Lady Nature isn't done with us yet, delaying plans.

The Lady Nature has decided to remind us once more that she's not to be ignored, and that things will be as they will be. The thing that is a little harder to tell from this photo is that this isn't snow, it's a mix of snow and hail that's about boot toe deep. Mostly just an inconvenience, and if I admit it to myself, somewhat pretty. The real problem is that we still haven't been able to do any spring cleaning, and the area is a mess which needs to be rectified soon.

The chickens are offended by this whole thing, which I find kind of interesting given how much time they spent out and about with far more snow than this. The Lady of the House noticed that Mr. Bond has some frost bite on a couple of his toes which we're keeping an eye on because they seem to be bothering him. We hope he isn't badly injured because there isn't much we can do for him other than turn him into dinner. We'd really rather not do that given the benefits he's brought our girls, and our hope for chicks so we don't have to be buying more chickens in the future. We'll see what happens with it, to me he looks ok but as we always endeavor to prevent suffering in our charges, it is important to watch.
Due to the rapid temperature drop, we ended up lighting up the stove last night which was actually quite pleasant. We'd been going with cooler internal temperatures to not waste oil and wood, but it's nice to be back up to indoor temperatures in the upper 60s instead of upper 50s as much as I grump about the waste of resources. We also ended up forgetting to bring the water bottles in last night so they had to be brought in to thaw this morning instead of being put back out this morning. It's amazing how fast one can forget routines as the weather changes. Nothing serious though as they'd had good water access all day. As it is the temperatures aren't really dropping below freezing for long even with the last minute spiteful reminder about the Lady Nature's dominance.
One thing I haven't done yet is get the tomato seeds started. I keep wanting to get it done, but we've been very busy this week. I'd say I'm going to do it tonight, but we need to clean and re-organize the living room and the Lady of the House's studio because the Critter is about to start crawling, and is moving around with fair facility. I'd say I'll do it tomorrow or Saturday or Sunday, but my dad is coming to visit and while I suspect I can get it done this weekend promising my time when my father who I see every couple years is up is not something I'm going to do. The long and short is, the tomatoes will get seeded at some point soon, but I'm a little frustrated that I haven't done it, and can't say exactly when it'll be done. It'll be somewhat amusing to me if this year we end up with the tomatoes started late so they're small when they go out given that every single year we've tried starting tomatoes in the past has ended up with them in too early, and very leggy by the time they go in the ground.
Things are actually going very well, I just as always seems to be the case as spring arrives, wish I had more time. I am impatiently awaiting the ground thaw so I can start preparing for putting up fencing, and help my friend take down his to bring over. I am starting to have my doubts that we'll be able to do pigs this year, but I still have my hopes up for that. Whether or not it's doable this year, I need to get some engineer tape and mark out the area I want the fenced in area to be, and do some planning ASAP now that I can meander around in the woods without being up to my thighs in snow and risking falling on rocks. Quick list of plans for the spring. Finish the 6' rabbit hutch that was started 2 years ago and fell by the wayside with everything else. Build another hutch (optional). Build a second chicken coop. Remove and move the fence from a friends place. Set up the fence around the area to be decided. Build a goat/pig shed. Don't completely fall down on the planting and harvesting. If I have time, dig more planting area and use it.