Friday, June 24, 2011

A very late update

Hi All,
I do apologize again for the lateness in my posts. I was speaking with someone yesterday that reminded me people really do read my blog to keep up to date on the happenings here on my "farm".

The chickens are laying a bakers dozen almost every day. We are up to 14 dozen eggs in the refrigerator PLEASE come and get some if you need them before my family rebels and starts throwing them at me. Kids can not live on eggs alone.

The veggie garden is doing very well. I already have small green tomatoes on most plants. The weeds are waging quite a stand this year. It took me three days to clear the garden, I should probably start back at the beginning again. Late last night two animals got into a terrible fight, not sure what kind of animals but it was awful. I couldn't sleep afterwards and my thoughts turned to the weeds and how similar people are to gardens. We all have the potential to be beautiful productive gardens then the weeds come...selfishness, greed, laziness, you get the idea. Like I said it was very late at night and it seemed very poetic at the time. I tried planting potatoes this year, but was too late and I don't think we will see any yield. Live and learn. Beans look excellent, I'm growing a purple bean in addition to the regular crop this year only a few plants came up, but I'm excited to taste them. I have this new idea rattling around in the back of my head, one of those ideas that bring my husband nothing but work. I would like to have a root cellar to store crops over winter and I would like to plant a fall crop this year to stock the root cellar with. How cool would that be?

I have no bees, the pick up date for my packages was postponed and there was a conflict with my schedule that could not be rearranged. We will start again next year and hopefully have better luck. I do miss watching there comings and goings. Bees are quite beautiful if you take the time to observe their constant activities.

The goats are so wonderful, Kota has proven to be a wonderful mother. The babies are growing by leaps and bounds. Brownie has taken her role as Aunt to heart and plays and teaches the little ones. Oreo is a bit more disagreeable, I think she may be a bit jealous of Kota's family. She has become quite a head butter, no one is safe from her wrath anymore. The babies are a constant source of entertainment. They run, jump and frolic all day long. Willow thinks she is a lap dog and enjoys sitting on your lap and chewing whatever she can get into her mouth. Violet & Blossom LOVE to chew your hair, it can be a little frightening when they all jump on you at once. They have all settled into their new big shed that Amish built and constructed on site in about 6 hours. The Amish rock. I really respect them and think we should all take a page from their book. They put themselves last, community and others all come first. I think our society would benefit from a little of that logic. I was driving the other day and was sitting at a stop light. A gentleman all dressed for work was running across the street in front of me, he fell at the sidewalk, pretty badly from what I could tell. He proceed to pick himself up and continue to the gas station. I felt bad for him but continued on my way. Coming back down the hill from my short trip I saw the same man pouring gas into his car from a can. All I could think was I should buy this guy a cup of coffee, what a crap day he was having. I've been there, I talked myself out of it thinking how stupid I was being. I should have bought the coffee. I'm going to try and follow my gut from now on.

Da' business. I love soap making, when I get down into my soap kitchen I'm so happy!! The soap is getting better and better. I make a batch almost every day except when there is a show. I made Blue Hydrangea Wednesday and today is Grace. I'm a bit low on lotions but fingers crossed my order of my jars will arrive today. I've also decided to add a 16 ounce bottle of lotion with a pump to the line. I've had several requests for them, I've just got to come up with a way to label them nicely. I've posted a picture of my new booth set up-gorgeous if I do say so myself. My sweet husband found a very talented sign painter at the Chester Craft Show and had a sign made up for the booth. It's just perfect. The artist's name is Terri Palmer, no relation, but she made the mistake of signing her work T. Palmer, could be me hee hee. I have been allowed to join the Madison Farmer's Market Thursdays 2:00 till 7:00 and the Chatham Farmer's Market Saturdays 8:00 till 1:00. My first Madison market was wet but successful. This Saturday Willow, Violet, & Blossom will be joining us at the Chatham Market. Stop by check out the new booth and visit with the girls.

Lastly I have to say I've changed, I'm a completely different person in some ways. I used to love clothes, I never left the house without makeup, spent a fortune on haircuts, I worried about what everybody else thought. I still love clothes, I just buy them at Tractor Supply. I still wear eyeliner when I'm going somewhere, well most of the time and my haircut of late was Joe trimming my bangs in the kitchen because I could stand them in my eyes anymore. I look a little like one the Marx brothers. I still care what people think, just not as much and not enough to change myself without careful consideration. Have a wonderful summer, I will write when time permits, no more promises I can't keep. Great reads "The Dirty Life Memoirs On Farming, Food, and Love" by Kristin Kimball "Just Like Heaven" by Julia Quinn a lovely beach read, and lastly I'm in the middle of "Surviving The Apocalypse in The Suburbs" by Wendy Brown. I know the last one seems a bit on the extreme side, but it's really interesting and it never hurts to have an idea of what you would do if things were to change. In the book she talks about a life without oil and all the things connected with it. How to start really eating locally & seasonally, taking responsibility for yourself, your food, pretty much everything. Now I want a wood burning stove to supply heat to the house and to cook on if necessary. Poor Joe Palmer, he shouldn't have bought me that Look Book, I just keep reading and getting more ideas :)