambled down to the lower lot to poke around the future garden plot.  I turned the compost and found a couple fat and wriggling earthworms living in there. I welcomed them, thanked them for their hard work, and set off to work with Eric.  He has been checking our scrounged lumber, pulling apart pallets, and measuring out designs for the chicken coop.  As he worked away at our free lumber supply, I got busy picking up trash out of the dirt. It’s something I do every time I visit the lower lot, yet I’ve only barely made a dent.

You see, whoever lived here before us wasn’t as conscientious as we are with the disposal of trash…there’s was a burn barrel that got dumped regularly. We are forever picking up bits of plastic and glass, metal cans, aluminum foil remnants – it seems like an inexhaustible supply of tiny trash bits that have a malevolent intent and really want to stick in your finger when you pick it up!

Until we get the yard clean, raised beds are one of the garden projects that we’ll be using the pallets for.  As we develop our plans, I’ll be sure to post the progress…for now, here’s our To-Do list for March 2010:

  • Build Chicken Coop (scrounged lumber, fence panels, pallets)
  • Set up the rain barrel
  • Modify pallets into Raised Beds
  • Gopher/Vole/Groundhog proof the garden beds
  • Varmint-proof the Coop
  • Feed and work the compost pile
  • GET CHICKENS!
  • Buy local, heirloom veggies that will thrive here (zone 7b)
  • Herbal First Aid Class (March 15, 6-9pm @ AB Tech, Madison campus, Free!)
  • Spring Garden School (March 20, 8:30-3:30 @ AB Tech, Ferguson Center, $10)
  • Healing From the Hive, Apitherapy Class (March 22, 6-9pm @ AB Tech, Madison campus, Free!)
  • Continue to invest time in building and promoting my Etsy shop
  • Invest time in my local community by joining farm markets and supplying local shops with my products
  • Take other classes that come up that can help me with chickens, bees, gardens!!

Phew! All that, and it isn’t even technically SPRING yet…what do you all have planned for your March?

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Amber Shehan

Hi! I'm Amber Pixie, and this is my site. Enjoy the recipes, information, posts, and please feel free to message me if you have questions!

6 Comments

  1. Milkweed on March 8, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    Hey Amber and thanks for reading over @ Milkweed Diaries….we’re hosting a series of classes on our farm this year too, on gardening basics with this bioregion in mind. If you’re interested – here’s the info: http://redwingfarm.net/wp/?page_id=12

  2. threadsofmagique on March 8, 2010 at 3:08 pm

    Wow, and I thought I was busy! Let’s see I’ve still got 3 months of Magic School, 1 more Reiki healing class, design and make menus for a friends new Fae cafe, finish setting up the Zibbet store, make things for our new local outlet and get the garden cleaned up for spring. That should be enough (who really needs sleep anyway?)

  3. Connie Shehan on March 8, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    My March? It’s March already? Hmmmmm…. Take web design class and build website, write godzilla-size paper to demonstrate proficiency in website building. Finish cleaning up yard and organizing garage. Create new brochures for home business and hopefully acquire new customers. Spend time at the beach….

    I am so happy your honey biz is going and growing so well.

    PS. Maybe the trash barrel remains could be mosaic supplies? xo

  4. EtsyFoodSnob on March 8, 2010 at 10:41 pm

    Thanks for following my blog! I see your to-do list includes a chicken coop. I hope you update often about the building/raising – I plan to have one myself as soon as I settle down a bit 🙂

  5. […] I’ve looked even closer and I keep finding a problem…as I’ve mentioned before, our yard is chock full of trash from the previous tenants.  Eric’s found a truck bed […]

  6. […] reprise of my To-Do list for March, updated now that we are moving into […]

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