Don't do what I did

They say that you learn something new everyday - that certainly holds true on this farm.  Yesterday I learned that when I decide to build something, I need to take into account more than just - here is an empty spot, let's put it here.

Mother Nature gifted the farm with about two feet of snow last weekend.  Then she delivered a beautiful cleansing rain four days later.  We were reasonably prepared and had cleared snow away from primary drainage areas and dug out fences and waterers to ensure that we could both get to and leave the farm as well as get to and feed all the critters.  All except the rabbits.

A little better than a year ago someone dumped sixty or so rabbits on the side of the road in cold, rainy/snowy weather.  Some were just kits while others were older breeding stock.  I was lucky enough to be able to rescue most of them.  They were placed into temporary holds in the garage until I could build them a new shed.  I had rabbits in my garage once - I won't be doing that again.  We left an overhang of a couple of feet on both sides of the storage shed roof when it was built to store tools and supplies outside, but still protected from the weather.  I took one of those overhangs and with the help of Little man's father and a friend, threw up some walls, added a door and made a small shed to house the rabbits.

When siting the door, I figured in the middle of the long wall would provide the best access to the cages that would go inside.  What I didn't consider is that the snow from the entire south facing roof would drop right in front of that door.  The ground in front of the door was also a little higher than the bottom of the door so I dug out some of the soil in front of it to provide some additional clearance.  This was fine for three of the four seasons of the year, but when you combine a recessed landing in front of the door, rain and snow collect there.  When you get close to two feet of snow, you have to shovel both what fell on the ground and what fell off the roof out from that recessed landing in order to access the rabbits.  Then when it rains in January, it inevitably gets cold again and the standing water in front of the door freezes.  If you don't want your rabbits to go hungry you have to chip all the ice from in front of the door so that you can get inside your shed.  Chores that should have taken 15 - 20 minutes took almost an hour last night.

As I began construction of the new brooder coop for the baby chickens that will arrive on the farm this spring, I spent plenty of time looking at snow drifts, checking side and rear clearances and trying to think of every access and weather implication.  I am certain I didn't think of something, but at least this next piece of farm infrastructure stands a much better chance of being trouble free.

Mud Season = lots of water, not necessarily where I want it

Warm weather this week has allowed us to venture outside and start those tasks which have been eagerly awaiting snow melt.  I took out my farm planning list from March last night and frowned at how much wasn’t crossed off.  A few such tasks were moved up to March from later months based on the warmer winters of the past couple of years; perhaps 30 years of living in northern New England should have cautioned me to leave them in April.  Lessons learned.  When I sit down this fall to update my farm plan I will do it with the 2015 Old Farmer’s Almanac and my disparaging notes on this winters weather.

The fifth season has arrived here with the increase in temperatures.  Copious amounts of water pour down the driveway and running past the front of the garage creating a pond out of the driveway.  Over the past couple of years we have not maintained proper grading of the driveway, changed the parking plan and removed two huge rock maple trees from beside the driveway.  What this means is that water that historical was used by the trees, fell off the side of the driveway or ran through the back yard, this year, ran straight down the driveway and into the garage.  There are drains in the garage and in any other year water in the garage wouldn’t be a big deal, this year, the rabbits are still in there.  Imagine what several inches of water can do to your nice neat piles of pine shavings underneath your rabbit cages.  Quite the mess!  But even wet rabbit pellets and pine shavings are pretty east to clean up.

The water continued flowing and the drains were by then plugged with wet pine shavings; water went over top of the threshold and into the chicken coop.  Chicken droppings are not so structurally sound and when mixed with water simply create muck!

I shed my jacket as I shoveled what seemed like feet of slop out of the coop (in reality it was only about two inches, but it was heavy and I am out of shape!).  From the coop I moved to the garage floor shoveling, scraping and sweeping wet, sloppy pine and poo section by section.  Little man’s father worked diligently on the frozen drainage situation and was finally able to get the water to start flowing away from the garage.  By Tuesday night I was finally done cleaning up from Saturday and Sunday’s water damage.

Yesterday I continued the work of cleaning up the mess that December’s ice storm made out of the pine tree.  The pile is big and waits for a day of calm winds before it can be disposed of.  The brooder box in the garage was cleaned and disinfected, the reflector lamp tested and a new light bulb added to the shopping list.  The last turn of the eggs in the incubator was done this morning – some of the eggs are already moving!  New baby birds will be here this weekend.

As I sipped an adult beverage and watched Little man run up and down the driveway, the smell of boiling sap wafted down the hill from our neighbors.  We decided not to make our own syrup this year.  There comes a time when you are forced to realize that you can’t do absolutely everything.  Not boiling has given way to progress in other areas and some quality time with my son.  I will gladly barter or trade some rabbit, chickens, pork, eggs or vegetables, for our syrup this year.

Life, death, life and rabbits

My thoughts were turning toward Spring this week as we had some beautiful, sunny, albeit cold, couple of days.  Since I can’t put plants in the ground and the spot where I want to build my raised beds this spring is still covered with several snow banks, I focused on minor repairs and breeding the next couple of does.

We are expecting two does to kindle and the almanac has been close to on target having predicted temperatures to be slightly above normal this weekend.  I lost two litters in November 2012 and January 2013 to frigid temperatures and inexperienced does.  This year I have consulted the trusty old almanac each time I considered breeding this winter.  My hope was that it wouldn’t be too far off; it predicted very cold temperatures for the past two weeks so I postponed my last breeding a week or two to try and miss the coldest of weather.  The girls are due this Saturday and temperatures are forecast to be close to normal for this time of year, in the upper 20s and low 30s.

Unfortunately the colder temperatures took their toll on our older breeding does.  We lost two to upper respiratory infections or pneumonia last month.  One of whom had a litter which was only two weeks old.  Anyone you talk to will tell you that if the kits are still nursing solely from mom and haven’t opened their eyes yet then you are wasting your time attempting to feed them and bring them through.  Perhaps I should have listened.  Forever the optimist, I attempted to bottle/syringe feed seven, one and a half week old baby rabbits. 

It was very obvious from the first attempt at feeding that two of them were not going to make it, but I tried anyway and was able to get them to take a very little warm, kitten-milk replacer.  The following morning I took them out of the nest box and focused my attention on the remaining five.  That day all of the kits eagerly fed and went potty and cuddled back together to keep each other warm.  On the third day two more had passed and the fifth was looking pretty terrible but I persisted.  By the fourth day I was down to two, apparently healthy, good looking baby bunnies.  Each day they fed vigorously, processed their waste products and appeared to be responding well.  They did well through day four and into day five. 

When I got home from work on the evening of day five, I was busy with Little man and dinner and the various evening chores which are required to keep any household running; I hadn’t noticed that one of my cats was pretty much absent.  After our dinner I went into the bedroom to retrieve the baby bunnies for feeding time, there was no movement in their box.  A wave of defeat washed over me.  I had been up extra early every morning that week and tried to fit an extra 30 minutes of chores into my already packed evening schedule every day.  I was doing absolutely everything I could for these little critters to no avail.  I reached in to collect them - they weren’t in there!  Where could they have gone?  The blanket covering their box appeared to be in place indicating that the cats hadn’t gotten in there.  I was frantic, as their caretaker I had failed these two little critters, they were my charges and I hadn’t protected them sufficiently from the paws of my felines.  Under the bureau, behind the night tables, under the baseboard heat, behind the hamper, all through the hamper (which they couldn’t have possibly gotten into, but it made me feel better); then a brown ball of fur flew past me and out of the bedroom – my oldest cat.  She originated from the area of a crumpled towel from this morning’s shower.  I cringed as I carefully unfolded it, expecting to see the worst.  Curled up in a little nest that my cat had made out of that towel were the last two baby bunnies, they were very clean and soaking wet from ears to tail.  There wasn’t a puncture mark on them.  Apparently my oldest cat found the babies outside of their box and attempted to mother them.  I don’t know if they were scared to death or if they got cold but the last two bunnies passed sometime during day five.  My cat paced checking the spot where the towel had been and the spot where their box had been trying to find them.  I finally heard her leave the bedroom just after 1:00 a.m.

Would my time have been better spent on other farm chores and to-do list items instead of trying to save a litter of bunnies that, all research had told me, had slim chances if any to survive without their mother?  I remain an optimist and more than a little bit of a sap and will probably try it again if there is any hope of any of them surviving.  It is never easy losing an animal, but it doesn’t seem to take nearly as many tissues and as much time to recover than it did when I started this journey.

An off couple of days

I make it a point not to write about my relationship and the dramas of everyday life here on this blog.  If you want to watch a soap opera, there are plenty on daytime broadcast television let alone a plethora of reality TV shows and YouTube videos.  This week I let my real life drama get in the way of the great progress I had been making on the farm.

• I blew my budget this week; not by a lot, but when you are operating on not much any overage hits pretty hard.  $45 over on groceries and $57 over on printer ink/labels for the farmers market.
• I came down with a cold that has been going around and used that as an excuse to relax and not complete my daily tasks.  Aren't you supposed to rest when you aren't feeling well?
• I used the cold weather (temperatures ranging between -25 overnight to a high of -5 during the day) as an excuse not to complete outdoor tasks.
• I let my foul mood get in the way of making the much needed progress this farm needs in order to be successful.  It did nothing to make me feel better and only put me further behind in the things I want to get accomplished before Spring - lesson learned - turn that fire into productivity not an ulcer.

Not everything went down hill or slipped into a dark abyss with no hope of salvation. 

• One of the two remaining 'bred' rabbits kindled and from what I can tell she had between eight and ten kits.  The other one did not kindle, the boys must have been out of practice or firing blanks - not sure which.  With very chilly temperatures I do not disturb the kits, I check to ensure that all of them are alive and moving, but I have not done a complete head count lest I disturb the cocoon that their mother has created to keep them protected from the cold.  The Farmer's Almanac is predicting another cold stretch at the end of February so we will wait to breed the next couple of does until early February for March kindling.
• Pig's house got some much needed repair to stop the leaky roof and I installed some additional wind protection before double digit below zero temperatures hit this week.  She is packed into her house with mulch hay and has been very reluctant to leave her cozy, warm spot to come out and eat or drink, but she does.  I am not sure if it is better for her to have stayed outside with a small hut to protect her from the weather or if she would have been happier inside the shed for the winter.  Many farmers raise their pigs outside all year long with three sided shelters available to protect them from the wind.  She decided that she wasn't going to leave her pasture without my enlisting some serious man power and a big trailer, so outside she remains.  I have not been diligent in checking her for estrus, hopefully I haven't missed another breeding opportunity.  Today the temps are at least above zero so she should be more agreeable to coming out at least for a short spell to allow a quick check of her back side.
• The greenhouse got its roof - the door needs some repair, but at least no more snow will accumulate and a couple of batches of chicken poop can be added to compost prior to planting in there.
• Two batches of jelly were made - one Elderberry, one Wild Grape.  The grape has set well and the elderberry is just about set.  I have enough jars leftover to make one more batch so Strawberry Rhubarb is on the agenda for the coming weekend as long as the propane gets delivered today.
• I made a quick draft stopper out of some fiberfill and scrap fabric to keep out some of the wind that blows through the cracks which inevitably develop in a house that is over 200 years old.  The cat door was temporarily closed, a thick blanket was hung over one drafty window and plastic secured over another in an effort to conserve some heat and make the dwindling propane supply last a bit longer.
• Little man was feeling slightly under the weather on Sunday, therefore was extra cuddly.  We snuggled on the couch, read a couple of stories and as he drifted off to sleep his Mom got a chance to watch some playoff football! 

This weekends projects will include many of the same from last weekend along with business taxes and personal taxes and some extra house cleaning which didn't get done this week.  We all have our off days and I am chalking this past week up to a 'bad day.'  All you can do is get yourself up, dust yourself off and decide to get back in the saddle, or, walk.  I am determined to ride head long into whatever this farm throws at me next.

 

Making progress

Winter is truly the time to hole in and do a lot of planning and organizing on the farm.  I am taking that to heart this year.  Revisions were made to my daily chores list and a new one has been posted to the refrigerator.  It still requires some tweaking but the house has stayed much more tidy this week as I endeavor to complete the basic tasks every night.  Many of the household chores were being neglected without something or someone to hold me accountable.  The month-to-month farm plan, while in its infancy, is also working well.  Spare minutes find me pulling it out and tackling a task to completion (like ordering my garden seeds for this year) or allocating time each weekend to ensure progress.  With an extra day on the farm this weekend I am hoping to knock out a couple of extra tasks weather permitting. 

In the past week:

• I have found the work bench in the back shop which was long ago buried under miscellaneous tools, associated scraps dropped there between one or ten quick fixes of various items, and any number of items left on the desk or kitchen table in the kitchen which were just dropped on the work bench as a place to get them out of the way before dinner.
• Two chickens were dispatched to the freezer to decrease our flock to a more manageable size.  New bedding was placed in the chicken coop. 
• Nest boxes were disinfected and placed in cages with two of the three rabbits which I bred this month.  Unfortunately one of the does discarded her entire litter a little more than a week early.  I am not sure exactly why as she appears very healthy but am thinking that she might have gotten scared or upset at something outside the garage.
• All of the pictures of Little man from birth to 24 months have been edited, cataloged and prints ordered.  There remain a few photographs taken by family members which I want to collect to complete a few photo collages, but otherwise, having gone through and edited over one thousand pictures is a pretty huge accomplishment for this girl!
• Garden seeds inventoried, old seed discarded, storage box cleaned out, list of seeds to order for our much smaller garden this year completed, online order placed for same, shipping notification received.  This past week of warm temperatures has tempted me to get outside and work in the yard or start seeds in flats in the basement, but it is still too early.  I resisted as temperatures are predicted to plunge back to the single digits and below zero over night next week.
• Semen located and ordering details ironed out and veterinarian lined up for the end of the month when, if my calculations are correct, pig will be ready to be bred.
• Progress has been made on the electronic filing which has backed up since our computer had hard-drive issues this summer.  Each night I have allocated fifteen minutes to catching up with all of this accumulated paper; at this rate I might be caught up by the end of May.

This weekend's goals include:

• Putting the plastic back on the hoop house as this past week's warm temperatures (for January) have loosened up the top layer of lawn providing access to the base of the greenhouse again
• Locating, cleaning, sharpening and oiling all of the tree pruning equipment and then finding a single location to store all of it so I can find it when I am ready to prune fruit and Christmas trees.
• Clean up and burning of the pine tree branches which are strewn around the back yard from the late December ice storm.
• Repair of the shed roof where Little man's father broke it while trying to get the tractor unstuck from the above mentioned ice.
• Repair of the roof on pig's house where a small leak has developed
• Thorough cleaning of the chicken coop and the rabbit cages.
• Complete the new chicken feeder which didn't get done last week as I got side tracked by an indoor house cleaning project.
• Making at least one batch of jam or jelly from juice which was frozen after harvesting berries this summer and fall.
• An hour or so to read a new book from the library
• Perhaps some time split between house cleaning and catching a glimpse or two of the NFL playoff games (a girl can hope).

If I can manage to stay on track and not get dissuaded by the big picture and continue focusing on this task based approach, I am confident that we will make progress this year.

Taking a step back and restoring focus

This summer on the farm passed in a blur as I tried to balance working off-farm part-time, spending quality time with my Little man, and attempting to secure sufficient income to put fuel in the tank and food on the table for the winter.  Heated arguments ensued - the word 'quit' came up several times in those less than calm, collected, discussions about who didn't do what and why we were 'never' going to be successful.

We agreed on one thing only - Little man comes first no matter whatever we decide to do.

Labor Day brought with it a garden that had all but succumbed to the weeds.  We collected a few wonderful meals worth of fried green tomatoes, but didn't get back out soon enough to put up any green tomato relish.  The club size zucchini went soft as they lay neglected after they were one of the few things that managed to survive the weed pressure.  Onion sets, peppers, spaghetti squash were all lost to rot under the weight of the falling weeds.  The herb garden did well, although the basil crop was severely stunted by lack of attention to weeds therein as well.  Tomatoes that didn't get transplanted out of the green house fell out the sides when the roof was removed and a few precious fruits were harvested, but most went to the chickens and the pig.

Farmers market went well with fresh baked and value added items taking the lead and fresh vegetables and produce from around the farm and that of our neighbor coming in a close second.  Unfortunately by the time I came home from my off-farm job, spent some time with Little man and then set-in to bake for the following day's market, it was well into the morning before I got any sleep.  It felt like weeks passed with my brain in a fog.  I was too tired to play outside with an eager toddler - the decision had to be made soon.  September brought with it hard fought glimmers of hope that we might be able to make this work - Little man, I can only hope would hardly remember this summer of rushed, crazy, pressure.

The following week I got a message from a colleague who told me that she might be moving on to pursue a different career opportunity.  Decision time had dropped out of the sky like an anvil onto the roadrunner.  I was beat-up, over-tired, feeling like I was neglecting my child, knew that I was neglecting myself, and having a difficult time trying to figure out which way was up.  Last year's propane bill hadn't been paid, we were behind in every utility and car payment and I was looking at trying to come up with thousands of dollars for taxes and propane and tires for vehicles before snow flew, let alone any other projects that had to get done before it got too cold.  Through all the sleep deprivation and fear, there remained the faint flicker of hope that all this summer's hard work was finally putting up some concrete numbers.  If we can just improve on those numbers - I might be able to work a little harder or go without another 30 minutes of sleep each night... 

I would love nothing more than to work on the farm and make it a sustainable venture.   Unfortunately heat for the house is a necessity in Northwestern Vermont.  I want to be at the end of the driveway to see my son get off the school bus each day.  It takes a community to raise a child and for the past couple of years we haven't had that community as we strove to build our farm venture.  Debts long ago incurred refused to be neglected.  Little man's father works at the base of the mountain requiring snow tires sooner rather than later and if I don't get my oil changed and tires put on my vehicle soon, then my car won't leave the driveway if the weather turns.

It was one of the most arduous decisions of my adult life,

I went back to work full-time.

I am determined to continue, albeit on a much smaller scale, farming on this piece of land to which I have become a caretaker.  The pig will be bred this fall and rabbits will continue to be a part of the farm.  We are in the process of scaling back to between four and six does which will keep us in rabbit as a good source of protein and have a few extra for family and friends.  Gardens will be relocated to make them easier to tend in closer proximity to the house so when I can carve out five minutes, it can be a productive five minutes.  The green house will be used to start plants again this spring, but I will only be planting enough for personal use plus ten percent for loss.  Focus will be shifted back to the Christmas trees ensuring that they get the appropriate attention this year so we can have some saleable trees next year.  Chickens and eggs will remain a staple product and perhaps I can consider adding one or two value added items to the online farmers market.

We will be shoring up our existing ventures and getting ourselves out of debt.  No more livestock, new projects or new ventures will be added until we have gotten each of the existing enterprises to sustain themselves or each other with no additional inputs required from off farm income.  The search will begin for a sustainable heating option for the house so that our reliance on propane can be limited.  Solar options for electricity and water will be researched and accumulation of free or bartered components will begin for all of the above projects.

It was not an easy decision, but it is the smartest option for us at this time.  We will take the coming year to be better prepared, to hole in and get all of our outstanding debt taken care of and to think through all of my grand ideas and put numbers and time lines to each.  The decision to take up any of the grand ideas will be subject to intense scrutiny and if starting the next project will in any way cause detriment to our existing ventures it will be shelved or tossed completely.  I still hope to someday add a lactating animal or three to the farm along with fiber animals and the value added products associated with them, but not right now.

The blog will continue to share the details of the farm as it continues on its much smaller scale, but will also include things like meal-planning and weatherization.  Our pig is still in search of a boyfriend for the holidays and the rabbit shed has rafters but is still missing a roof.  Little man is better for the time we are spending together as it is certainly better quality then it was quantity.

I hope you will stay with us as we step back, reign in the craziness and start again with some valuable lessons learned under our belts.

Colors of the fog

Yesterday, Little man's father woke me shortly after 5:00 a.m. as he prepared to leave for his off-farm job to let me know that he had taken care of the household chores, but the animals still needed tending to.  The air was thick and soupy over the farm this morning and the light was more white than grey as I headed outside. 

Warmth radiates from the meat birds as I reach into their tractor to retrieve their waterer - they need to be moved into a larger tractor this week if we are going to get them to weight before the end of September.  'Teenage' pullets and roosters scatter as I approach the second tractor, they want little to do with humans especially when you aren't carrying a bucket.  Adult birds ready to be migrated into the 'big girl' coop occupy the third tractor, they show mild interest; however, empty hands mean no treats so they return to their scratching and primping as I pass. 

Drawing courtesy of porkfoodservice.org

Sounds of the world start to penetrate the fog - snuffles from the newest member of the farm carry through the grey from across the driveway, water bottles click as rabbits wake from their slumber, the big girls hearing me outside stretch their wings as they exit the coop and wait for me to open the gate to their pen.  Still early, the chickens will have to wait until after the hour of the fox's rounds before being set free to wander the farm for the day.  It is hard to believe that a fox has a schedule, but Little man's father and I see him faithfully each morning between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m.  He is rarely seen at any other time and so far we have been fortunate that our birds do not appear to have been bothered by him.  Our neighbor hasn't been so lucky and has lost seven or eight birds already this summer.  We have good roosters and I am certain that contributes to the health and safety of the flock.

Waterers filled and birds and bunnies appearing satisfied, I set across the yard through the now slightly pink fog as the sun begins its ascent from behind the mountain.  Her pasture is just barely visible from 150 feet away; my footfalls and the crunch of the gravel under my eight plus two 5-gallon pails of water reveal my approach.  Snuffles and snorts rise up from the tall grass on the far side of the pen where she has made her nest for the evening.  I change out her water and replenish ten gallons in her basin.  The desire for fresh food or water must be much less appetizing then the comfort of her spot, she remains nestled as I return to the house.

WMF became home to a rescue pig this week.  She is a four year old Gloucester Old Spot heritage breed pig - the kind of pig I have wanted since I returned to Vermont and considered raising pigs.  She didn't come with papers so we will not be registering her, but I am happy to have her with us just the same.  We are hoping to get at least one, possibly two farrowings from her before she stops breeding to keep the farm in pork and possibly for a little extra income.  Raised primarily on scraps she will not need supplemental grain unless Little man's father leaves his restaurant job and the restaurant who has been feeding her for the past year stops allowing us to collect their food waste.  Before December we will need to line up a boyfriend for her to ensure we have a spring farrowing.

In the garage the baby monitor continues to emit only white noise so I set about refilling water buckets for when we return to the farm later tonight after market and check on the status of feed and scraps for today and tomorrow morning.  Satisfied with the supplies on hand, I double-check for any ailments and head back into the house.  The barn is only now becoming visible across the yard as the grey-pink air seems to change to a muted purple.

My attention turns to the inside critters, water bowls cleaned and refilled, feed dishes filled.  My lunch is prepared and put into my cooler.  Coffee is placed into a thermal mug to keep it warm as the coffee pot's automatic shut off is about the engage and the dark, life-giving liquid will certainly be cold by the time I am ready to leave.  On to a shower to wash off the accumulation of dirt and sweat from morning chores.  Exiting the shower, Little man wakes and begins telling the tales of his dreams and what he plans on having for breakfast.

The last thirty minutes before leaving the farm pass in a blur as I open the chicken pen along the way to the car with cooler, diaper bag, child, coffee and keys in hand.  Heading out of the driveway the headlights reflect a faded yellow against the ever so slowly dissipating fog.  The tops of the Chirstmas trees poke out from among the tall grass, yet one more chore that will need to be done before the snow flies.  Little man waves his cup of cool milk and hollers, 'Bye bye Pig!' as he goes to child care and I head to my off farm job.

And to think - I used to fly out of bed, check my messages while brushing my teeth and showering then run out the door to the big city in a fog of car exhaust.  I am much happier in this morning's kind of fog.

When you know you are where you belong

Driving home after ten hours away from the farm I switch off the administrative and dispatcher side of my brain and start thinking about the next seven or eight hours of work on the farm.  Sap from the maple trees around the house has taken occupancy in every barrel, bucket, gallon jug, glass jar and other storage container available to me save for the bath tub.  If we don't boil, we will be wasting precious sap as it dribbles down the sides of the trees.

I arrive at the house to find that Little Man and his father have gotten the fire started and the contents of our wash tub evaporator are just about to a boil.  We visit with my cousin over steam rising from the clear liquid.  After a short time the color deepens and the air takes on a sweet smell just as Little Man's mood turns sour.  Time to go inside, make dinner and begin our evening ritual of bath, brush teeth, story and bed while his father tends to the boil.

At 9:00 p.m. I take the reins of the boiling operation as Little man's father has to get cleaned up and get some sleep so he can leave before sun up for his off farm job.  The evening is cold; winter still has its claws in this night.  The clouds let forth small bursts of flurries every now and again and I am sitting on an overturned plastic bucket in mud at least two inches deep, in front of a roaring wood stove and vat of sweet liquid.

Around 11:30 p.m. the sap has finally come to and stays at the perfect boil.  Every last joint in my body aches from carting wood across the lawn to the wood stove and chopping it by hand.  My feet are soaked through to the bone as I realize I am still wearing the clothes that I wore to my off farm job - certainly not ones made for playing in the mud.  The makeshift door to my boiling rig is burning through and I have scalded my hands too many times to count as I draw off syrup by lantern light.  Shortly before 1:00 a.m. I head inside with my 'blackstrap' maple syrup, steam rolling off the hot bucket melting any snow flakes that dare come near. 

As I pass through the garage (aka rabbit shed), I notice a doe carrying hay in her mouth (a tell-tale sign of ensuing delivery).  She is early and I am out of nest boxes.  Syrup bucket placed inside and out of reach of furry critters, I start to work crafting a nest box out of scrap wood in the garage.  Thankfully the garage is plenty far from Little man's crib lest I wake him during the wee hours of this morning.  Nest box in place, I retreat inside. 

Clothes reeking of campfire smoke, maple syrup and mud are discarded directly into the washing machine.  A quick shower for the purpose of warming the bones and joints and a couple of over-the-counter pain relievers to ensure this beaten body can get moving in the morning.  Exhausted, I fall into bed, the cold seeping out through my pores drives the cats off the bed.  My last thoughts - in less than five hours I am actually looking forward to starting all over again.

This week's progress

Our calendar for the Spring, while marked with pre-printed dates of import like President's Day, Ash Wednesday, or even Town Meeting Day; those are not the dates that we are focused on.  Circles and highlights mark our important farm happenings - nest boxes to first four does; first batch of eggs; start group A plants this week, etc.

Last week - the first of the does were bred for an early March delivery.
This week - the incubator has been started for a mid March delivery; the second set of does was bred for a mid March delivery; doubling our taps this year required additional sap buckets, those were ordered Tuesday; orders will be placed for the first batch of meat birds for mid/late March delivery.
Next week - the third set of does will be bred for a late March delivery.

This weekend I will be catching up with my cousin to transfer ownership of a large piece of plastic and the forecast snow storm permitting, the roof will be put onto the greenhouse. Fellow market farmers and friends of ours who use supplement heat in their greenhouse already have tomato plants 3" tall.  I am jealous - but our progress continues.

Time flies when you are flying by the seat of your pants

Colleague: "What happened?  Did you give up farming?"

Me: "Heaven's no, why?"

Colleague: "It has been more than a month since you posted anything on your blog.  I miss it!"

Me: "A month - no, it was only a week or so..."  She was right, more than a month has passed and I lost complete track of time.  Days have, passed into weeks, and now over month without my realizing it.

I endeavor not to talk about my perceived misery on this blog.  So, I didn't post when I was in a bad mood, nor did I post when I thought I had nothing positive to say.  What I didn't realize is that there are people out there who are really eager to hear about not only my adventures but the misadventures as well.  So I will be posting much more regularly, they may be short, or they may only have a picture with a short comment, but I will be posting.

The new year arrived and with it an over abundance of rabbits.  Our processor had not been accepting rabbits since the beginning of deer season; they were busy with not only processing venison but also everyone who contracted with them for processing of their fall beef and pork as well.  48 extra rabbits consume copious amounts of feed, especially when they are weeks past their regular processing weight.  Feed costs are high and I was very worried about putting propane in the tank and making sure the bank wasn't going to come after the car in addition to feeding extra rabbits.  Finally, two trips to the processor, cleaned and repaired cages and racks; 72 rabbits had dwindled to a manageable 24.



This one is so much less rusty than the one I have



A sugaring pan was acquired, very inexpensively, on Craigslist.  It is a little bit rusty, but significantly less expensive than purchasing one new.  It is the smaller part of a much larger boiling rig so it will require some valves and caps in order to hold the clear, sweet liquid which will become maple syrup.  For now it rests in the garage waiting for a day near freezing when it can be cleaned and made ready for sugaring.  Ten below zero on the farm last night and a decent snow storm predicted for the weekend give the false impression that spring is still a ways away; I am not so confident.

DH found a full-time job off the farm.  I was worried about mounting expenses and lack of farm raised income.   His off-farm income will help toward heat and feed bills.  It will take a little getting used to as we attempt to divide chores for those rare days we both work off the farm; however, it is nice to have a tiny bit more financial wiggle room.

At least that was until the car went to the mechanic to make the repairs necessary to get it inspected.  'Jen, you can't put this car back on the road,' said the mechanic that my uncle uses for all of his cars and has for almost two decades.  I figured he was being overly cautious.  I took it to a second mechanic who told me that I was nuts to even drive the car home.

That was where all progress slowed.  No, more like halted.  Maybe more like stopped on a dime.  Actually - slammed head-long, 75 mph into a rock ledge.  After fighting for most of the fall just to keep our heads above water, getting hit with yet another - NO YOU CAN'T - was about all I could take.  A couple of bottles of wine and a few bad days of self-pity later, I screwed my head back on straight, dug in my heels and decided, that what was happening in my life was not going to beat me.  

My dream is to live life on the farm and if I didn't decide to make that happen, no one was going to make it happen for me.  For now I am back on track.  I still worry far too much.  We have not received an inheritance nor have we won the Powerball so the money concerns are still there.  Thankfully, little man is healthy.  My body is getting stronger by the day as I carry totes full of frozen water bottles into and out of the house sometimes twice or three times per day; although I still have a long way to go.  With DH out in the working world, a new potential market for farm products is being developed.  The car payment is still late, the current rig still needs repair and both it and the newly acquired used rig need tires, the rabbit shed still doesn't have a roof and we are down to less than 20% in the propane tank - but I am not giving up!

Frozen water bottles

Chores take a little bit longer these days as thawing is added to the regular task of filling water bottles.  Last night after everyone was fed and watered I watched a thick fog roll across and off the farm.  Blues and greys sparkled off of what remained of our light snowfall the other day and then it was quiet.  That eerie kind of quiet, the calm before the storm, the peacefulness which made me wonder what I was in for next.  Usually there are critters scurrying or munching in the Christmas trees or the corn piece in front of the house.  But the only sounds were of my breathing and the tick of the aluminum ball in the nozzle of the water bottles as the rabbits drank their fill. 

I know I worry too much; such is the curse of a Libra.  Perhaps I should have just enjoyed the quiet for what it was.

Today is another day and the last of my days off for a spell - the list is long but the woman is mighty.

Woolly bear caterpillars

Fall seems to have arrived while I wasn't looking this week.  As I rushed out the door this morning, late for my off-farm job, I was taken aback by the feeling of the farm.  Piggles had not come out to greet me, teenage chickens were not eagerly chirping at the removal of their protective tarp, rabbits were huddled in cage corners and barely moved as I ushered them a hurried greeting and headed out the door, and the leaves on the big maple behind the piggle pen have gone a blush in just a few short days.  The air has been crisp this week, but not so much that I stopped to notice as I feed rabbits and open up chicken enclosures.

This morning, was different. 

I thought to myself as I threw my lunch cooler in the passenger seat, that the dew was really heavy.  I jammed the key into the ignition, tore on my seat belt, hit the defroster button, and turned on the windshield wipers.  As I pulled the gear shift down into drive, I heard the unmistakable crunch as the wipers pushed a layer of frost off the side of the SUV. 

My heart skipped a beat.

In my rush to accomplish end of summer harvests, beginning of fall preparations, worries about finances, and a smidgen of house cleaning, I had missed a frost warning.  Maybe the woolly bear caterpillars who I have seen in the last few weeks without a speck of black on them were right, winter will be here before we know it and it is going to be a doozy.

The geraniums that have been on this farm for generations were still in the flower beds.
Herbs that I want to overwinter were in their various summer homes.
Tomatoes and eggplant remain in the garden waiting to be harvested.

I backed out of my parking spot and headed up the hill, the piggles poked their heads from inside their house just enough to acknowledge my presence, but I was far from important enough to leave that warm spot.  My 30 minute ride to work allowed me time to reassure myself that all was not lost. 

Only half the flower bed has been weeded so the overgrown weeds have probably protected the geraniums from the worst of the frost damage.  The garden hasn't been weeded in weeks so the tomatoes and eggplant were certainly nestled in.  My herb garden has been much better tended so I might lose some of them, but herb seeds can be started indoors anytime. And on my way back into the house this evening, I was greeted by this little creature.  He shows a nice long fall and a bit of a winter, but far from all orange - I think he is my new best friend!

What should I work on next?

Daylight hours seem to be in incredibly short supply around here lately. As I look around at all that remains to be done when I return to the farm, I can wear myself out just thinking about it if I am not careful. It has been a busy summer with plans to begin part-time employment delayed well into the latter part of June and a brief interlude in August of full-time training for my new part-time job.
 

I continue to look ahead and do my best to keep the sense of
 

How the <insert expletive here> am I going to get in front of this?

 

from entering my mind every time I look away from whatever task is at hand.

 

I manage to get through it, but I have to remind myself to take it one project or job at a time and maintain a separate a running list of that which I hope to accomplish before the snow flies.  A guest in my head might hear a dialogue something like this -

If I am going to be able to park my car in the garage this winter, I need to get the rabbit shed finished - but the rabbits can be moved even when there is snow on the ground - mowing the Christmas trees has to be done before it snows.

Mowing the Christmas trees requires fuel for the lawn tractor and the big tractor but the big tractor has a broken hose which also requires cash. I have enough fuel for the big tractor if I can get the hose fixed, at least a quick pass with the brush hog before snow is better than nothing at all and we might be able to shear once we can find the trees - add that to the list for this week.

The darn chickens have pooped on the back porch again.

Produce that is slated for preservation sits on the table in our mudroom waiting for canning jars or freezer space, roosters that are almost four months old wait for time when little man is snoozing so that they can be butchered, two rabbits who are no longer producing need to be culled so that there is more cage space for growing litters.  All of these require me to defrost the freezer so that there is room to store some of this food for the winter - add that to the list for this week.

I should clean the litter box.

Because the plastic wasn’t installed properly on the greenhouse, repairs are required if I want to grow greens for the winter and hope to get a head start on spring plants- that needs a cash outlay for new plastic - that one will have to wait another week.

Another darned spider web, didn’t I just clean one out of here this morning?

I should get a load of laundry started, reminder to self to check to see if the well has refilled enough to switch from our back-up water supply.
 

It is no wonder I am exhausted!

 

As I sit in my rocking chair with little man at the end of the day, the dialogue calms to a dull roar and I reassure myself that everything will work out.  Little man smiles up at me with those big, blue, sleepy eyes and I know that my callused feet, aching back, extra yawns from lack of sleep, tripping over baby toys as I fly through the kitchen, extra flies, chicken poop on the porch, never ending to-do list, and even a dry well are all worth it.

 

Wandering Moose Farms Scorecard

Pigs – 2

Layers – 13

Pullets – 23

Roosters – 8

Rabbits – 72

Cats – 5

Dog – 1

Humans – 3

Update

Lest someone think that the absence of blog posts the past week means lack of work or progress, rest assured it hasn't been all swimming in the lake and reading the latest Nora Roberts novel.

The heat has taken its toll on our rabbit venture.  We lost nine in total from loose stools associated with the richness of their diet accompanied by the heat.  I have finally learned how to intervene and have managed to successfully save two pregnant does and one small rabbit who had started to get sick.  Quick intervention and one week later are still with us and back on solid food again.  Procurement and installation of an industrial strength farm fan has drastically improved air circulation; I am not looking forward to the electric bill.  Fly controls have been installed, although they are not nearly strong enough to control our rising fly population.  We remove all of the pine shavings and waste once a week with removal of piles of manure occurring each day - they remain a problem and research is being done on other control measures. 

Across the driveway the piggles are thriving in their 1/2 acre divided pasture.  Since arriving in May they have only worked on clearing/tilling only half of their pasture.  Before August 1st we will open the second side of their space and allow them to start on fresh grass and roots along with a notoriously wet section of ground.  If August proves to be as hot or hotter than July, they will be very happy improving the soggy section into a full fledged swail.  They continue to eat like queens with most of the scraps from farmers market production going their way.  This week that included the leftover filling from both strawberry and peanut butter whoopie pies, hulls from the strawberries, cannoli filling and a bunch of lettuce that we couldn't consume before it started to get soggy.  Commercial feed continues to be a staple in their diet since the summer has been so dry, the beets/mangles  and corn that we are growing for them are coming very slow.

Chickens have been a popular product here on the farm.  We sold most of the pullets that we incubated for our own production and had to order some pullets from a commercial hatchery.  They arrived around the first of July and will soon be ready to go out to the small chicken tractor while the roosters who remain in the large tractor finish off to roaster weight.  Our layers have decided, right in the middle of our highest egg demand, to slow down on their production.  Five or six eggs per day is sufficient for the baking I do for farmers market, but our garbage men are a little disappointed that we have not been able to consistently supply them with their regular demand.

The riding lawnmower has broken and the replacement part is outside of our budget at this time.  I am getting some great exercise push mowing the four acres of lawns here on the farm and have lost eight pounds since leaving full-time employment.  Perhaps before the snow flies we will have found the Christmas trees amongst the weeds which have taken over in all three of the fields.  The lilac bush which I have been hoping to prune for the past three years was finally pruned and while farmers market continues to occupy a lot of my time, it has proven a successful venture.  We are planning on our first trip to the processor in over six weeks and have three more does scheduled to kindle this week.  Now I just need to spend some more time in the garden.

Time to slow down!

The powers that be were working together in their mystical ways to remind me that I need to slow down some and remember to enjoy this life in between chores and projects on the farm.  

I had a full day planned on Thursday with a mountain of things to get done before I went to work.  Lack of sleep, good quality REM sleep has escaped me of late.  Averaging about three hours per night of quality sleep has been good for me lately. Projects, sounds, lack of sounds, reminders, lists, and life all swirl around in my head if I wake even enough for one thought to pop into my head, there is no going back to sleep again.  Thursday morning I awoke at just after 5:00 a.m. from the cries of the little man.  Thankfully, DH arose and tended to the wet diaper and rumbling tummy.  I rolled over and attempted to obtain another hour or two of sleep.  No such luck.

Out of bed and into the kitchen - little man had just gone down for a nap, much earlier than usual - mental note - change that schedule before it becomes habit. The task list for today included crafting a rack onto which the last two cages for twelve new breeding does would be placed.  Only six of those holds had been cleaned so six more needed to be cleaned and disinfected.  DH was on his way to pick them up.  Dishes done, empty sink to wash rabbit feeders and water bottles and laundry started, outside to work on the rack.  

Little man awoke for breakfast.  Smiles and laughter filled the kitchen as we attempted to eat oatmeal with blueberries and apples.  I am not sure who wore more of it, him or me.  In the end, the task was accomplished and we both had a good time.  From there to folding laundry; the next incredible discovery, t-shirts and bath towels make great peek-a-boo barriers.  I looked at the clock and grimaced as I had not made any progress on the rabbit project, but smiled as little man tugged my hair out of its pony tail.

I packed him into his stroller and outside we went to try and make the rabbit rack and clean feeders and water bottles.  Table, circular saw, drill, screws, measuring tape, and pencil were gathered and exciting descriptors provided for my audience.  Six 2"x4"x10's collected and measured.  Two cuts - that was the end of playing nicely in the stroller and watching Momma.  It wasn't the noise - he has been around for the construction of the rabbit shed, and the tractor and the lawn mower don't bother him - he was just plain tired.  Back inside we went for some good quality cuddle time and a bottle, thirty minutes later he fell asleep.  I sat quietly listening to his breathing descend into a slow rhythm and my heart smiled as he rested on my chest.

Back outside with the baby monitor, I quickly finished up the rack as DH returned with the rabbits.  Cleaning up the cages, water bottles and feeders took much longer than we had planned.  Just as we were wrapping everything up and got the rabbits into their cages, watered and fed; little man woke up.  DH headed inside to make lunch.  I put the old fiberglass from the waste deflectors between the cages in hopes of completing that project on Friday and headed in to take a shower.  OT at work blew that plan out of the water – by the time I returned home on Friday morning, I had been awake for 26 1/2 hours – I needed sleep!

As I was disrobing, I looked out the bedroom window to see the piggles in the driveway - their pasture doesn't include the driveway.  I redressed while calling my off-farm job and told them I would be late as I hadn't included piggle wrangling in my schedule for the afternoon and if I didn't require a shower before I went to chase them, I was certainly going to need one now.  Fifteen minutes later pigs were back in their house.  They are almost big enough for the electric fence to corral them, in the meantime they will stay inside their house so DH doesn’t have to chase them with little man in tow. 

I headed back to the house and a large shadow passed over me, one of the bald eagles who have taken up residence near the lake came to visit.  Watching her play in the updrafts a wonderful feeling of peace washed over my hurried soul.  Already late, I watched her for a couple more minutes, both of us enjoying the sunshine.  Back inside my little man greeted me with big one-tooth smiles from his highchair with chicken and sweet potato on his face.  Giggles erupted as I kissed his neck and proceeded to add potato to other debris in my hair.  Into and out of the shower, dressed and ready for work, DH stepped in between me and the door and gave me a kiss good night.
 
My entire day was wrought with ‘interruptions’, ones that I welcome with a full heart.  Although I had to leave for work, I had spent some good quality time with my son and gotten twelve new rabbits re-housed, the dishes done and some laundry folded.  At every turn, the powers that be reminded me that this time is precious with my little man.

Sleep escapes me

When I came home from work, very early this morning, I knew that sleep would escape me for several hours to come.  I sat in my big comfy chair with a book from the library hoping that sleep would soon follow.  Farm City by Novella Carpenter proved to be far too interesting.  With each chapter I found myself thinking of new farm projects and several phone calls we received this week from folks wanting more rabbits than we can provide at this juncture.

2:15 a.m. and sleep still escaping me, I put down my book and stepped outside.  The only noises were the rustling of the wind through the too tall grass desperately requiring attention from the lawn mower which was only repaired minutes before leaving for my off farm job, and the peeping of the frogs.  The smell of moist, freshly turned earth from the garden and the farmer down the road who will plant corn in the meadow in front of the house filled the air.

On this quiet, warm, spring morning while most everyone slumbers, I soak in the sounds and smells of life waiting to spring forth from the ponds and pastures.  Have I mentioned lately how lucky I am to be able to live this life, on this farm in northwestern, VT.

First trip to the processor

We made our first trip to the processor just over a week ago now.  Much like the day that we were to butcher the pigs, I wasn't quite sure how well I was going to handle the dispatch of the fuzzy critters we had raised from almost babies.  But very similar to that day in December, I did better than I had expected.

The day began with preparing snacks, a diaper bag and beverages for the three hour round trip, plus time spent at the processor.  Sandwiches, water, bottle, diapers and wipes were collected, packaged and put in the car.   A tarp was folded and placed in the back of the SUV in order to collect any stray defecation from the bunnies and cages were pulled down from the rafters of the garage.  Little man was packed in his car seat and sat in his stroller nearby to watch the unfolding comedy of collecting 20 rabbits from their hutches.  Catching rabbits in two by three foot cages should be pretty easy, they don't have very far to run.  Giggles erupted from the little man as rabbits thumped and ran around their cages causing quite a commotion.  After 20 rabbits were captured and caged I felt like I had done my cardio workout for the day.

It was a glorious day, sun shining, temperatures in the upper 60's.  The ride was uneventful, made even more so by a snoozing baby.  We arrived at the processor/butcher thirty minutes early as the directions procured from the Internet were designed for a much slower driver than I.  We visited with another couple who had brought in their pigs to be processed, two women from down state who also had rabbits and another man who had culled an older beef cow.  Right before our time to unload arrived, the little man awoke and was thrilled to take part in the activities at this new location with new people, sounds and smells.

Rabbits were unloaded six at a time.  The scale only goes to 50 lbs.  With rabbits averaging just under six pounds a piece, weighing six at a time gives room for overage not to exceed the scales capacity.  116.21 lbs of rabbit.  Three days earlier we had culled a doe who had buck teeth and was unable to care for the litter that she had.  Beautiful, active pink bunnies were born into a nest box with pine shavings and some hay.  Normally does start pulling hair a day or so before they kindle to prepare the box.  She hadn't pulled any hair, but it was warmer than usual so we weren't too concerned.  Numbering 12, the little hairless critters were defenseless save for their own body heat.  Mom ignored them.  No hair in the box at all.  Between DH going to bed and my returning home from work, less than two hours, all of them had passed.  She was an older rabbit and we had some trouble killing her.  We asked the butcher if he would permit us to watch while he processed the first couple of rabbits to see what we had done wrong or could do more effectively. 

Starting with younger rabbits appeared to be the key.  The next was an extremely sharp knife - we have good knives - he had better.  We watched as he quickly and efficiently dispatched five rabbits in about four minutes a piece.  Little man stayed with us and I was concerned that he might be witnessing something so gruesome at such a young age, then I remembered that I was hanging around when a cow or deer was butchered when I was little and still turned out OK.  Watching the processor butcher and clean our rabbits was much the same as the pigs, the initial "pop" and removal of the head was a little shocking, after that I did fine.  This is a process I will be repeating several times as we save a couple of rabbits for our own consumption, I just need sharper knives.

Our proceeds for the day were good and we are just under a third of the way back from the money that we have invested in this venture.  We lost one litter due to neglect from mom and found out that one other doe we thought was pregnant, wasn't.  So it will take us a little longer than we had planned to break even, but so far it has been a pretty good learning experience.  After our first bout with loose stools, the rabbits are healthy and growing quickly.  Our most recent litters are nine (there were 12) and six born on the 3rd and the 7th.  The litter whose progression this blog is following were born on 4/19/12.  I hope to have their three week old picture posted soon.

The fresh clean smell after the rain

As my days off drew to a close this afternoon I ran over our accomplishments from the past few days and the growing disappointment was palpable: 

• DH and company had gone out turkey hunting in the cool spring rains and returned with the same number of shells that they left with and no turkey. 
• I got to spend quite a lot of time with the little man as he has found his recent napping pattern no longer to his liking.  My limited time off is short, even shorter snoozes require ingenuity to play with little man and accomplish tasks like laundry and even vacuuming.
• The shed has walls and salvaged bay window installed but still lacks a door and a roof.  Installing OSB is made even more interesting when you remember you don't have a step-ladder.  Nailing OSB to the framing ten-feet in the air can present it's own challenges.  This is what they invented tractor buckets for - OSHA, don't look.
• The garage/rabbit shed has been cleaned and prepared for another week.  We moved one of the racks (empty after our first trip to the processor) outdoors for cleaning and disinfecting and one of the waste deflectors broke.  One more thing to be added to the to-do list. 
• Some basic house cleaning was done, results of the white-glove test will certainly be - Fail.  Sweeping while smiling and making faces at your little man and dancing around the broom - not the most efficient cleaning method, but moderately effective.
• All of the squash seeds were planted in the green house.  One or two of the arches has come loose from the PVC cross connectors - one more thing to be added to the to-do list. 
• Rainy weather has prevented us from working on the lawn tractor; the garage remains otherwise occupied.  Lawns were not mowed and the grass growing between the Christmas trees will require brush-hogging first and then perhaps the mower can handle the close up work when it is repaired.  Apparently there is a pulley which is frozen and will either need a new bolt or will need to be replaced entirely - the full diagnosis cannot be made until we are able to remove it from the lawn tractor.  This time I will try my mechanical skills without a five-month old in one hand and a wrench in the other.

Sometimes I get discouraged with the ever increasing to-do list and the declining amount of time in which to get it all accomplished.  I get overwhelmed with the time each task takes with older, decomposing equipment, including the time to fix the equipment as it breaks.  My son, who is nothing but a blessing, adds to my stresses because I feel that I am not spending sufficient time with him.  New starts to projects like rabbits are consuming time planned for established projects like the greenhouse, vegetable growing and farmers market.  Then there is this little thing called money which is required to pay electric bills and purchase feed for the livestock which in turn feeds us; my off-farm job requiring a 40 hour plus commitment each week.

As I felt the disappointment washing over me in what was not accomplished, I noticed an eagle fly over the Christmas trees.  I set down my bag of fresh pine shavings and watched this beautiful majestic creature who appeared not to have a care in the world as it rode the updrafts created by our changing weather.  I listened as our new roosters stretched their vocal cords in an attempt to compete with the older ones.  I heard the little man whimper over the baby monitor indicating that he had awoken from his morning slumber looking for a smile, a clean diaper and his lunch.  I look around at all of the half-finished projects and then I thought to myself how lucky I am to know this life.  Coming into the house covered in sweat, pine shavings and rabbit fur, I pass the two new litters of baby bunnies and three week old adorable little bunnies who are beginning their explorations outside of the nest box.  War wounds revealed as I get into the shower made up of black and blue from walking too close to the tractor, scratches from rough cut lumber and disgruntled rabbits, and sore muscles from a full day's physical labor.  The hot steamy shower washes most of it away although the sore muscles require a little longer for the pain reliever to work.   I get dressed and ready to leave the farm for the job that currently pays the bills kissing DH and little man good night.  Some people will never know more than the concrete jungles which consume their entire lives.  

The fresh clean smell of the farm after the rain fills my nostrils and contentment washes over me in all that we were able to accomplish during the past few days and the past few years.  Soon enough I will be able to spend all day on the farm and know that we are providing for ourselves completely.  Sometimes I just need to remind myself how lucky I really am.

Photos courtesy of Google Image Searches for royalty free photos - new photos of the shed remain on the camera.  The eagle and I have a mutual understanding about having our photograph taken.