Shown, Unshown – Marching into April 2017

I want to start off this post by thanking each and every one of you for your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes (whether spoken or left unspoken) as we’ve processed our losses. Your care, compassion, and intentions for us are all so deeply appreciated.

I realize that the last couple of posts here have highlighted the grief we have experienced here on the Farm in the last month and while it’s all true and hard and important to be shared in this space, in an effort to balance things out a bit, I’m happy to report that, despite the sadness of the ducklings and the absolute heartbreak of losing Arco, life is not, in fact, all that bad.

Yes, grief comes in waves (it’s brutal and beautiful in that way). . .but there is also so.much.good happening in our neck of the woods this Spring to bolster us up and keep our feet moving.

And so it goes. . .

Shown

• You’ve heard of Chicken Math, right? You know. . .you may have 3, go into the store for 2 more, and come out with ten? How about having 13, going into the store for zero, leaving with ten. . .then going to a second store and leaving with another ten? Yeah. . .I blame Kim fully for this one 😉 So, the plan was to not add to the flock this year. . .save some money and some time. But then Kim went ahead and found herself ten Red Rangers (meat birds) and so I said we ought to go ahead and get a few more Easter Eggers if we’re going to raise chicks anyway. And so we just moved twenty chicks out of the garage and into the turkey side of the coop until the turkeys arrive (see the Unshown bullet below for more on that story). Yeah. . .Chicken Math.
• Mama Mello, Lucy and Ethel are getting rounder by the day and beginning to bag up a bit. With roughly three to five weeks before they all kid we’re keeping our eyes peeled. I’ve felt movement inside each of them and so keep joking we could have anywhere between three and 15 kids. . .though it’s only a half joke because 15 is actually possible (even if not probable 😉 ). And so there is much to do in preparation, including making a definitive decision about how many kids we will keep in the end (which is still an ongoing conversation between Kim and I).
• We traded pasture space for our annual visiting cows and horses on our totally neglected and overgrown field for some tractor work!  We got the goat barn all cleaned out and turned into a massive pile of almost-compost for the garden and a massive hole dug to sink an old tub into to be filled up with water for the goats (less hauling water!!!). I think we’re totally getting the better end of the deal since we also get to visit with the cows and horses while they’re fertilizing and mowing down the field.
• The one remaining duckling from last year’s clutch is all grown up and setting a clutch of her own!  We thought we’d lost her but it turns out she’s just set her clutch next door (away from my egg-collecting hands and the sniffing noses/hungry bellies of the dogs). I have no idea how many eggs she’s set as I haven’t ventured into the brush under which she’s holding fort, but I’m hopeful she’ll bring her babies back home once they’ve all hatched out since she still visits us daily to eat and have a drink from the acequia.
• Miracle of miracles, we still have hope of fruit this year! Granted, we still have a good five weeks of potential frost, but the blossoms have held out against a couple of frosts so far (deep watering helped on the coldest night) and our fingers are crossed they’ll hold out in the coming weeks! Although, truth be told, if we have another good fruit year this year, we may need to become temporary Market Farmers so none of it will go to waste!

Unshown

• Our very good friends joined us for a long weekend during Spring Break which brought so much light and love and energy into the house and onto the property. It also brought two very energetic and incredibly amazing kiddos into the house which made for some fun/interesting/sometimes challenging dynamics. But there was mud to play in and Meow Wolf to visit and so much good food to eat and ducklings to feed and hold and lots of “late night”, grown up conversations to be had. It was completely perfect and I couldn’t be more grateful!
• Believe it or not, I haven’t started a single seed yet.  I’ve surrendered seed starting to the pros this year and have decided instead to direct sow everything I can and purchase transplants from the Farmers who can do it better that I.  Shocking, I know, but something’s got to give and seed starting seemed like a good thing to give.
• We’re currently waiting on 12 Midget White Turkeys to be delivered the first week in May. We’ve gone in with a friend and so they will be delivered by Privett directly. Though we’ve never raised them before, we’ve heard good things, and we’re excited to raise some turkeys that don’t get as massive as the Broad Breasted varieties. We surely don’t need another 40-pound bird in our freezer 😉
• Unrelated to me/us directly, I am happy to report that the Urban Homesteading trademark ridiculousness has come to an end! This is a huge win for Root Simple and, truly, urban homesteaders everywhere. I’ve been following this for the past six years and am so very happy that it’s finally come to a resolution. You can read about the beginnings here and Root Simple’s announcement about the conclusion here. So good.
• And last, but certainly not least, I’ve spent a good part of the last month starting up a brand new business called Straightforward Woo. For those of you who read my post a while back about my sensitivities to energies and my Clairvoyance, you might be psyched to learn that I’ve begun offering readings and healings to the public (instead of just to family and close friends). I am very excited about this new chapter and hope you will be, too. More on this, though, on its own, shortly 🙂 Big steps, deep breaths, and all that jazz!

And so yes, life is good, even when it’s hard <3

Now it’s your turn!  I’d love to hear all about what’s happening in your neck of the woods!

xoxo,
M