February might still be the dead of winter on many homesteads in the northern hemisphere, but here in the low desert of Arizona, February means SPRING! I deeply apologize to those of you who are reading this whilst bundled up, hating me for even mentioning Spring. I hate to break it to you, but I planted my tomatoes out in the garden last week.
We Arizonans have to enjoy the weather while we can.
I’ll be jealous of most of you in just a few months when it’s a blazing hot oven we’re all slowly roasting in!
The calendula is blooming, and the wildflowers in the desert are in full swing too. Soon the stock and lupine and other flowers I seeded in Fall will flower, and by late April the poppies and hollyhocks will put on a show once again too.
I adore Spring flowers on the homestead. Once upon a time I was convinced that gardens were only for vegetables, and that growing flowers was a waste of garden space.
But oh how the tables have turned! I devoted more garden space to poppies this year than to broccoli and cabbage quite honestly.
Flowers are good for my soul.
Last year I planted these hollyhocks from seeds given to me by my friend and homesteading mentor, Victoria. Her 1 acre property feels like one giant garden, with flowers and fruit trees and vegetable beds at every turn. I love having these quaint cottage flowers around my garden, and since they profusely self-seed I’m fairly certain I should have a yard absolutely filled with them before long!
February is for more than just flowers though. This month is the perfect time to plant fruit trees in the low desert. My dear husband took the last few weekends to put up fencing for our orchard (Lord knows the goats would just love to feast on all the new saplings), and to begin planting our fruit trees! Our property had not one single tree on it when we moved here almost five years ago. We waited to plant until we knew where our house would be situated and our plans for the property, but between this year and last we now have about 25 different fruit trees and berry bushes to call our own. We’ve got several varieties of peaches and apricots, plums, pluots, apriums, nectarines, mulberries, figs, as well as oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruit too! I’m hopeful that this is just the beginning of filling our homestead with edible landscaping that will bear fruit for years to come.
In addition to all of the fruit and flowers, February brought us the first of this year’s baby goats too!
The very first day of the month held a good deal of excitement as we woke up to three fresh kids in the barn. Ginny is the goat we’ve had the longest, and is the very best mother. She kids like a pro, gives bountiful milk, and cares for her babies so well. We adore her.
She always kids when I’m not around to see (despite my frequent barn checks), and always gives us two bucklings (boys) and a doeling (girl). This year was no different, and once again she’s been a doting mother, an easy keeper, and a good milker. There’s so much to be said for a steady old girl who is dependable!
The triplet kids are growing perfectly, and it’s one of life’s great joys to watch a trio of baby goats bouncing around in the sunshine.
Speaking of babies born in February, we celebrated three years of our little Theodore this month too! Teddy Wilder has been such a joy from day one. I really can’t imagine our family without him.
Theodore is a born farm-boy. He handles baby goats and little chicks with great care, and herds the animals around with ease. I can’t wait to see how his skills and interests change the older he grows.
Teddy was our tiny baby, born at just 5lbs 14oz. He was my third home birth, and was born in my parents’ living room while we were all living together and building our house. His birth was special and memorable, and I really don’t have words for the amount of comfort and grace his little presence in our family provided during a year of tumult in the world. God bless our sweet and sturdy boy.
So that’s about it for February! It’s a special month around here. The barn is full of the sounds of cheeping chicks and bleating baby goats, and the breeze is beginning to hold the scent of citrus blossoms. The sunshine is golden, the nights are chilly, and there’s been frost on the ground most mornings. But the warm afternoons remind us that Spring is on the wing and before we know it we’ll be back into the warmth of summer once again!
Happy February, friends! And if February is gray and dreary where you live, just remember that April isn’t too far off either.
