March 23, 2004 - HayPatch, UT - Spring has sPruNg! Fully bathed in 70 degree temperatures and a full sunray, the first of the tulips proudly waved in the breeze today.

The crocus made their appearance last week and have since started to wane. The daffodils were out earlier this week, but show a strong chance of making it to the end of this week.

Looking to the "back 40" of the haypatch, the lambs are actively prancing from fence line to fence line. Born in the frigid temperatures this past winter, it seems they are extraordinarily pleased with the turn in temperatures.

The dogs are already complaining of the heat. Apparently their memories are a bit shorter than ours. In the winter they whined and last summer's 100 degree stretch had them begging for cold showers. Could it be that they are never pleased?

Fun with Spring Multimedia
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In related news...

Spreading the old poop.

March 23, 2004 - HayPatch, UT - Step one, spread the poop. Step two, get Ol' One Eye working. Step three, till the soil.

A ritual that has spanned generations got an early start this year with the soaring temperatures.

The really good poo-based fertilizer came from the little yellow barn (which recently under went a roof redo) and from the chicken coop poop. The yellow barn housed some old (really old - roughly 20 years old) manure that spread like black gold on the ground. Surely this gold will nurture the year's plantings more than a mother's milk to a child.

Ol' One Eye sputtered a few times before getting it's engine running, but once it was running, it cut through the hardened soil like a reliable trooper digging a trench. 

After a few hours time, with the help of Ol' Bright Eye, the fields were plowed and ready for more refining at a later date.

Ivan tilling the soil with Ol' Bright Eye.

In unrelated news... or is it related??

March 23, 2004 - Near HayPatch, UT - Bottle digging is going at full bore now.

What was recently covered with snow is now "soft as butter" earth in many areas. The treasures that were recently unreachable due to the depth of snow  and frozen crust are now *already* becoming unreachable due to the drying of the clay saturated soil.

There's a limited amount of time available for prime digging in this area. Dig it now, or wait until a rare summer rain softens the soil.

Catherine and Ivan at a dig this past weekend.
This dig proved to be quite a success. Roughly 50 bottles were dug on a lot that was just a happenstance find by Ivan. Blake, not pictured, assisted on this dig too.