Did not stop to write in my journal all weekend. A quick catch-up...
Saturday - what to do about the market. Cold and rainy, but Memorial Day is traditionally a good market day. Radar looked promising (a lie) and we were mentally geared up for it. The previous weekend was so good it gave us false optimism about this one. Wipers were not turned on the entire 17 mile drive to Hamilton. Guess what - we got rained on. The pop-up held and the die-hards came out any way. I saw old friends from Morristown and new friends from Brookfield. My market friends were there, too, and I got my brie-mango crepe while holding my hands close to the propane cooker for warmth. Once home my totes had to be carried in and dried inside. Lesson learned. When the weather is awful stay home on the farm. That's what I did the entire rest of the weekend.
Sunday - I worshipped at the Church of the Universal Shepherd and took care of my flock. I could work on sheep and goats all dang day. Sadly, spouse does not have the same enthusiasm. He bravely soldiered through a day of docking tails and banding scrotums, not a pleasant task but one that pays off for years to come. The little boys can stay with their mommies forever and will have no desire to mate with them six months from now. They won't grow horns but they will grow lovely mohair and wool for me, a much more pleasant destiny than the other option. The docked tails will not be a magnet for manure and draw flies. Yes, sheep naturally have long bushy tails. A simple band placed up high will cause the little lamb tail to slough off and prevent the deadly flystrike. I was shocked to find three hens had hatched their clutches in this cold, wet weather. I resolved to capture as many as possible and found some wire rabbit cages in the silo room. They even had baby guards around the bottoms. Luckily, due to the cold and a mother's inclination to keep them under the wings for warmth, I was able to scoop up the hen cupping my hands around her wings with the babies inside. Only dropped on tiny fluff ball on the way to the rabbit cages. Hannah and Luke will have 20 or so chicks to take to the new chicken house at the Hinds Boy Scout Camp in Portland, Maine, where their daddy is the head man. More work for me keeping them fed and watered, but now they are safe from cats, etc. Sunday night was spent cooking, stoking the wood stove, and relaxing, what a joy.
Monday - I sat outside wrapped in a long wool coat, love that coat, with my coffee and my book - The Farm She Was by Ann Mohin, fabulous read - and coffee taking in the emerging sun and blue sky. What a joy after having my bones chilled at the rainy market on Saturday. I purchased a cord of wood from a neighbor and put much of it to good use over the weekend. I basically took care of critters all day long with some time here and there for walking the land in the stunningly gorgeous weather. With school on Tuesday and the Bouckville show coming up, I will have to kick it into high gear again. Annie and the kids are coming to help me get some things done around the farm this weekend. I have to get ready for Fancy to deliver her kid. The milk room will be a milk room once again when I get her milking stand set up in there. Much mucking out needs to be done. I hate walking on the stuff.
Saturday - what to do about the market. Cold and rainy, but Memorial Day is traditionally a good market day. Radar looked promising (a lie) and we were mentally geared up for it. The previous weekend was so good it gave us false optimism about this one. Wipers were not turned on the entire 17 mile drive to Hamilton. Guess what - we got rained on. The pop-up held and the die-hards came out any way. I saw old friends from Morristown and new friends from Brookfield. My market friends were there, too, and I got my brie-mango crepe while holding my hands close to the propane cooker for warmth. Once home my totes had to be carried in and dried inside. Lesson learned. When the weather is awful stay home on the farm. That's what I did the entire rest of the weekend.
Sunday - I worshipped at the Church of the Universal Shepherd and took care of my flock. I could work on sheep and goats all dang day. Sadly, spouse does not have the same enthusiasm. He bravely soldiered through a day of docking tails and banding scrotums, not a pleasant task but one that pays off for years to come. The little boys can stay with their mommies forever and will have no desire to mate with them six months from now. They won't grow horns but they will grow lovely mohair and wool for me, a much more pleasant destiny than the other option. The docked tails will not be a magnet for manure and draw flies. Yes, sheep naturally have long bushy tails. A simple band placed up high will cause the little lamb tail to slough off and prevent the deadly flystrike. I was shocked to find three hens had hatched their clutches in this cold, wet weather. I resolved to capture as many as possible and found some wire rabbit cages in the silo room. They even had baby guards around the bottoms. Luckily, due to the cold and a mother's inclination to keep them under the wings for warmth, I was able to scoop up the hen cupping my hands around her wings with the babies inside. Only dropped on tiny fluff ball on the way to the rabbit cages. Hannah and Luke will have 20 or so chicks to take to the new chicken house at the Hinds Boy Scout Camp in Portland, Maine, where their daddy is the head man. More work for me keeping them fed and watered, but now they are safe from cats, etc. Sunday night was spent cooking, stoking the wood stove, and relaxing, what a joy.
Monday - I sat outside wrapped in a long wool coat, love that coat, with my coffee and my book - The Farm She Was by Ann Mohin, fabulous read - and coffee taking in the emerging sun and blue sky. What a joy after having my bones chilled at the rainy market on Saturday. I purchased a cord of wood from a neighbor and put much of it to good use over the weekend. I basically took care of critters all day long with some time here and there for walking the land in the stunningly gorgeous weather. With school on Tuesday and the Bouckville show coming up, I will have to kick it into high gear again. Annie and the kids are coming to help me get some things done around the farm this weekend. I have to get ready for Fancy to deliver her kid. The milk room will be a milk room once again when I get her milking stand set up in there. Much mucking out needs to be done. I hate walking on the stuff.
Family news is good. Chaplain Father Aaron has received his Army Captain bars. He continues to counsel and assist the soldiers in his unit, and serves at Christ Church in Las Vegas. Mia is working hard as a Nurse Practitioner for the cancer surgeons in Morristown. She ran a full marathon in Burlington, Vermont on Sunday - in the rain and snow. Eric recently returned from a district meeting of the Boy Scouts of America where he voted on the issue of allowing gay Scouts in the organization. He has his work cut out for him back in the Pine Tree Council in Portland, Maine. Annie is working hard as a technical writer. They are looking forward to a motorcycle vacation to Nova Scotia. Omi is very much looking forward to having Hannah and Luke at the farm this summer. They are big, strong, and willing workers. We'll swim in the pond, light campfires, and sit in the hay mow on the round bales to watch the storms come in from the west.
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