One down, ten billion to go

So, what to do on the first sunny Saturday since the mid-18th century? (Ok, maybe it wasn't really that long, but it felt like it. anyhoooow.) What to do, you ask? Why, get thee to the woods, of course.
Yep, I can knock one thing off my to-do list for the month. Davey and I put on our hiking boots, grabbed our hiking sticks and strapped the kiddo to our (his, cause she's getting soooo heavy) chest, and went exploring. And I have to say, we bought ourselves a super sweet piece o' land. I wish I had remembered to take the camera, but I was too freakin excited about being outdoors. There are about 5 creeks (some wet-weather, others spring fed) that converge in our front field, hence the mucho flooding we've had down there. Definitely going to need to dig the pond out deeper and/or do some serious groundwork. The whole ridge dumps it's water there.
Just past the pond/field, there is this really beautiful little valley crisscrossed with streams and pretty trees (including a GIANT ironwood, which is one of my favorite trees. Love!) and two little hills covered in vinca, which this spring will have lovely blue flowers all over them. Seriously, this spot feels downright magical. Someday Davey and I want to build a guest cabin, and this is totally the spot. We'll also need to build a few bridges for easier access. Creekhopping with a suitcase might be a little rough on some folks.
Further back in the woods it gets pretty steep and hilly, just lots of trees and QUIET. We found an old deer feeder, and a dead coyote. I don't think the two were related. Aside from the coyote, which was fortunately still frozen, so no stinky, it's really gorgeous land. I still can't believe we own it. Seeing how awesome it is makes the house seem a little more worth it.
We spent the rest of Saturday cleaning out the chicken coop so it's ready for chickens in the spring. We found out that chicks are available at the co-op on March 8th. That's like, a week and a half away!
Also on Saturday (it was a Big Day), our cows got here! And (gulp) they are so cute! They're little black and white holstein steers, still just calves. I mostly try to keep my distance from them, because I know that if I really wanted to, I could get attached to them. Still, it's nice to look out the window and see them grazing in our pasture. I feel very self-reliant and farm-y. I like it.

It will be interesting over the next 6 months or so to have this relationship with my food, rather than just going and buying the finished product. It makes me realize the value of my food a lot more, at the very least. Hmmm.. There will be more on this subject again, I'm sure. In the meantime, another weekend is here. Time to accomplish something. I just love a good sense of accomplishment.