Upcoming plans

We have now been here almost a year. It's definitely been interesting.

We still have probably a foot of snow on the ground, with more in the forecast for later this week.

I'm hoping this cold weather forced my fruit trees to " snap". I was sad that I didn't get fruit on any.

   I have been contemplating what to do and the lay outs I will use for the garden beds. I'm leaning towards cinder blocks. It gets too hot here in the summer to mess around with lumber. I was contemplating corrugated metal, but I think cinder blocks will work out. I would like to build at least two raised beds this spring. I can add more every year.

   We are planning on fencing the back yard. It is fenced, but we are talking about dividing further. I noticed last summer we had lots of grasshoppers. My thought is if we partition off the back, I can have one area for the dogs. The back 40 , as my kids call it will be garden beds. By partitioning it, I will be able to let the chickens free range and take care of the grasshoppers. Two of my dogs have strong prey drives, I want to avoid any temptations. 

    Eventually I want to get dairy goats, but I need to build another outbuilding for them. They need decent shelter.

    Our side yard used to have the tall bush like trees. Hubby cut them down last spring. The neighbor didn't like them so we removed them. He has 4 apple trees. I am going to plant at least two. I have the space, and since my neighbor also has trees they can cross pollinate.

   Now to wait for the snow to melt,whenever that is