Playing Catch Up

The last couple of weeks have been a bit trying for me.  Between work and home, there’s just so much to do and so little time!  I’m exhausted all the time.  Happy, but truly exhausted.

I feel behind on everything.

The garden is still being put in, we need to name and register the goats, and the weeds just won’t stop growing.  To top it all off, my computer crapped out on me, leaving me with a ton of ideas and stories to share with you, and articles to write and submit and no computer or time to actually write.

I think that, for now at least, I’ve figured out the computer thing, so that helps!  WooHoo!

With that, I’d thought I’d share a quick update and a few pics.

Shown:

• Our rooster started cockle doodle doing. It’s not a bad song, and I have to admit, it feels like it belongs here. Now we’ll just have to see how he does with the ladies. So far he’s just doing his Rooster Thing and trying to mount the ladies all the time.  Most of them are standing their ground and he doesn’t seem mean about it.  I’ll keep my eyes peeled, though, I won’t stand for a bully.
• We built a milk stand and milked Mama Mello a bit over the weekend! (And by “we”, I actually mean Kim.) As a first time mama, she does not understand (or like) what we’re doing, but I’m confident that she’ll fall in…especially with the new grains we just got since she’s pretty much addicted to them (see below).
• The two mulberry trees on the property started ripening! So far we’ve harvested ~5 pounds, though there’s no telling since an amazing amount of them get eaten as we’re harvesting them off the ground! Please, do tell, do you have any jam, pie, or wine recipes for mulberries? I’d love to get creative with these delicious gems!
• I’ve decided to switch up how I’m doing my Sky Blanket!  It’s a practice in changing plans mid-project, which is honestly a struggle for me (if you look at one of those “tests”, I’m a concrete-sequential kind of person, changes in plans are challenging for me).  Though, I have to admit, once I made the decision, I got super excited and super motivated to keep working on it, despite being months behind!  Sometimes we just need to give ourselves permission, right?  More on this (hopefully) later this week!
• Why is it that kids grow up so fast?!  Sprout is growing in leaps and bounds and while it’s all very exciting to hear her words come quicker every day and to watch her learn and dance and sing and help with all of the farm chores, I just wish it didn’t have to pass so quickly!
• There are about a billion (OK, maybe a few less than a billion) “volunteer” sunflowers coming up in all parts of the garden that I think were strewn about by Sprout while helping out a few weeks ago.  At this point they are filled with my greatest hopes and expectations since they’re pretty much the only things in the garden that are doing better than the weeds.

Unshown:

• We gave our first shots to the goats this week! The babies required their CDT booster so off we went to the feed store in search of meds and needles. Strange experience for us Newbies, but very straightforward and easy peasy, all things considered (and aside from the screaming babies, because shots suck for goats, too).  Also, baby goats are strong and it’s hurts considerably when they kick to get out of your arms.
• We definitely have one Tom turkey out of our four Broad Breasted Bronzes. He’s becoming quite gorgeous and is starting to show off his tail feathers.  I hope to get a good shot of him soon.
• The house is a hot mess (really, really) and my mother in law is coming in nine days to stay with us for five weeks! The visit will be wonderful for multiple reasons and she’s helping us with care for Sprout, but man is there a lot to do to get ready for her visit!
• There’s a tiny cherry tree that is beginning to ripen! I’ve been told it is a pie cherry tree 🙂  We’re picking them as they ripen and I’m hoping to get enough cherries to bake at least one pie.  Any recipes you’d like to share?
• One of our Buffs has gone broody again.  After too long of her pecking at me and harassing the other layers (affecting their egg production), we put her in solitary confinement.  Last night, finally, we found an egg in her mini coop.  We’re thinking her and the Roo should maybe hook up, make some babies, and leave the rest of the Ladies alone.  If you have tips to share about such an arrangement, I’d love to hear them!
• We finally purchased some local, organic grain for the chickens, turkeys, and goats and don’t think we’ll ever go back to the mass produced stuff we’ve been giving the chickens for years. It’s local, better quality, cheaper, and purchased directly! (Shakes head and asks self, “What took us so long?!”) I hope to share a bit more about this soon, too 🙂

Alright, I think you’re caught up enough for right now!  How are you all?  What’ve you been up to?  Solstice is just around the corner…any big plans in the works?

I do hope to be spend more time in this space more often and thank you so very much for being here with me!  Hope you’re having a wonderful week!

xoxo,
M