Thanks for the help!

Out doing a little bit of yard work today.  I really can't wait until I can start planting, but realistically, I am still almost 8 weeks away form the 'average last frost' for here in the Tri-cities. 

The weather is nice enough to work on yard/garden improvements though.  One of my changes for this year is that I pulled out a bunch of Virginia Creeper that had been growing along the fence, and recently started breaking up the dirt along the fence line, with the goal being putting in a row of scarlet runner beans this spring...hopefully a nice edible ornamental. 

Since it is nice out, and green(weeds!) is starting to show around the yard, I decided to give the chickens the run of the yard for the day.  They are very helpful on weeds.

So, other than 2 inches or so of top soil, my ground here is very sandy...which is one of the main reasons I have raised beds.  However, thanks again to the chickens, I have no shortage organics to blend into the soil this year...and I don't have to just use a shovel and pitch fork to work it into the ground.



Of course, they are animals, and sometimes they get into the places I don't want them to.  They seemed to take particular joy in tearing up the straw mulch on my raised beds.

Good help is hard to find...but they work cheap.