It’s a pretty relaxed day of lounging around, swimming, and petting sheep today. I’ve spent some time watching the hummingbird moths all over the butterfly bush by the pool. They move so fast they’re hard to catch an image of!
Later we’ll head out to spend the evening with friends grilling food and playing games. The recipe for the flag cobbler can be found HERE.
Have a great holiday, everyone!
Comments Off on Happy 4th!
Tagged Farm, food, Pets, Uncategorized
Comments Off on This Evening In Pictures
Tagged Farm, garden, Kids, Pets, Uncategorized
Has everyone else been crazy busy and absolutely astounded that it’s already June, or is that just me?
Every ounce of energy has been spent on schoolwork, carting kids to various appointments, gardening, and work.
I DID manage to finish my Chimney Fire Sweater, though! I haven’t taken any pictures yet because it’s a thousand degrees outside, but soon! That’s the upside to having my kids going to lots of different meetings: lots of knitting time for me!
The garden has been incredibly frustrating and slow, but it’s coming along. I lost a lot of the pepper and tomatoes I started by moving them out too soon. There’s still plenty there, though, and keeping up with the weeds is of course a daily struggle. The worst part is the ticks. Every day I’m pulling about a dozen off of me. And trust me, I’ve tried everything.
I’ve used every essential oil and bug spray on the market, including the crazy mostly-DEET kind, to no avail. I even went out in the garden in my damn BEE SUIT and still pulled a couple off my back and neck that night. They freaking love me. The harvest this year better be worth it!
I put up deer netting after learning from last year’s total tomato loss, and I’ve got plenty of diatomaceous earth and Neem oil. Once the plants get big enough to withstand them I’ll probably try and keep the ducks in there, at least part-time, to help with the bugs and weeds.
The honeybees are doing very well. I’ve added another box to the hive, since they have mostly filled the two they have already.
Go bees!
They seem to be happy here. We definitely have plenty of wildflowers, and I just confirmed that we have several wild American Elderberry trees! They’re all in flower right now, and I’m crazy excited to have them.
What post would be complete without cats? Widget and Poppet are such fat and happy things.
And then there’s Pippa, who’s starting to show her age, but certainly not acting it.
I went out this evening fully intent on taking plenty of good pictures of the flock in this glorious weather, and realized my camera battery was dead. So, I used my phone.
Everyone is doing very well on the plentiful grass, and the new honeybees are thriving. I’m hoping the temperatures stay reliably warm now, because I’ve transplanted my tomatoes and peppers into the garden.
Oona chose watermelons to grow in her garden space, and if we can keep the ducks out, I think she’ll be successful.
Comments Off on Today in (Phone) Pictures
Tagged bees, Farm, garden, Uncategorized
A few days ago I made a honeycomb cake in anticipation of today.
It didn’t last very long, but it made me happy to think about how close I was to being a beekeeper again. And today was the day!
I drove out to Scottsville this morning to pick up my package of honeybees. It had been postponed a day, which is probably okay considering it rained a bunch yesterday.
The lovely folks from Scottsville Supply Co handed me my bee package and queen cage, and off I went, the sound of thousands of buzzing honeybees filling the car. I serenaded them with a bit of Hamilton, but I don’t think they were too into it.
The queen is in her own separate cage. These bees have not been “bonded” to her yet, so she’s being attached by rubber band to a frame in the hive, which is blocked by sugar. The rest of the bees are then dumped into the hive with her, and this evening I will make sure the hive is closed securely and “lock” them in with her for now. In the time it takes for her to eat the sugar and emerge from her cage, the bees will have fallen under the spell of her pheromones, and that will be that. A queened colony!
The can contains the sugar syrup they were shipped with. There were still quite a bit in there, so I’m leaving it for them to continue to feed from while they acclimate. Since there were still a lot of bees in their plastic bus after shaking most of them out, I decided to leave that in there, as well. After a few days I’ll go out to check on them and I can remove it then, and hopefully remove the entrance reducer and allow them to go forage for pollen on their own.
Go bees! Draw comb! Feed your queen! And pollinate!
Comments Off on The Most Bee-tiful Time of The Year
Tagged bees, Farm, Uncategorized
I’ve watched our friend Emily shear our sheep for several years now, and it never stops being mesmerizing to me. Her speed has increased dramatically over the years, and the ease with which she handles even the biggest sheep is wonderful to see. Yesterday she arrived after shearing probably 100 other sheep and goats on various farms in the area and got ours handled in less than an hour. Which was a good thing, because it started sprinkling just after the last sheep was done. The wool was packed off on bags with her, off to be sold to the wool pool. I have a substantial amount left here for hand-spinning, and until we decide what direction we are taking this venture, I’ll be allowing commercial buyers decide where it will go.
The disappointing news is that it looks fairly certain that our ewes are not bred this year. But, that gives me another year to prepare and plan. The good news is that everyone is fat and healthy.
As soon as the weather clears out and the thunderstorms (and tornado watch) have passed, I’ll be moving everyone out to the back pasture, where plenty of fresh, green grass awaits.
Comments Off on Shearing Day 2017
Tagged Farm, Spinning, Uncategorized
We were so hoping for a snow day. They’d been calling for a foot or so for us, and everyone was out in force yesterday clearing the stores of eggs, milk, and bread (not to mention the liquor store). I had no appointments or places to be the next couple days, and was prepared to give the kids a day off from school to play in the snow and enjoy our one and only day of winter.
We got 4 more Pekin ducklings a few days ago, and I beefed up their bedding and made sure they were good and cozy and the heat lamp wouldn’t be affected by ice or snow. We have gallons and gallons of kerosene in reserve for the heater, just in case. In short, we should’ve known.
This was our glorious snow storm:
SO DISAPPOINTING.
It looks like winter has passed us by this year, and we may as well keep on our path to spring.
So what do you do when you’ve lost out on your much-needed snowday?
First I put together dough for cinnamon bread and made a good strong cup of coffee.
Then I worked on cutting some pieces for quilting.
Of course, Widget wasn’t going to allow that to last without some “help”.
I can’t resist him. I’ve put away the quilting supplies and moved on to transferring some of my seedlings out of the starter kit that Widget keeps sitting on and trying to eat the sprouts out of.
It was a decidedly NOT snowday thing to do. It did, however, make me happier about the impending spring and summer weather. I can’t wait for those juicy tomatoes, fresh off the vine (if I can keep the deer out this year!).
I did make the kids do their schoolwork today, as well. They didn’t mind, since there was no snow outside to frolic in. Plus they were all gathered around the table once the cinnamon bread came out of the oven.
I’ll be making a giant batch of Bolognese sauce and knitting more hats the rest of the day while I resign myself that winter is pretty well done.
Someone better tell my hens it’s time to start laying some eggs!
Comments Off on S|NO|wpocalypse ’17
Tagged Farm, food, garden, Homeschooling, Kids, Knitting, Pets, Uncategorized
Waiting for winter, waiting for spring, waiting to see if my ewes are bred. If they are, they’re not telling. If they aren’t, they are getting pretty fat anyway.
I’ve been organizing my lambing supplies and ordering what I need, just in case. I’ve also been trying not to bother them too much, though that isn’t as easy. I want to keep my hands on them to make sure they’re gaining enough weight, and checking their mucous membranes for signs of anemia. So far, everything seems okay, but one thing I’ve learned is to never count on it staying that way!
Last year’s baby chicks are finally starting to lay and/or crow, and I’m dreaming of ducklings now. I won’t order any chicks, but if one of our hens decides to go broody, I’ll put together a little maternity ward and hatch some eggs that way.
Signs of spring are definitely everywhere. The buds are really popping on the trees, and daffodils and forsythia are blooming everywhere. Mine are a little bit behind, owing to our little micro-climate in our hollow. It’s tough not to be out every day prepping the garden beds and getting the seeds started, but it’s only February. Winter has been known to come back and smack us hard in March, so I’m not counting on this warmer weather to last reliably. I have been out covering over troublesome weed areas with cardboard and feed bags, though. The war against weeds knows no winter!
I’ve also been cleaning up my beehive components and getting them ready for new occupants. For Valentine’s Day Paul ordered me a new colony set to arrive in April from a local source. It’ll be so good to have bees again! I’m debating moving them a bit closer to the house and away from the neighbor who sprayed bifenthrin all over their property the summer before my previous colony failed. They haven’t done so since, and I’m hoping they won’t again.
On cooler days I’ve been trying to catch up on making stock from the leftover chicken carcasses from dinners. I’ve been keeping them frozen until I had a chance to let them slow cook, and whenever I can, I put them on the stove in my giant pot and make up gallons of stock. It’s one of the most satisfying things to make in your kitchen!
Despite the warmer temperatures, Pussy Hats have been flying off my needles. I’m on my fourth at the moment, and keep getting requests for more. I’m more than happy to oblige, though I realize I could have finished my Chimney Fire sweater a few times over by now! It is gratifying though to have smaller projects that work up quickly and are portable enough to bring to appointments during the week.
Maybe my sweater will be done before winter is, but it’s not looking like it. Secretly (or not…), I AM still hoping for one good wallop of snow before spring.
Fingers crossed.
What have you been doing with your January?
I haven’t been as productive as I’d like, given my broken finger, but I’m doing what I can. I’m knitting quite a bit, but it’s very slow going (again, finger), and I’ve gotten very little farm work accomplished (though honestly, being that it’s winter, there’s not much to do on that front). I’ve been trying to check the ewes to see if they’re possibly bred, but I can’t catch them right now to really check. Most times I go out there and crouch down to keep them comfortable with me out there (to observe what I can), and I have to leave after a few minutes because the goats seem to think I’m a climbable object.
As for Orzo, he’s adapting to being inside. It’s become abundantly clear that he is Paul’s dog. Figures!
And I apologize for the blurry photo, but he absolutely refuses to sit still once he sees the camera out.
School is continuing along, seemingly at a snail’s pace. The cats have made quite a distraction of themselves lately, stretching out all over the table in the sun while we are trying to work.
Oona has been focused on the Harry Potter series. And when I say focused, I mean obsessed. She’s halfway through book 4, and she’s watched all of the movies, at least 3 times. We signed her up with a Pottermore account, and she was sorted in Slytherin House. When she seemed puzzled about that, I explained that, when given a choice between love, family, home, etc, she chose power. Of COURSE she’s a Slytherin!
She’s embraced it fully, using all of her christmas money for Slytherin regalia.
She and Paul spent last weekend working on carving a wand for her. All it needs is some varnish.
It fits her hand perfectly.
While she has been working on crafting Slytherin items, I’ve been working on making hats. Slowly, but surely, enough for each of us will be complete. I know I could be actually finishing up my sweater (I’m stuck on sleeve island, as my friend Tanya would say), but this feels more important.
I’m hoping things will be calm enough at home the next few weeks that I can spend all my time working through my yarn stash.
A good snowstorm would help with that! Hint, hint, Mother Nature!
Comments Off on Makers Gotta Make!
Tagged Farm, Homeschooling, Kids, Pets, Uncategorized
Our post-holiday hibernation has begun.
On New Year’s Eve we went to a beautiful wedding – our dear friends Heather and Terry. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful wedding. I also cannot conceive of a better way to have ushered out the old year. Maddie and John were there with us, and afterward we waited for midnight and welcomed 2017 (and let’s be honest, told 2016 to go f*ck itself) with our friends the Stowells.
The next day I took down the tree and hauled it out to the flock to snack on. It was a bit of a wet and muddy start to the year, and though I’m out making sure the shelters are dry for them, it’s just been too gross out to do much more with them lately. It’s likely too early to be able to check for any kind of udder development, and they’re not too keen on being chased around anyway.
I am enjoying the winter light, though, and the cozy feeling inside. This time of year all I want to do is bake bread, and in the interest of hygge and making winter enjoyable for everyone, I’ve been doing just that as much as I can.
We also decided to make Orzo a house dog. He simply could not be contained on our property, and hasn’t seemed to taken to the guarding life. He’s more of a chaser – which is great if you have tons of acreage and another dog or two to stay with the flock . We simply don’t have the land for that, and he never seemed happy out there. So, we cleaned him up and brought him in, and though I think he’d still rather be outside roaming, he has adjusted to being an indoor pet, and is for the most part very chill.
He’s filled in right where Cini left off. He loves the cats and they love him. He and Pippa get along just fine. He’s also mostly adjusted to being walked on a leash.
Except.
Except that we got a few inches of snow this week. Just enough to be a light covering, melt slightly, and refreeze into ice. When I took him out the other night, as usual, I brought a heavy maglight flashlight and let him do his business. On the way back in, I started up the stairs to the back deck, and he…didn’t. He pulled to my left, away from the deck, and I slipped on the icy steps, and fell into the shed and bannister. My ring finger got caught and smashed under the weight of me plus the maglight. And broke.
So that was fun! I’m in a splint for 4-6 weeks while it heals. Paul’s been on Orzo walk duty since, and Orzo’s made himself snuggly for me in the meantime.
And yes! I did mention snow!
Not much, just a couple of inches. Still, enough to be lovely.
As for Sabine, she doesn’t seem fazed at all that Orzo isn’t out there with her. She’s always slept among the sheep and stood guard, even when Orzo beckoned her to play. She is a true guard dog, and bonded to her flock. And she loooooooves the snow! When it was falling she was rolling around in it and looking quite pleased. Given the choice between her shelter and the snow, she’ll take the snow, every time. Hopefully this won’t be the extent of our winter weather this year!
Comments Off on Quiet
Tagged Farm, Pets, Uncategorized
