February has given way to March, but Mother Nature hasn't gotten the memo; while we've not had the severe snows January brought, we have had snow at least once every week in March, and sometimes more than once. Usually the sun comes out long enough that it's gone by three in the afternoon.

The spots of sun are being greatly appreciated by all of the animals on the farm, but that has not meant we have been without losses. A wind storm tore the roof off of a nesting shelter, and while the damage was not permanent, the goose who had been nesting there quite understandably refused to reclaim the nest. We have also had three other, more serious losses: Bo Peep died, a ewe of considerably advanced age. We had hoped to breed her next year, but considering her age, it's not entirely surprising that she didn't last.

We also lost two of this year's ewe lambs approaching hogget age; they were the smallest, and the flock had roundly rejected one of them. When she died, the other one only lasted another week before she too succumbed to the same fate, a combination of being bullied away from food and shelter and ending up soaking wet and hypothermic. Alas, poor ewelings, you were not to be.

In relation to this, our custom is to take the carcasses to a distant spot on our property and put them out for the scavengers, as a way of safely and neatly disposing of remains while maintaining the natural balance of things, particularly after a somewhat rough winter such as this one. When the first of the lambs died, the day after Bo Peep had, we discovered that Bo Peep's carcass had simply vanished. A closer inspection in daylight proved that it had been half-dragged, half-carried, which downgraded our alarm from being most probably a cougar to being more likely a bobcat. Still cause for keeping an eye out, but less in the 'be armed at all times and watch your back' level of keeping an eye out.

The chickens are laying most prolifically, which has resulted in our offering eggs to friends and neighbors. The alternative was to eat eggs for every meal and give a substantial amount to the ducks; this feels much less wasteful, and much less likely to upset our stomachs in the long run.

Spring is coming fast, which means soon it will be time to begin laying fences. We will be getting the supplies for that at the end of this month. April is sure to be busy!