Spring Cleaning in the Country
There are, of course, the obvious things like taking down the snow fence. Here I recommend to look at our website www.countryforcity.com and our post Building a Reusable Snow Fence, and just reverse the process. It takes half an hour and your can store the roles of snow fence material for the summer.
After the loggers came two years ago, we extended our lawns behind the house. Those lawns are surrounded by trees and get a thick carpet of leaves in the fall. In order to help the grass along, we always go there in the spring to chop up the leaves with the lawnmower before the grass starts to grow. It makes such a difference with the young grass that has not established itself.
We also sweep our roofs. Yes, there you find the traces of winter. Little twigs and lots of pine needles. Those needles, if not removed, will form a moist layer and eventually rot the shingles.
Having a pond is great, but also the pond needs a little care. Our little bridge over the spillway lost three boards over the winter. Repairs are in order to keep it reliable. Of course, we have to check our staircase into the water. Who knows what the ice did to it.
Due to our bird feeders, which we keep filled during the winter, our bird population is growing. The chickadees are on the feeder already even before I can put it up. But we have to consider also the other birds that return from their stay in warmer climates in the south and make their way up to us. There are also those that just pass through without staying. It will be very lively in the spring and it is fun to see.