Rain and cold, cold and rain. Cliff Mass, a local widely respected local professor who teaches meteorology at the University of Washington has made it official.
2011 is the worst year on record, with the fewest days over 55f. Ever.
I've been waiting and waiting for my grass to start to grow in earnest. I have plants that I'd like to plant. I have used up nearly all of my carefully gathered hay from last year. I put away extra hay so that I'd have some left for the summer -- bedding pigs and such -- but I'm consuming it now, still on hay with the majority of my ruminants, waiting for the fields to dry and the grass to grow.
So to those folks who have given me grief about mud and wet -- look, this is part of the deal of farming. It's weather-dependent, and it actually makes me feel better that this is the worst year ever.
Which means that it can only go up from here!
Well, I guess as long as you feel good about it.
ReplyDeleteI feel for you Bruce and right there with you. I can't imagine having all the critters you have with all this muck and yuck.
ReplyDeleteI rehomed my goats to a wonderful 4-H family in Aberdeen and I'm getting ready to move my riding horse to a rental barn with covered arena. I'll rehome his mini pony pasture mate. The 4 acres of clay property I rent is just not suitable for 4 legged livestock.
My ducks LOVE it and run/waddle/fly from puddle to puddle. The chickens like to scratch in the horse poo but don't care for the wet.
Hang in there Bruce. Things should be drying out in another month.
It was a La Nina year for weather conditions.
ReplyDeleteit's been pretty horrible up here too Bruce. Don't envy your position of being under the magnifying glass though. Just gotta keep doing whatever you can do to keep it together! Sunny days will come!
ReplyDeleteYup, and this to shall pass. I'm battling mud and waiting for the grass to start to grow in the pastures too. Ironically enough, the grass on my front lawn is way high, but with the rain I can't get the lawn mower through it. All of the goats that would be good at knocking it down have kids with them and because the front isn't fenced I can't put 'em out there. Ground's too soggy to even hand graze any of the horses. Good thing I've got a nice sharp scythe, at least I can knock the really tall stuff down that way before I mow.
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