They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
Seppi is six years old now! How did that happen? Time flies when you are having fun. Since Daddy missed his birthday because of the National Guard (Again!) So we had some man time the following weekend. Daddy worked a few extra National Guard days so Seppi tagged along when we went out to the… Continue reading Six-Year-Old Seppi
This is the "sacrificial paddock" from last winter. I think we can safely say that experiment was a failure. The areas that were re-seeded and buried under hay are dry and dusty, with exposed dirt rather than green grass. This is going to require some serious rehab. The reason I was down here in the… Continue reading Miscellaneous.
The hardneck garlic we planted last year is almost ready. It has been growing scapes. The scapes are the curly flower stalks on the top of the garlic "neck." These would straighten out and develop into a flower if left alone, but we don't want that. We want the garlic plant to put all its… Continue reading Garlic Scape Butter
When you head to Texas for two weeks... The weeds decide they own the place. Seriously, some of them were over my head. Of course, it's an ill wind that blows no good. The ruminants were all pleased as punch about the wheelbarrow loads of weeds they were getting out of the deal. It's hot… Continue reading Weeding and composting.
Monday morning Seppi got up and asked "Daddy, What kind of day is this? Do we get to eat meat today?" (We do the traditional meatless Fridays in our house, and Seppi hates days without meat.) Upon being reassured that it was in fact a Monday, and therefore meat was on the menu he asked,… Continue reading A Day without Mommy
Not much farming happened while Daddy was in Texas. This should hardly be surprising, since Mommy was in Texas as well for 5 of those days, and the kids were with Deedee and Papa. And also, it's really hard for two grownups to keep up with work and taking care of the kids, and still… Continue reading Strawberries
This was Saturday, May 30th, the last day before Daddy left for National Guard orders. Getting to the thistles was a top priority, as they were starting to put on buds. But first: Cannellini beans! Dozens of little beanlets! And we took a few minutes to weed out another section of row 5 and seed… Continue reading Thistle Massacre
Tuesday, May 26th. Seppi saw me heading out to the wilderness with a shovel, a machete, and some clippers. He immediately ran to the tool shed to grab his hatchet and followed along. Yes, a five-year-old (almost six) has a hatchet. It is quite blunt, you couldn't cut a dandelion with it, but it is… Continue reading More Man Work!
This post is long overdue. That is because I have been in Texas on National Guard orders for the last two weeks and it was a very busy course. Early mornings, late nights, long days of computer work. Boring! This all took place at the end of May. Remember, Gertrude was bred on the 8th… Continue reading Sick Pig
Things don't always go smoothly on the farm. Just when our ducks were getting used to being pasture ducks. Just when they were getting the hang of laying eggs in the duckmobile, so the crows couldn't get at them. Most of the time... Just when egg production was starting to go up again after the… Continue reading Duck Setbacks
Little Farm in the Big City 