Breath of Spring

Outside my window (where I wish I was) it's 60 degrees Fahrepeepers in teh creek nheit.  The goats, including a swarm of little kids, are basking in the sunshine, after months of huddling against the cold.  Yesterday most of the kids collected on a fallen tree, and it looked like the tree had sprouted a coat of fuzzy white moss.  The peepers in the creekbanks are singing, and they'll keep it up until late into the night.  In recent days, we have watched flocks of sandhill cranes in their long V formations pumping their way northward.  The pasture grass isn't green yet, but our wishes find slight tints here and there.  With all the rain we've had, we know the plant life is just waiting to explode, once Winter finally gives it up.
And the dairy itself has received its share of hopeful signs.  The 2010 Flavor of Georgia food product competition chose Decimal Place Feta as a finalist in the dairy category.  Mary will be at the Freight Depot in downtown Atlanta on Mar. 15-16, competing for the top prize in the category and overall.
Tomorrow, the state inspectors come back to Decimal Place to take samples and hopefully get us back on the way to Grade A certification.  Mary's been working with agricultural researchers at UGa, enriching her understanding of the problems, and broadening her sense of alternatives.
All around the farm, it feels like Spring.  We know that Winter can still return--and there probably will be chilly snaps heer and there--but we're looking forward to a season of renewal.