tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79774412012-01-22T15:21:16.192-05:00Life on the FarmCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.comBlogger6521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-20190405815420028532012-01-10T15:52:00.001-05:002012-01-10T15:52:23.247-05:00

I met the person who would be my husband and I knew there was something different about him.   I’d met a few people like him before, but very few.  And I think no women like him.  I still don’t think I’ve met any women like him.  Although I think there are a few of us moving in that direction, maybe even almost there for all I know.Not to say he’s perfect; far FAR from it.  Nope, just this one

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-7051396696185182342011-12-31T23:30:00.000-05:002012-01-02T18:07:45.266-05:00

2012Ok.  So.  The past year and the year to come.  2011 had a lot of transitions.  The word “transitions” makes me smile because we do so many transitions riding horses, and we work for those transitions to be clean, precise, forward.  Not muddy.  Not sloppy.  Walk-trot.  Trot-halt.  Can-ter.  Not rushed.  With good rhythm.  Without bracing.    So much.2011 had a lot of transitions.  Our

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-22023115778427076042011-12-27T22:00:00.000-05:002011-12-27T22:00:05.128-05:00

I realize nobody really pays as much attention to this blog as I do, and lately I obviously haven’t paid all that much attention to it either.  But one thing I’ve done for awhile now is to change the banner photo with the seasons – the same scenes but in the current season.  I’m having trouble changing the one up there right now though. First, I just like that one, with the mare’s ears sticking

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-41018038619824001062011-12-22T20:38:00.000-05:002011-12-22T20:38:48.871-05:00

I used to think that I had chosen to live on a rather difficult cusp.  Not to complain, just to notice.  We chose to live differently but we also lived in the dominant paradigm too.  It was in so many areas of our lives too -- from how we worked, how we ate, how we raised our kids, everything.  And sometimes confounding and compounding this cuspiness, we chose not to live all the way over the

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-10584877206550948932011-11-30T15:37:00.001-05:002011-11-30T15:42:06.320-05:00

I heard a guy on talk radio say, "Don't go to the feeding centers; don't go to the Super Dome."  Made me flashback at least five or six years ago to telling a girl who was pretending at that time to be my friend, "Don't go to the feeding centers."  I knew she didn't have much resilience and I knew I wasn't going to let her family come here so the best I could offer her was at least don't go

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-73990874223809040742011-10-20T15:07:00.000-04:002011-10-20T15:20:50.909-04:00

It took me a second look to make sure of what this Gene Logsdon blog post was saying:  that the Achilles heel of pasture farming is not an Achilles heel to pasture farming itself but the Achilles heel of industrial pasture farming.  Long to short, he’s run into an unwanted grass that needs to be eliminated by hand and very early in its invasive process which, put together, means by a farmer with

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-39044785390239026352011-09-02T16:30:00.000-04:002011-09-02T16:30:53.366-04:00

You know how the froufrou chefs do it -- they go, "hmmm, what weird thing could I put with this other weird thing to make a taste sensation?".  Or something.Homestead cooks have a slightly different technique -- "what's here and what can I make out of it?"  So that I knew I was going to have a side of summer squash with supper, and I pretty well knew I was going to saute it, but with what?  We

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-67860448569386066402011-08-25T15:25:00.003-04:002011-08-25T15:55:32.802-04:00

Some days ago Jimmy, I mean, Warren Buffett wrote a piece about how the rich in the US should not be "coddled", meaning they should be taxed more. While I know both sides of that argument, that's not what interests me about it. The real strength of that article, the real strength of what he was saying was that he was talking about himself: Today's problems and what he himself could do to help.

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-35082500519047706162011-08-12T19:53:00.004-04:002011-08-12T20:25:09.274-04:00

A very red pepper! Pumpkins. The bean jail. That's just baling twine and empty bottles with rocks in them to, hopefully, scare the deer who would otherwise eat the beans down. The sunflowers in front of the red corn. The red corn seems to be really doing well this year. In general, the corn seems to have done better than the potatoes this year. Except you can't count the corn yet because

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-55585148268503397582011-07-23T16:55:00.004-04:002011-07-23T18:01:08.842-04:00

the white corn. See the shovel? It is 4 1/2 feet tall and you cannot see the top of the corn.a couple turnip beds. These were red potato beds. The did not have a great yield so we dug them up and are eating them now and growing turnips for the winter. If we happen upon a wet day before these are too big, some might be transplanted to even them out a bit. They will have to be thinned quite a

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-67685496080238369512011-07-21T21:41:00.002-04:002011-07-21T22:00:21.766-04:00

I have this friend. He is my favorite former boyfriend (ok, actually, I have a few favorites). And, you know, various and sundry things have happened in his life and it ends up that he has this house/farm that is for sale and he sent me a link to the online slide show for this property. A.m.a.z.i.n.g. Beautiful. (if you know me for real and want it, I just might send you the link)And I am so

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-91879309062690360132011-07-18T21:12:00.003-04:002011-07-18T21:28:43.917-04:00

It is high summer. There have been times in years past when we hadn’t been able to get into the garden for weeks at this point, the weeds having overwhelmed us. We started out with ambitious plans when we marked the center of the universe all those years ago. One might say that they were too ambitious, or that we failed a lot, or were overwhelmed, or didn’t know enough. None of those

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-21106180171682569322011-07-01T22:59:00.003-04:002011-07-01T23:26:57.540-04:00

Supper! Really, about a third of this cabbage, along with carrots and onion also from our garden, made slaw for 6 hungry people!Planting fall beets. Precision technique.Onions bulbing.A cucumber plant still trying, and some purslane and a yellow dock.Beans in the white corn.Acorn squash between the sunflowers and the potatoes, all nicely hilled.The red corn, and as always it is punier than the

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-10348826804100242452011-06-19T18:08:00.004-04:002011-06-19T18:17:01.387-04:00

I have some odd ideas about nutrition, even if I don't think they are quite so odd. Like, I don't like dead water -- my water (or anyone else's water) that comes from a spring that a frog can live (and pee) in is infinitely preferable to me than dead, chlorinated or irradiated water without stuff living in it. When we have cucumbers, we leave them on the counter and eat and eat and eat them --

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-56731065948354979812011-06-17T10:26:00.002-04:002011-06-19T10:33:32.800-04:00

Our life on the farm follows a rhythm, and yet it is a rhythm that changes all the time. Tomorrow I will take the kids who want to go to the Yu-Gi-Oh tournament, and take care of my friends at a horse show. Yesterday husband took off to have lunch with some folks who have been his friends for longer than he’s known me, and to make a new friend too it turns out. He came home with some walker

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-67335041339724683002011-06-08T22:43:00.006-04:002011-06-08T23:41:03.674-04:00

Welcome to the garden.Elderberry saved from the farm I work at, where they regularly mow it just as it is about to ripen because, and this is incredibly difficult for me to understand, food is not important to them. They've grown up in our garden and will, at some point, be transplanted out. But this year, this is where these are. Sometimes vines, sometimes trees, sometimes whatever, is in the

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-3252568432566232462011-05-14T12:26:00.002-04:002011-05-14T12:49:12.068-04:00

Anything Really Really Real (RRR) (tm) has a chance of utter failure. A garden is the easiest example of this: You plant a seed and it grows or it does not grow; it produces food or it does not.It seems as though there are a thousand ways to fail and only one way to succeed but, really, there are a hundred thousand ways to fail and at least a thousand and maybe ten thousand ways to succeed.Ah,

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-85061877869657075772011-04-29T21:03:00.003-04:002011-04-29T21:26:04.695-04:00

We broke the plowing up into three days. Today was our first chance since then to harrow. The spike harrow is totally cool -- light and easy to work and very effective. If you want more details and photos, go to May 2010 and you'll find them.An aside, I think the husband should make an extra harrow or two and have them for sale. Not take them to the auction or anything, just have them

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-50422345962552294802011-04-21T13:36:00.002-04:002011-04-21T14:13:25.833-04:00

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-33459052213673301762011-04-10T20:21:00.002-04:002011-04-10T20:49:51.104-04:00

Except for the youngest, the kids are, by and large and for all intents and purposes, grown. They are their own people, and while that's been true since they were born, it is true in a different way now. And it is always possible that some big intervention of some sort would be needed, but not likely at this point given who they are.It was very easy to be a natural, attachment parenting parent

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-25002695051089201252011-04-03T20:13:00.001-04:002011-04-03T21:16:40.495-04:00

bee in heal allcurrent state of the corn fielddirt eater? let's see, some overwintered kale, a seed bed, some onions, and a couple compost pileschicken laying an egg

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-18862045417952923652011-03-23T19:43:00.001-04:002011-03-23T19:49:46.148-04:00

warm spring thunderstormup here on my mountain sideso magnificentwalking uphill rainsoaking running dripping wetshake head to clear eyeslightning count to eightthunder brings the rain harderstep step squish step stepI am not cold Iam not tired I am not lostI am home embracedit is possibleit is not a dream or lielife as we live it

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-47948749226368357482011-03-18T20:08:00.003-04:002011-03-18T20:26:18.376-04:00

We went by their house with milk, this family we've known for some years now, I don't know how many, but mostly peripherally. We have some things in common (interest in healthy food and in growing things), and some things not in common (religion). I always expect friends to be more than this somehow. But when Pat died, suddenly and unexpectedly, it really hit close to home. The milk was all

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-41034007762828417352011-03-17T08:41:00.001-04:002011-03-17T08:47:03.728-04:00

We have eggs. We have, in the past, managed to maintain egg laying through the winter, but not this year. And not last year either. We were really only successful at it when we had very few hens. Maybe we should go with that.There are also seeds in the ground, things sprouting. Coltsfoot is blooming. Goat is getting big but only beginning to bag up . . . and she is ancient. Between the

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-14313563639727542762011-02-21T06:15:00.000-05:002011-02-21T06:34:00.033-05:00

Yes, we are in no way urban. And I am, in general, in no way sympathetic to protests. But is calling attention to something that is outrageous a protest? It is probably part of it.Anyway, it doesn't matter. Here is what I want to say:If you care about ANYTHING, anything at all, be it your health, your kids & family, your community, your country, your planet, spirituality, loving kindness,

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-80874238425982956542011-02-17T18:56:00.003-05:002011-02-17T19:28:59.429-05:00

which I think leaves me in the clear since the -er of that word isn't trademarked by the sell outs known as the Dervaeses and formerly of "Path to Freedom" fame. I'm just gonna link what Kate said about them and the controversy, and then you can follow a few of her links if you don't know what this is about yet.People, we all better be growin' food, where ever we find ourselves, rural or urban

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-51665311294657220522011-02-06T17:07:00.015-05:002011-02-06T19:43:20.219-05:00

I stood there in the road. He had plenty of space to just go on, but I stood boldly, camera around my neck. He stopped. I'm figuring, here we are, no beating around the bush.I said something. Who knows quite what. Something like "Where are you taking that," referring to his pick up which was fully of siding. He said something back, something like, "What business is it of yours?" At some

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-17459529749505917862011-01-23T09:40:00.003-05:002011-01-23T10:00:06.596-05:00

I am shocked, I am sad, but mostly what I want to say is CONGRATULATIONS Jim old boy! You done good, see ya next time, and you are welcome to haunt here. Lovelovelovelovelove

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-52045469239284162672011-01-22T17:01:00.001-05:002011-01-22T17:05:43.185-05:00

My daughters and I finally opened up the "January Field" today. We're a little late. And it has been a rough winter. All of our old animals know the January field. The new cow and her calf, however, didn't.We had to stretch a little hot wire but first we called the animals over and opened the gate. Old cow said, "Yes," and went straight for it and buried her head in the standing mostly dead

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-43498004255296418132010-12-28T20:10:00.004-05:002010-12-28T20:53:57.424-05:00

What could you do for, have that you could give, trade with or provide for a farmer that would convince him to let go of some of his potatoes and give them to you?For me, that is the question in its essence. I have engaged in that question with both things I was willing to trade relatively easily (I'll bake bread for you, or make jam, or milk a cow), and things that I am willing to do to provide

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-14743402584753292132010-12-26T19:22:00.003-05:002010-12-26T19:39:50.720-05:00

I couldn’t really tell you why I’ve had nothing to say. It isn’t that I haven’t thought things but I just haven’t thought them through to having something to say. I’ve been watching, observing but just haven’t seen things in the blog light.Now, I have to tell you (and if you are a blogger, you no doubt already know this), often you can see things as a blog post as they happen. And artistry is

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-85473863296499477192010-12-05T16:42:00.004-05:002010-12-05T20:29:32.457-05:00

almostI've thought a lot of words but none have made it into computer blips. So it is just this image, which I laughed at that hen so much when I saw this.But that isn't how it looks today. This is today:Today is also comfort food (can you say, blueberry cobbler? So glad for the berries in the freezer!). Tomorrow is definitely insulated coveralls.Which, one thing I notice, one thing that

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-84146385532106722062010-11-17T15:47:00.003-05:002010-11-17T16:06:54.421-05:00

If you could see the pile of apples and pears in our floor! And the older cow came home after visiting with her bull for three months, and we're milking the newer cow, and the calf is almost as big as her mothers. The turnips that were seeded on the potato hills after the potato tops had died back have made themselves nicely. We had a great crop of winter squash this year, and also got the

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-10588834169466814472010-10-30T06:49:00.002-04:002010-10-30T07:00:52.077-04:00

Evidently they need to be frosted on. At least we went to get more apples and there were still sarvice berries and we got more of those too and they are sweeter, milder, and the seeds seem softer. The trees have lost all their leaves on the branches with berries so that the harvesting is easier too . . . at least with two people -- one to hold the bag and one to milk the berries (and I don't

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-28039073445024595002010-10-21T17:00:00.002-04:002010-10-21T17:35:13.105-04:00

goin' to the moonI found myself in a venue that was not compelling for me, and there confronted with hostility. A school teacher, no less, saying something every week about why homeschooling was not a good thing. Oh my but what she would have said if she could have even imagined unschooling.She raised first socialization, of course. And I parried that with my utter uncaring. Not that I didn't

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-78248061706218066052010-09-24T14:38:00.003-04:002010-09-25T19:38:52.085-04:00

I think the best part was having Alecto at my house. As soon as she pulled onto our road, one of my most powerful omens took wing. It is funny how that omen has changed through the years, yet remained the same. I always think of it as an omen and a different thing as a totem and I'm sure it doesn't matter and I'm not telling you what they are anyway.It is a funny thing, this friendship with

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-22649859904993710272010-09-23T21:50:00.003-04:002010-09-23T21:54:49.662-04:00

Acorns hit the roofin syncopated rhythmsthe clockworks tickingAcorns hit the roofdead fish sail to Valhallacow bellows bellowsAcorns hit the roofthe party never ends andnever ends againAcorns hit the roofacorns rip through leaves on treesbuckeyes aren't chestnutsAcorns hit the roofacorns hit the roof with gleesharing glee we laughAcorns play at Zenbalanced but not symetric-al wabi sabi

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-69465990229915612622010-09-17T08:08:00.002-04:002010-09-17T08:10:58.847-04:00

Alecto is at my house! We stayed up and drank sake last night! We're going milking now!all the best bloggers come here!

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-68251248401652769112010-09-09T19:51:00.005-04:002010-09-09T20:21:02.529-04:00

Things that made me smile todayblue and black bunniesthis is Snowflake in her summer plummage -- and doesn't she have great "Chicken Run" legs going on?my boy and his summer dapplesthis image took my breath awaygirls on the side of the hillbecause I'm contrary -- and I loved such a tight shot including at least three types of flies and a drop of bloodthe state of her dehorn repair -- and ain't

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-53930481654847307722010-09-05T19:24:00.004-04:002010-09-06T06:19:24.637-04:00

We took off to Shangri-la today, mostly with the idea of gathering in some apples to begin processing for the year. It is such a pleasant place that we wanted to make several trips of it rather than one big one, which also happens to make processing more manageable too. I didn't take the camera in part because being the photographer always changes my experience of the adventure and today I

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-2207114405008997952010-08-26T20:09:00.002-04:002010-08-26T20:21:55.331-04:00

I’m probably ready to write about this. I’ve put it off to make sure things turned out alright. I put it off because it was disturbing. I put it off because I have cognitive dissonance, misgivings, mixed feelings, and conflict about it. Some animals come with horns. We solved this with the goats long ago and far away by leaving them alone. We like horns on goats. People will tell you

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-63451699660499216042010-08-18T20:56:00.002-04:002010-08-19T21:01:51.267-04:00

it being about movementSo in living on and “managing” a farm one knows, that is one is aware for the longest time before one takes any action at all, that the goat herd sire needs to be traded off, a new one procured, the cows need to be bred, and all the rest. And things accumulate – you get a phone number for someone who owns a Jersey bull locally and post it on your refrigerator, the person

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-77345887405679392012010-08-13T21:09:00.002-04:002010-08-13T21:22:16.803-04:00

We entertained unexpected guests last week, unexpected to me at least. Let us just say that the newness of their eyes looking upon our doings gave me the gift of some fresh perspective.We'd been sitting in the kitchen for some time, sharing some food and tea. The boys were in the living room immersed in their common interest and the rest of us were just trying to pass the time politely if a

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-21206407344874810722010-08-10T21:59:00.002-04:002010-08-11T08:06:31.561-04:00

And two mammas equals twice the bawling too.Ok, just the honest to goodness facts is that we're slow a lot of times. We read the books, sure, and talk to the agri-farmers, and we know the theories, but when it comes right smack dab down to it, we feel our way along. We change all the time, but slowly and always in a direction.So it should come as no surprise that the we've just left the calf on

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-78072365763199404902010-08-07T11:11:00.009-04:002010-08-07T12:14:03.030-04:00

This is where I live. This is opposed to some things that are going on around me that I find very difficult. Still, it doesn’t change where I live.First, of course, there is the garden because the garden is always first.This selection of beans made up into 13 quarts canned.This is purslane. That bowl is a really really large bowl and that is just a couple plants of purslane filling it up. As

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-80183234933075064362010-07-07T18:49:00.005-04:002010-07-07T20:33:42.359-04:00

Baby pickles are so cute, and it only takes them a day or maybe two to be ready to eat. Also, cucumber hunting is one of my favorite garden pursuits.sweet corn and sweet peppersPeas. Snap peas. Oregon sugar snaps I think. And yes, that is a poke plant in there too.The spinach and lettuce may be gone but the chard is coming on strong.A patch of purslane, mostly transplanted from the rectangle

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-11795972920275505012010-07-03T10:38:00.003-04:002010-07-03T11:06:25.723-04:00

He left around seven years ago. That was the year I started mowing for a neighbor and maybe he followed me down there or maybe he wandered on his own, I don't know. What I remember is that periodically that year she told me to come get my cat. She may have begun calling me the previous year and telling me that, I don't know, or the winter before at least. Maybe that's even why I began mowing

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-7476020274167003092010-06-26T22:05:00.002-04:002010-06-26T22:13:31.403-04:00

Are you fierce enough to milk unabated while a calf with a tongue rough as a cat's but 20 times bigger and backed by that much more weight and strength too repeatedly licks that little (tiny actually, and insignificant) love handle at the small of your back?

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-73281217278893417222010-06-19T22:28:00.003-04:002010-06-19T22:45:54.075-04:00

We're back in milk and it feels good. She's a very different cow. She has a LOT of milk but lets down very slowly.There is nothing bad, but everything is different. It has reminded me of the times I've run across people who know already exactly how everything is going to be. The funniest ones were going to raise chicory for their goats to browse on, and when goats proved too difficult for

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-79220034711438385062010-05-31T22:10:00.001-04:002010-05-31T22:13:30.200-04:00

Words. Use words, not pictures.The rituals, the routines are not set yet, of course, but the routine since the calf has been born has been to put mom and babe up at night to escape possibly marauding bear. Calf is all legs but coordinated now and I swear she’s gaining ten pounds a day -- I pick her up every day but I don’t think I’ll make it to 600# cow stage and still be able to pick her up.

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-83767661992149415902010-05-27T19:09:00.009-04:002010-05-28T12:49:45.397-04:00

So this is the harrow; the spike harrow to be exact. We'd gotten a larger one some years ago and used its spikes (just railroad spikes) and other hardware to make this slightly smaller one for one horse to pull. It isn't that it is difficult to pull but smaller is easier to maneuver and we don't have acres and acres we're trying to do.This is the first pass. The ground is rough from the

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-65808509414726967042010-05-23T22:37:00.006-04:002010-05-23T23:10:39.020-04:00

baby cherriesrhubarb (the earliest spring "fruit" around these parts) and music garlic and way in the back some volunteer weed potatoes that will be left until we need the bed and then eaten.various salad greens, ready to eatpea bedbaby plants (these are peppers)medium plantsseeds (in this case broccoli)

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-64986452664547188442010-05-22T21:39:00.003-04:002010-05-22T21:58:24.160-04:00

We negotiated for the new cow, when?, in October or November, and finally brought her on the place in February. She had been bred in August, supposedly due in June but not vet checked and so the whole time I'm doing what I do, preparing for the worst, what if she is not bred, looking at her and wondering wondering and planning various contingencies. Well, today . . .Today I believe we just

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-77733477767166078972010-05-20T08:21:00.004-04:002010-05-20T08:42:50.316-04:00

"The current crisis facing the euro is the biggest test Europe has faced in decades. It is an existential test and it must be overcome ... if the euro fails, then Europe fails," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.Finally, a leader says something honest. Or more honest than anything any other leader of anything has said. No surprise she's from the least socialist country in the EU, while the

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-22290481258017092762010-05-09T16:36:00.003-04:002010-05-10T07:01:38.999-04:00

Well, first these little guys came in.Then we finally worked out a day to do the plowing. Above is where we began and below is the handiwork about 2/3 finished. Of course it is also the handiwork of years adding to that soil and working it and growing in it.And then this was a supper -- pan blackened chicken. Not our own chicken but delicious nonetheless. Must do it outside to do it

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-73575015067013857132010-05-06T17:09:00.002-04:002010-05-06T18:13:01.505-04:00

While I am on a rather more political bent than homesteading one, I have this word to say: Greece. You think you are owed a pension? Greece. You think you contributed to Social Security? Greece. You think that government job of your is secure (and it is the only sector with job growth)? Greece.I am attentive to the tendency to protest instead of, say, grow food, or produce something that

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-3716402571562756622010-05-02T20:14:00.003-04:002010-05-02T20:21:45.851-04:00

So, do you get the idea that this BP spill is a really really big thing? Affecting food and environment for years and years? But swallow that it is the result of getting more and more fringe oil to feed the oil addiction. If you go places, you caused it. There will not be a leader willing to say it evidently, but life must get smaller and we need to not mourn that but find the joy in that.

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-8199012032807255652010-04-24T20:08:00.003-04:002010-04-24T20:27:18.040-04:00

We've had rabbits before. Well, we've actually had rabbits for a long while. And daughter #2 has taken good care of them. Ah, but now we have these new rabbits to breed for meat and selling and daughter has a business plan for them and well, we're just excited about all the possibilities. This new black one may even already be pregnant.And we got two blues and a white as well.

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-12591003630874002222010-04-17T15:29:00.003-04:002010-04-17T16:17:32.232-04:00

What have I been doing for the past month? Well, not all that much crocheting, I’ll tell you that. (Those dish rags will be going out but have not yet. I’ve never been good about getting stuff in the mail, just one of my many quirks. Don’t give up on me! And you bad people who haven’t sent me your address, send it already!)Well, it has been more than this. And honestly, it has been a

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-88543513006296237852010-03-13T15:23:00.007-05:002010-03-14T21:33:10.515-04:00

THE In-the-Least-Things GIVE-AWAY Concludes!!!!Well, here it is past the tenth of March and I ain't finished up my give-away even. It ain't time to change my heading picture yet but the leaves will be on the trees again and even I believe that now, after this long, hard, cold, seemingly endless winter. The grass is thinking about greening and it'll bring a tear of gratitude to a body.I had this

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-37851977727671627912010-02-27T11:32:00.000-05:002010-02-27T11:33:16.335-05:00

February has been rather quiet I suppose. Frozen, snowy, and when not frozen, muddy. Hard to get much done except the stuff required to stay warm. Oh, we did have two nice days -- they were so welcome. I've thought a lot of thoughts, of course, always do, and continued to watch the economy and the country collapse and be amazed by the denial involved in that.A girlfriend that I grew up with

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-29234208083614735772010-02-10T15:41:00.004-05:002010-02-10T15:58:15.452-05:00

Canoeing through the pine understory and snow?Not much foraging happening today but lots of huddling in corners. They'll appreciate the hot water they'll get to drink.Old cow, who has detected that I took hay to the horse, on the moove.New cow in her temporary pen.

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-72275928933233808942010-02-07T19:33:00.003-05:002010-02-08T07:33:02.950-05:00

or When It’s Easy, That’s When It’s Supposed to HappenNow, it may seem as though the above titles are diametric opposites, but they are mystically the same thing.The first one became known to us when we decided to have our first child. That’s when it first occurred that there would never be a good time, when everything was smooth and everything was ready and nothing seemed in the way. We

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-13136556188314951352010-01-31T20:05:00.004-05:002010-02-10T15:38:39.001-05:00

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. Luke 16:10I do not know what has possessed me, but I’m having my very first ever Contrary Goddess’ Life on the Farm give away!You know, we’ve been living the life for years now. And there are thousands of steps in it. I remember the first loaf of bread we made up here

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-77496114572284660932010-01-28T18:01:00.003-05:002010-01-28T18:10:38.060-05:00

I am no defender of Marx. In the parlance of “how’s that workin’ for ya,” it hasn’t worked anywhere. His overwhelming mistake was in the motivation of people -- from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs is not motivation to have more abilities than needs. And look at me even, and even in my state now which I think is a pretty productive, one of the reasons I was

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-82211393731832948372010-01-09T20:05:00.004-05:002010-01-10T08:04:07.338-05:00

Because she is beautifulBecause they are cute.And just because.And a note about the baby goats because of the earlier post against intervention. They are two of triplets. Their mom is eleven years old, rather ancient for a goat. And at the beginning of December, she looked to be near her due date -- she was HUGE, basketball bag, the works. You know our goats are rather au naturel and so the

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-38058308821352633942010-01-08T23:37:00.000-05:002010-01-08T23:39:48.667-05:00

I think I probably spend a lot of time on this blog extolling the pleasures of this lifestyle. So forgive me if I indulge in one quick moment of whining: I don’t believe the temperature here has been above freezing in 20 days at least. It has been three weeks now that the highs haven’t been out of the low twenties -- I know because highs in the twenties require insulated coveralls to work in

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-86362932374433617392010-01-07T09:23:00.005-05:002010-01-07T09:38:49.275-05:00

We don't actually produce much garbage but still, it has to go out sometime. This time, it got from the house to the can rather quickly.Even the flatter parts are sled negotiable . . .. . . sometimes with "paddles" (sticks) for speed and steering.And this is how supplies get back up the hill when the road is impassible. It seems it is always dark by the time we get to this part, but it also

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-36045609613555129442010-01-02T21:12:00.002-05:002010-01-02T21:26:11.300-05:00

It probably doesn’t surprise you that I’m not much for conventional medicine. It might surprise you that I’m not much for unconventional medicine/intervention either. I am appalled by how many drugs everyone is on for everything but I don’t figure my thoughts matter all that much.I do believe in creating health. Which I think requires some sideways thinking.And I have a lot of sideways

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-23808355476059298012010-01-01T13:14:00.003-05:002010-01-01T13:18:48.488-05:00

December and being snowed in by the snow storm for so long highlighted a couple of things.One is that we had a gosh darn lot of fun jousting with the being snowed in. I mean, it was four days after it snowed before the sun shone and the temperature went above freezing and we began in earnest to get the vehicle out of the place. It took quite a bit of effort over two days, shoveling deep and

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-21525908773908172332009-12-29T15:28:00.005-05:002009-12-31T10:25:19.926-05:00

Matthew 11:7We’ve been without power for 13 days in December . . . so far. Four different times the power has failed.And here is why the electric power grid has failed so often this winter: The infrastructure is crumbling.The thing about infrastructure is that you don’t think about it so much. Well, unless you are an industrial recruiter or a doomer/thrivalist . Infrastructure just is. It is

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-22238562575500339152009-12-13T16:29:00.004-05:002009-12-13T16:43:58.557-05:00

This has been a year not only of rain but of wind. We had big windstorms in the spring that took lots of trees down, and then again last week and this week, big wind. I haven’t been out and about to see which trees it might have gotten this time. The first windstorm killed someone I knew, not well -- blew a tree down on her car, freak accident they said. Here we lost power both times, this

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-57026109726497387232009-12-04T19:12:00.002-05:002009-12-04T19:15:55.061-05:00

The first morning it happened there were still leaves on the trees; colorful, mostly dry leaves, but leaves on the trees. I was taking the day turn-out horses out -- two horses plus me and a dog crunching through the gravel. Inside the gate I removed halters and the horses ambled away and I watched them, always in love with horse flesh.And then I heard it. A sound. I didn’t know what it was.

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-15995934656394582442009-11-22T16:52:00.006-05:002009-11-22T17:22:38.585-05:00

It has been a really long time since I did a recipe. Honestly, husband's been doin' most of the cookin' with me at the barn more. But despite this being library week and goin' to see the possible cow, I was home enough days in a row to fix somethin' special.What I did was this. I read, some years ago, on somebody's blog, about making croissants I guess it was. That's where I got the idea

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-29476165474568981332009-11-20T18:44:00.005-05:002009-11-21T13:05:30.461-05:00

There have been lately these moments, visuals for the most part, unconnected, like a wildflower bouquet.*There was coming home, after dark, and there on a small tree branch beside the bridge a screech owl sitting there and staring at me. I nearly drove into the creek before I thought to hit the brake and put it in reverse to go back and talk to him/her. And so we sat there together for a few

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-49600308790592005122009-11-12T11:19:00.003-05:002009-11-12T11:28:00.767-05:00

I know a farm. Not personally, but I met a man some 30 years ago who owned the farm, and whose father had owned it before him. He was important to me and he also gave me my first Tom Robbins book. By his account, this family farm had been “organic” and “green” since Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. After being away from home, as in halfway around the world away from a home that he did not

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-87666741128974589032009-11-11T07:56:00.006-05:002009-11-11T08:59:07.001-05:00

My Free Will Baptist preacher grandfather used to say, often, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Even though I'm pretty much a confirmed no-hell-er (or I guess I believe that people make their own little hells here that any larger hell would pale beside of), I agree.I also believe that your intention in doing something or not doing something is hugely important. Doing the right

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-33193611099869817472009-10-31T20:32:00.000-04:002009-11-01T08:36:11.270-05:00

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-57029140468139675042009-10-23T18:58:00.006-04:002009-10-23T19:37:55.582-04:00

The goat we sold.The fish fry we had. (bluegill and bass, fried cabbage, rice)A hickory horned devil I think. I love that name. There were a good number of luna moth caterpillars at this same time too, which was a couple of weeks ago.The wooly worms this year have been totally cool but I haven't gotten a non-blurry photo of one yet. We have them all over the barn -- I think they come in the

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-89414434031948051742009-10-04T14:30:00.002-04:002009-10-04T14:52:32.024-04:00

Not as in bailouts, but rather the little day to day things we do that end up being banking, as in banking a fire to save it for the morning.I think first of all the manure I bring home. We were talking with some chemical farming types lately and they would talk about how much nitrogen this or that amendment had and how manure doesn’t have that. They are right in a way, manure has a certain

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-90286153325136650302009-09-30T23:44:00.002-04:002009-09-30T23:48:03.927-04:00

Isn't it funny how at spring equinox, I can milk in the light both times, but at fall equinox, more often both milkings are in the dark? It is more like, when I milk early in the morning, it is still dark; and when I milk regular time in the evening, it is dark already.Ah, but the moon was up tonight. And lately the glow worms have been magnificent, like stars fallen to earth.I remember when we

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-63637790687048240382009-09-23T22:31:00.004-04:002009-09-23T22:51:22.859-04:00

First I was at the barn. When I wheeled the big double wheeler wheelbarrow into the sawdust bin, I thought there were mushrooms or something growing what with all the recent rains. A closer look, however, revealed they were not puffballs or some other fungus but snake eggs. With snakes partway out of some, all the way out of others, and lots of them. The sight made me jump a bit first, and

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-56016747452093739282009-09-11T08:43:00.002-04:002009-09-11T08:52:25.083-04:00

(actually posting this from Cielo's house! -- link in title)(P.S. Cielo's husband told her to be careful and me to have fun!)

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-88706062240136301402009-09-09T12:36:00.004-04:002009-09-09T12:48:38.903-04:00

Really, I was thinking of a different post. And really, I hope someone doesn’t mind me using this real story but this is the deepest thing.See, there is a psychologist I know, dignified, professional, credentialed, experienced, who is going to this mandatory week-long government training session. Who could blame the psychologists that a lot of them like to leave these “training sessions” a bit

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-51734245166862229672009-08-21T16:16:00.010-04:002009-08-21T17:18:03.281-04:00

OrEvery Year is DifferentThis year we’ve had abundant rain. One might even call it abundant weather because by gosh we’ve had a lot of it. These first photos are the results of weather (in this case meaning wind) that happened back in April but that I just got around to photographing: Trees down by the back creek and into our back pasture. The scale of it is impressive although I don’t

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-75729208766600511622009-08-06T10:25:00.002-04:002009-08-06T10:35:07.297-04:00

We got up and had a leisurely breakfast and went to pick blueberries but it was closed for ripening but being who we are (that is, always leery of rules for rules sakes although respectful of those with sound reasoning behind them) we stopped anyway and husband went to see if there were enough berries ripe to pick or not. Being as there were eight people milling around, we attracted the

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-10299297715275699062009-07-25T11:19:00.002-04:002009-07-25T11:46:45.183-04:00

I don’t have photos, but it was 24 pints of blackberry jam, then the picking of eight gallons of blueberries. There will be more in the coming week. Plus the laying in of some hay.While husband was picking the blackberries, there were canes that grew high, way over his head. Someone had been in this berry field before him and had not bent those canes down in order to pick the ripe berries but

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-88413625062529956082009-07-13T22:24:00.004-04:002009-07-13T23:01:30.828-04:00

A month since I blogged? I don’t believe I’ve ever gone that long in the five years I’ve kept this blog.The barn I work at is in the river’s valley, a very broad valley, and the sky there is a wide sky. Today it was too too blue dotted with the big fluffy clouds that look like you could bounce on them, and wide open. When I see that I always think that it looks like skies that are in paintings

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-36650825574413711102009-06-12T13:39:00.009-04:002009-06-12T14:55:49.999-04:00

the strawberry forestfalling down the gooseberry holeand potatoes, hilled once then mulchedAnd in the land of what productive gardens really look like:onions and spring cabbages amongst the weedsand a favorite photo because so very much in growing in this -- an old lettuce bed about to be cut back for probably the last time, some bush summer squashes of various and sundry varieties, some young

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-18314453245196980582009-05-29T17:30:00.002-04:002009-05-29T17:49:37.677-04:00

“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Philippians 4:12I do not think that life is whole without a spiritual aspect to it. I think one of the most useful spiritual views is that of self-actualization, which is basically when what you want to do and what you ought

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-88017399172834802542009-05-26T12:01:00.004-04:002009-05-26T12:23:14.257-04:00

or maybe the next to last.“Living on the road my friend, is gonna keep you free and cleanNow you wear your skin like iron,Your breath as hard as kerosene.You weren't your mama's only boy, but her favorite one it seemsShe began to cry when you said goodbye,And sank into your dreams.Poncho was a bandit boys, his horse was fast as polished steelHe wore his gun outside his pantsFor all the honest

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-64518902407689380412009-05-15T09:57:00.002-04:002009-05-15T12:58:04.580-04:00

When we were finishing up the planting of the corn, that old song “Family Affair” started playing in my head. Pretty much everything for us is a family affair.The day finally came around to get the corn planted. First there were the plowing and the disking days, of course. Then the potatoes got planted, about 170# of them. Then it set in wet again, and busy-ness and commitments and things we

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-63411753068314701772009-05-09T08:25:00.004-04:002009-05-09T08:43:25.221-04:00

chicksand locust blossoms (fried)and spinach (and salad from the garden)

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-43793089545035731852009-05-01T17:00:00.006-04:002009-05-01T17:55:55.930-04:00

That's the scene when you walk up outside at the fairgrounds for the Draft Horse and Mule Auction, spring edition. Lots of trailers, lots of trucks, lots of people, lots of horses. Most but not all of the people have on hats. All of the "real" people have on appropriate footwear. It is your footwear that gives you away. Interesting.Isn't that a pretty pair? They were a Percheron/Spotted

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-47305612606058340542009-04-27T08:58:00.001-04:002009-04-27T09:01:33.494-04:00

Warren Buffet tells a story of a woman who survived the Nazis. She was the only one in her family to survive. She told Mr. Buffet that every time she met someone she asked herself whether or not this was a person who would hide her from the Nazis.Now, being the practical, funny, sideways sort of person that I am, I don’t think about who would hide me, I think about what sort of person I’d want

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-52299224126698560682009-04-17T20:14:00.004-04:002009-04-17T20:44:20.078-04:00

just almost the very last furrowWe’ve been wondering if it was ever going to get dry enough. Which, after years of drought is a wonder that no one complains about. Still. Middle of April and we hadn’t plowed. The dogwoods are not out yet so it is not time to plant the hard corn, but it is a little late for potatoes. Not that potatoes don’t just sit there and stare at you for a couple of

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-47181956704155169942009-04-14T11:35:00.006-04:002009-04-14T12:11:15.594-04:00

hen laying in nest boxhens dusting and preeninggrass growing(my favorite)(and see the cow way back there?)coltsfootfiddleheads and jewel weed seedletsspinach bed(this will soon be harvest-able)onions backed by heal all bloomingwise old sage plantturnips backed by music garlic(thanks to my friend who gave us that bulb those years ago)seedling bedblueberries mulched & peach trees

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-75452267371808541242009-04-10T09:02:00.006-04:002009-04-10T15:31:29.252-04:00

Someone mentioned that they might know of a cow for sale, a heifer so I’d have to be training her to be hand milked, but a full blooded Jersey and expecting a Jersey calf too. I sure would like to have a look at her.And then my husband asked a question, something like “if you had two what would you do with them,” and I misunderstood what he meant because I answered that I’d make sure I could get

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-85798502660341237902009-04-02T12:07:00.006-04:002009-04-02T12:33:03.330-04:00

Milking this morning I saw the first hint of the mountains putting on her petticoats. The first green, after the crocus and daffodils and forsythia bloom, after the grass begins to grow, all the leaves beginning this year’s journey.But this is also the time of year that the bones are most visible, noticeable, study-able. These mountains are old. Ancient. And they are not only my home but my

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7977441.post-31714204318663474732009-04-01T21:18:00.004-04:002009-04-01T21:26:07.062-04:00

barn work day turns toApril fool's snake in raftersand laughter aboundsmaybe just this one more? I was told today that I was a slacker for only being able to write five words anymore. Hey lady! It is five syllables, then seven, then five again. Come on, try it! It's fun

CGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04542303804886924280noreply@blogger.com1