Spring is Here

Spring has officially arrived. The Cardinals have been playing for almost a month (with a winning record), but that isn't what officially heralds spring here in central Illinois -- it's the mowing (or perhaps the Cubs losing -- again/still). Mike hopped on the tractor yesterday after work and mowed his ditches (he's fanatical about keeping them neat), the parklands and the half acre. I am going to pick the yard of dog poop later this morning and when the dew dries, get the yard and orchard mowed before it gets out of hand. Flash is doing her part by keeping the green lot grazed low and the pastures won't need hit for another couple weeks since they were overgrazed last fall.

This starts our three-day cycle of spring mowing. We have three acres which is broken up by horse fences and each area has a name. In order to stay ahead of the mowing, we do 1/3 of the mowing each day on a rotational basis. That way we're not mowing for hours on one day and if it gets rainy it doesn't all get ahead of us to where it needs baled.

Sometimes this cycle gets to be inconvenient, but as summer approaches and the spring flush of growth slows, we actually get several days without mowing. So if we can get thru the next four to six weeks of rapid spring growth, things will settle into a more leisurely routine.