BRC Fallow Deer

Finally! Warmer temperatures, getting outside, relaxing…… errrrr ….. wait nope, none of that relaxing business around here. Springtime is always the busiest time of year. Or maybe it only seems that way on a farm? 🤷🏻‍♀️ This year is no different and in many ways it’s even busier! 

Now that the weather is nice we can finally move forward on so many different projects and activities. We have been working on expanding our deer facilities by building an A.I. Barn while still managing all our other seasonal activities including the garden, calving season, checking on the bees, clearing out old fence, building new fence, and planting trees. Doing all the things that bring life and vibrancy to a homestead. I know I am excited to have completed the complicated website work that I had been perfecting this past winter. There has been a major learning curve for me in this area, TECHNOLOGY. I am happy to report that all our back end website issues are now corrected and everything is rolling along smoothly!

The largest addition to the deer operation this season  is the construction of a barn to house our “Papa” deer chute and tunnel system. Brendan has taken point on this and custom designed the barn. It was purchased from a company that had planned to build it on site. The construction was scheduled to be completed in January 2023….. but THAT didn’t go according to plan. It was a VERY cold Kansas day when they arrived (no coveralls in sight!) and all they did was drop off the materials. <SIGH>  Come February, we still only had a concrete slab in place. In March, the first parts of the building were finally installed!! We decided to just do the installation ourselves (AKA Brendan), with an array of others that helped when available. He knew the building plans through and through and therefore was able to ensure the barn was erected correctly, although significantly behind schedule. April is here and HEY the barn is built! Now Brendan is currently tackling the interior work; electrical, construction of the alleyways and holding pens and the fencing alleyways leading up to the barn. It needs to be completely finished by September and we know that it will be here before we can blink twice. 

In addition to the fallow deer barn, we have started our large garden, planted 40 new trees and berry bushes along the driveway and highway as well as some in the deer pen, set the beehives up for spring, and continue to water everything as much as possible. We have also been praying for rain. Our exceptional drought conditions are still extremely concerning but we are pushing through. Brendan set up watering systems with timers! Did you catch that?? With TIMERS! This Deer Wife is so thankful to NOT have to remember to shut off the spigot. Now we just have to make sure we don’t run the well dry. 

Brendan has been spending every moment (aside from his full time job) working on projects outside. Literally only taking the time to grab dinner. Don’t worry about him too much though he has been able to sneak away to turkey hunt once or twice. He is forging through the never ending to do list with determination and making great strides. The kids and I have been attempting to help whenever and wherever we can but in many cases we end up making the task take longer than it should have. Which is the nature of toddlers “helping”. All the warm weather, bright spring colors and fresh air really gives us a boost and increases our energy levels. Let’s hope it’s enough to tackle the whole to-do list quickly.