Early Spring

Early spring around here, weather-wise, means rain showers with peeks of sun, cloud covers and intermittent hail and snowflakes. It also means indoor handwork slows down and outside chores pick up. Here are some pics of other things going on around home and farm-ette.

I was at the store about to buy a bouquet of daffodils and had a *duh* moment; I could just go pick some of my own outside! I grow a lot of different varieties along the stone rock wall bordering the north side of our property. Some are pleasantly fragrant.

The weather keeps the children indoors sometimes. Here they are on the floor trying out some Michelangelo-style artwork.

This is the first year we’re going to try broiler hens. What that means is we’ll be having a butchering day in about eight weeks, and hopefully fill our freezer with lots of fresh, wholesome chicken for our suppers. They’ll be pastured on fresh grass every day and supplemented with organic, soy-free grains and kitchen scraps. Here is a little bit about what is different about pastured poultry.

Today was the first day I was able to handmilk my Kinder doe without using the handpump. I’m sorry to throw out the milk everyday and am looking forward to getting milk without bits of wound scabs in it (ew). My doe loves getting handmilked more than pump-milked, but it does make me sorry to stress her wound every time (it’s so close to her teat hole). She gets a comfrey-herbal salve massage everyday and loves that though. Yesterday my hand showed the blood stains. Poor thing.

I spent a morning recently with a shepherdess helping her with sheep shearing. Let me tell you that it was a great deal of fun! I really enjoyed watching the process, skirting the fleeces (that is, picking out veggie matter and gunk), and talking with all sorts of people who are new and old to the whole concept of growing food and caring for animals. I felt right at home! The fleece smelled SOOO good and it was awesome just burying my hands into its softness.

This is a Shetland sheep; they are smaller than typical sheep. Each fleece weighed about four pounds and would definitely keep a home spinner like me happy for a bit. Lovely wool.

We grab the sunshiny days as they come, sitting out in the garden to read or to do schoolwork. Or to daydream with a cup of hot tea. It’s pleasant here, quiet, in the woods with the sounds of wind through the trees and cheeping of birds and soft quacking of ducks going by.

The garden always seems to be a little bit of a disappointment to me this time of year. I never have enough sprouts that I think I ought, and yet by summer it all looks full, somehow. Here is spinach coming up. And garlic. The same garlic I debated on planting last fall because our house was up for sale and my husband told me to bless whoever would be here. Glad it’s me!

My husband (on the right) is a good sport. He’s not as much into the farm-thing but he loves doing building projects and does appreciate garden fresh food on the table, and he sees the good in raising our children around it all. He’s the one talking about bringing on pigs now! Here he is learning how to wether a buckling. Notice that he’s not squeamish at all. That would be me. We’ll be wethering as needed with a Burdizzo rather than bands as we think it’s far more humane. All the bucklings were up and running within minutes like nothing at all had happened.

The little guy on the right stayed a buck and was the last baby to leave our farm. I would have kept him longer on the mom if her teat wasn’t so wounded. I’ve got my eye on three doelings I’m hoping to buy next month to add to our herd.

And of course I can’t end this without the announcement that Ruby Mae is now walking and almost running! She will be three in June. I’m learning that Down Syndrome doesn’t necessarily mean “never”; it can just mean “sometime later”.

It is definitely “bye bye, Baby…hello Toddler” time at our house. And yes, she is a total delight just like the photo shows!

Happy spring to you all and blessings besides.