Yet another sunny, warm, perfect day idled by today. As I have been prone to doing lately, I took the goats on a pastoral hike in the cedar grove this morning. The boys wore their saddles and packs. The girls wore their ever-growing pregnant bellies. We meandered in a new direction today. I brought the saddle bags along in anticipation of a good foraging trip. If nothing else, I would fill the pack with swathes…
Tag: daily life
“Tattling on the Freedom Goat”
It was after dark. I was sitting down to dinner in my tiny house. Toli the Dog was on guard duty outside, the barnyard had been put to bed, and as far as I was concerned, my day outside had come to a close. But then I heard a turkey hen chirp. It wasn’t a red-flag alarm. She called out in singular chirps. “PIP!” ….. “PIP!” …… “PIP!” Something she didn’t like was entering her…
“A Post About Today, June 15th 2021”
With sunshine and warm weather abound now, it’s hard to find time and motivation to sit at the computer and write! As the wild world finally bursts forth with green, our first round of leafy greens in the greenhouses are already going to seed. So thinning the greens beds, drying greens, and replanting are high on the priority list. Now that the threat of frost has (theoretically) passed, i’s also time to plant squash and…
“Another Indecisive Spring”
April and May spent their time swinging between near-freezing temperatures, and warm summer temperatures in the 70’s. With each cold snap we wagered we were done with the cold and moving on towards summer. However, the two-week cycle of extremes has continued. Last week, in an unseasonable turn of events, we got dumped with over 20″ of snow. At best, only about a foot of it accumulated. We were plunged back into the throws of…
“Spring 2021 is Officially Here!”
After a warm, summer-like day, the mountain got dumped with snow again! It’s been hard to tell whether spring has really sprung or not up here. One minute the sun is shining and it’s 50 or 60º, the next snow is dumping and everything is frozen again. Three days ago it was over 70º up here, then two days later it was frigid and snowing again. So what makes it official? The bears, of course!…
“A Post About Today: May 5th, 2021”
The thawing pond resembles a tiny glacial lake. It’s May now, and the days and nights are growing ever warmer. Sure, we’ll likely get a few more inches of snow before summer hits, but it won’t stick around for long! The roads are thawing and drying out. With such a rapid melt right now, water mitigation on the roads is vital to avoiding mushy, gooey roads and erosion. So every 2 or 3 days trenches…
“A Post About Today: April 16th, 2021”
It’s been a quiet and productive spring thus far. 2 of the 4 greenhouses are fully seeded/planted for the year. The upper greenhouse is about 1/3 planted, and only limited to that because we’ve only managed to create grow beds in 1/3 of the whole structure! Little sprouts are cropping everywhere. The currants are flowering, and the new kiwis are just putting out leaves. In another month or 2, the greenhouses will be stuffed full…
“A Simple Gift from Nova”
It was a restless night, in-part due to one of the cats yowling in the greenhouse all night. This morning the yowling picked up again. It was Nova, and her incessant calling is a classic indication that she made kill. This sweet little cat loves to “feed” me. Once Upon A Time she used to hunt fruit for me form the orchard. She’d bring apples and apricots into the house, yowling and calling for me,…
“A Goat Update: Kids, Milk, & Cheese”
We are now 2 weeks from Ruma’s traumatic birthing experience and she is doing wonderfully. At no point did she threaten me with uterine infection or complications. PHEW! She’s stayin’ plump and lookin’ beautiful as ever. Never did I envision myself someday following a female goat around, carefully sniffing her vulva and noting how it smelled each day… We have each doe down to 1 kid each and are milking the ladies twice a…
“A Post About Today: March 9th, 2021”
March is well underway and spring is in the air! With daytime highs in the 40’s, the Upper Greenhouse (the new massive one) has gotten well into the 70’s in full sunshine. The snow is melting rapidly, and considering we’ve had unusually little snow this year, I’m sure it will be gone before we know it. I highly doubt there will be snow in the draws in June this year. So with the advent of…
“A Post About Today: February 23rd, 2021”
The upper greenhouse just before the big melt and shed. Here Andy is movings some snow around below it whilst I standby listening for any indication that the snow may break loose and come down. With daytime high’s in the upper 30’s and 40’s, brisk winds, and bright sunshine, it’s hard to deny spring is here. Yesterday the upper greenhouse was 51º! Our 20 inches of fluffy white powder has melted into a semi-crusty…
“A Post About Today: February 6th, 2021”
I’m going to make my first attempt at adding some fun photos to the blog post. Does that make it a… plog?! :B Edit/update: since it seems to have worked and looks nice, I’ll work on adding photos to more of my previous posts. We recently got about 12″ of snow, and there’s still plenty more on the forecast. At last, the snow has come! We’ve hardly had 3 feet of cumulative snow up…
“A Post About Today: February 1st, 2021”
It’s a bright, sunny Monday morning. My orders are in the post and I’m now hiding in front of the computer. The thermometer says it’s 38ºF in the greenhouse. The top of our greenhouse today will likely reach 50ºF, whilst the draw below the cabin is likely in the teens or single-digits. It’s a comfy 70ºF inside after a busy morning of frying up sausage, pancakes, and onions. Why am I indoors in front of…
