Farm Report 18 Apr 2016

Spring rains are here.  The garden and pastures are excited.  :)  The weeds and grass are soaking up the moisture and inching their way skyward.  Sigh.

It has been a busy start to this two thousand and sixteenth year.  The goats basically exploded on us.  What was I thinking?  Oh, right.

The asparagus is doing well this year.  I've already canned 4 pints.  I'll probably have enough to can more tomorrow.  I am watching the grape vine pretty closely.  I stand amazed (AGAIN) at God's handiwork.  It's up to Him to provide the increase.

Miss Sunny - the broody hen is still at her nest.  She still mutters at me when I bring her food.  I tell her each time, I'm not gonna get your eggs.

Such is the simple life on the old homestead.  What joy, what joy!!

Farm Report - March 3, 2016

March third.  Already.  Two thousand sixteen.  How'd that happen?  I may have blinked.

Polly and her new baby are doing well.  Peso's eye is slowly beginning to look better.  I'm thankful that no one else is having a problem.  That indicates that she probably poked something in it.  Rosie and Opal are so rotund.  And. Adorable.

The chickens seem happier now that we reduced the flock.  They consistently leave me 9 eggs.  Most of them are 3 years old so I'm really pleased with the eggs.  Waiting on someone to go broody.

The cows eat a lot of hay.  Benny does not like being away from the fold.  However, we don't want to take a chance on him getting Ceana preggers.  We are gonna try and find two or three steers this weekend.  They'll give Benny some company.

Some of the trees and flowers are starting to do their thing.  Love the hyacinths so much.  The grapes may or may not survive the scalping I gave them.  Sigh.  Blackberries are leafing out already.

Finally got the seeds started.  Hope I get something out of them this year.  Last year they were eaten by the mice.  Growl.  Almost time to uncover the asparagus.  I've noticed that my plants are about a week to ten days behind the ones in town just 8 miles away.  I have to keep myself from putting things in the garden just yet.

All dogs and cats seem fat and happy!

Measures

1 oz = 8 dram = 29.6 ml = 6 tsp = 2 Tbsp = 1/8 cup
1/2 oz = 4 dram = 14.8 ml = 3 tsp = 1 Tbsp
1/4 oz = 2 dram = 7.4 ml = 1 1/2 tsp
1/8 oz = 1 dram = 3.7 ml = 3/4 tsp

Note: ml have been rounded to tenths.

Crazy Blogger - Yup

Even though I have had a blog presence for almost 10 years, I have never been consistent with my posts.  I wasn't consistent on my personal blog nor have I been on this farm blog.  Many times, life gets the focus and writing becomes an after thought.  However without my miniscule  writing I would have forgotten so much.

The older I get the more my memories get lost.  I'm wondering if my hard drive is full and some of them are getting over-written.  Perhaps the case may be made that there has been some file integrity loss due to excessive wear on some of the components as well as utter neglect of others. 

So, here I am again, trying to commit to daily posts (except Sundays - I need rest then).  I'm not doing this as a way to earn money.  I'm not trying to change the world.  I'm just sharing my little slice of life. 

So Much...

So much happens in our lives and we loose track of time, things, people, ideas, and dreams.  Since my last post, I have doubled the size of my goat herd, nearly doubled the size of our cattle fold, and aged.

I have made quick judgments that had to be adjusted.  I've made new networking contacts.  I've gotten older.  I've come to realize that stuff is not nearly as important as living life now. 
This is a hard lesson for someone who enjoys solitude.  Somewhere along the way, I have accumulated so much stuff.  I no longer have a desire for stuff.  (I do want more goats though.)  People are important but not things.  It doesn't matter how much stuff you have if you have no one with you.  Money comes, money goes.  Vanity.  God is important.

So much...

So much to learn.  So much to do.  So much to share.  Missing Dad so much.  Wanting God so much more.  Overwhelmed by the thought of so much more God.  So much loosing out on the blessing because I'm distracted.  So much busy-ness.

So much...

So much sweetness in a grandchild's hug.  So much joy in his laugh.  So much pain in a wounded heart.  So much sadness in the loss of a friend.  So much mercy in given forgiveness.  So much grace in God's salvation. 

So much...

Growing Up "In The Country"

As a youngster, I grew up "in the country." Grandma's 40 acres was our playground.  We had dogs and a few random cats along the way.  Occasionally, there might be a flock of chickens around doing bug patrol.  BUT, there were no goats, cows, ducks, geese, turkeys, hogs, horses, alpacas, or donkeys.
So, who would have guessed that my midlife crisis would consist of me bailing out of the city and away from the technology industry to a homestead?

Yes, Mom and Dad always had a garden.  Dad was a beekeeper.  Mom canned a lot of our food and sewed a lot of our clothes.  Extreme southeast Oklahoma didn't have a booming economy.  My folks made do.  It was a simple life for me.  I had everything I needed and a lot of the things I just wanted.  Life was good.

I grew up.  I had to get away from that backwoods place.  I was going to be so much more and so much better than (you fill in the blank).  So, I went to college.  Then I joined the military.  Got married.  Had a couple of kids.  Went back to college.  Ended up with a job in Information Technology at a University.  Life was good.

Life wasn't good.  Got divorced.  Dad died.  Mom got cancer - twice. Lost the job. Yet, life was good.  Got remarried.  Found a place "in the country" to live.  Started a garden the first year.  Got chickens too.  Then, my midlife crisis/change began in full.  I started reading about the simple life.  Milking my own cow.  Keeping bees.  Building a root cellar.  Life was good.

Today, I am middle-aged and growing up "in the country" on our homestead.  I have come to realize that stuff is just stuff.  Life is where it's at!

What Weed? 22 July 2015

Today's plant has made it's home on the west side of our workshop.  This location is shaded in the morning and has full sun in the afternoon.  This location receives no additional irrigation, fertilizer, or herbicides.

Stem

Leaf image on Instagram.
Fruit and flower images on Facebook.

Yes, I know what this plant is... do you?  (Answer will be on Twitter sometime this afternoon.)