Muddy Farms

Why Muddy farms are a Good Thing via Zweberfarms.com

We have entered April. That means we are in the last stretch of winter season here on our farm. Yes, it is still winter according to us. Mother Nature is expected to send us another 6 inches of snow tonight. Last year, we celebrated Earth Day (April 22) with about ten inches of snow on the ground.

But unlike January or February, this “season” of winter also involves a lot of mud. Icky, sticky, gooey, stinky mud.

farm kid in mud via zweberfarms.com

 

It is one of those nessecary evils of life on the farm. If we want lush green grasses, we need to accept the fact that moisture rich snow will melt and turn the dirt and soil to mud.

This is not the best time of the year to visit our farm. Ironically, Amelia from Eating Made Easy is visiting us tomorrow.  There are no cows on pasture. Our calves have out grown their calf hutches (but we cannot move them because they are frozen down). Our compost pile is bigger than two houses. It just doesn’t look nice.

Snow melting on a farm via zweberfarms.com

Our cow yard also looks like a mess. The cows drag mud with them on their feet when they come to eat on the cow yard. We clean this up and add it to our compost pile daily, but it still looks yucky for the few hours they are there.

Cow drinking on cow yard via zweberfarms.com

There are some fun advantages to all the water. The kids love making boats and floating them down the “river” that forms in the farm yard and pastures. The water is also fun to splash in.

 kids playing in water on farm via zweberfarms.com

Soon the water will soak into the ground, replenshing our underground reserves. Then the mud will dry up, the grass will grow and our farm will once again look like this.

Organic cows on pasture via Zweberfarms.com

Do you have a lot of mud in your yard right now?

5 thoughts on “Muddy Farms

  1. Sadie Frericks

    We have an unbelievable amount of mud in our yard right now! The kids have been outside all day and they look like Hannah in the pic above. What I really wanted to say is, thank you for writing this. All morning, your words have been replaying in my head and helping me accept the mud as a necessary part of this season.

    1. Zweber Farms Post author

      Thanks Sadie! I am very thankful for the hose in our milkhouse and waterproof bibs from Udder Tech. Without those I would loose my sanity in our mud season.