Spring, which officially started March 19, is described as “a time of rebirth, renewal and awakening. Many trees are blossoming, and early flowers are pushing through the earth. A time when the weather turns warm.”  Whoever coined that description of spring did not live in SW Montana. 

At Fasching Farm we describe spring as “a time of staying up into the wee hours of the sub-zero degree mornings to birth goat kids, worrying about the safe arrival of hatchery chicks that always seem to be delivered during the coldest of days, and welcoming piglets that require a heat lamp at night to stay cozy.”  Springtime?  Not yet.   But, we would be remiss in mentioning the beautiful song of the meadow larks that welcome us in the crisp spring morning air, the bluebirds that suddenly appear overnight, the antelope babies that birth in our back yard, the early morning sun that shines through the bedroom windows beckoning us awake, and the pure white snow on the mountain tops promising life-giving irrigation water.

Life on the Fasching Farm homestead goes on regardless of weather.  Each morning we rise early to milk goats and are exuberantly greeted by the anxiously awaiting kids who were all put into a separate stall away from their dam the night before (or we would get no milk).  After milking, all the goats are released into a pasture, then we feed layer hens and collect the first eggs.  We say hello to the piglets who are snuggled into their bed of hay and feed them warmed goat milk “slop” (yes, they are spoiled) and move on to the baby chicks.  The meat bird chicks are already twice the weight of the layer chicks even though they are the same age.  We replenish waters and chick feed and then head to the house.  All that before 8:00 AM.  Time for a cup of coffee and our own breakfast.

We check the weather to see if, by chance, we might be able to plant some of the garden with the starts that seem to be growing inches a day indoors.  Spring planting is a bit of a guessing game most years.  Statistically, the latest killing frost recorded in SW Montana was June 29.  The earliest killing frost recorded was July 3.  Thankfully, those were in different years, but the growing season here is anyone’s guess! 

Spring will arrive one day – soon, I hope!  But for now we hope for rain and growing degree days versus the predicted snow. 

            Springtime in SW Montana?  Not yet.