big changes on the farm

So this past month has been kinda crazy-like. We went thru about a week and a half where critters were dying on us. First we lost a chick - he figured out he was small enough to hop out of the fenced-in chicken run, and the dogs figured out that he made one tasty little snack. (The dogs also got a lesson in not eating the chickens, one which I hope they learned well.) Then we lost Steak to causes unknown. Just woke up one morning and he was a goner. THEN we lost a duck when they tunneled (totally 'Great Escape' style - I think they had little WWII helmets and everything) out of their enclosure and made their way down to the pond. We were planning to move them to the pond anyway, they just got a wee bit ahead of us, and now there is only one. Still -so cute to watch him? her? paddling around the pond in the morning. I named him Plucky. Plucky is NOT for eating.
But, we learned some lessons in all of this. Like - we need more ducks. Ducks are fun. And chicks are way smarter than we gave them credit for. And one cow cannot possibly keep our front pasture under control alone. We either need another cow, or some goats or llamas or something. For realz.
We also found out this month that there will be a new baby critter added to the farm sometime this winter. Of the human persuasion. Wait. Didn't we just do that? Oh yeah. Here we go again.
So funny how the reaction to this announcement differs from the first one. My parents: "Are you kidding me? What are you going to do?" My brother-in-law (to Davey): "Way to go, dumbass."
Me: "Oh no. Again? All summer? You've GOT to be kidding me." and then to Davey: "This is all your fault!!! I was going to go KAYAKING, dammit!!!"
Seriously, though, it is a good and happy thing, even if it's waaaaaay sooner than I would have planned. I just hope these kids are at least a year apart (I'll find out for sure on May 11th). If this one is born before Punkin's first birthday, that's like whoa of Neo proportions. I just cannot deal.

Now, if I can just stop puking long enough, it's time to get the garden going. I built a couple of small raised beds a few weeks ago before the icky-fest of pregnancy sidelined me. Hopefully this weekend I'll be getting a few things started in them, and getting a few other beds built. Last time gardening and pregnancy totally did not work for me, but I'm hoping that this time will be different, and I won't be sick for 8 or 9 months straight. Hope springs eternal, and all that.

Speaking of - that's what we decided to name the farm- Hope Springs Farm. Hope is kind of a big thing for Davey and me, so it seems like the perfect fit.