Buckwheat, Triangles and Homeschool

Late August, the garden is gathering for its final burst of activity before the dark period.

This is the most massive and vigorous stand of buckwheat we have ever grown.

And the bees seem to be doing their job. I just hope we can get it ripened and harvested before the rains comes on hard and soaks it.

Tomatoes are hitting their stride, and we are about to be buried in them.

The pasture hasn’t bounced back yet, so we are looking for ways to stretch the hay we have to buy. One of those ways is tree fodder. We have fed out the willow, not as harshly as previous years. Instead we have left several branches on each tree, that will develop into thicker, heavier branches over the next few years. The branches are shaped and directed to grow horizontal about 6-7 feet off the ground, so we can pollard them heavily for even more willow shoots in the coming years.

This pair of snowball bushes has grown out of control, so we need to prune them back, especially since we may have to back the horse trailer into this spot in the next few months. So as I prune, I toss the branches in with the sheep.

They eat the leaves clean off, and then I pull the branches out and stack them on the bonfire/hugelkulture pile.

The most remarkable things grow on the farm, including denim jackets.

One morning’s picking, before 7 AM.

Tuesday morning, August 25, costco trip for shelving to put in the basement.

You see, we now have permits to begin remodeling. Seppi is all ready to go.

Ellie has elected herself foreman. With those two on the job we’ll be moved in in no time.

They were not so thrilled when Daddy took over and started directing things. Holding tape measures is boring.

Evie actually got quite into it. She was amazed to find that the “A-squared-plus-B-squared-equals-C-squared” thing that we made her memorize actually means something. Like, in real life. And the games we used to have her play (“How many triangles can you find in this picture”) also have a real life purpose.

It took about an hour to get the footprint for the addition pegged out, mainly so we could see how it will lie, and most importantly where the septic line runs in relation to the walls.

Homeschool continues, we have now finished our first full week. It went surprisingly well. The kids have fallen back into the swing of it.

Having designated time blocks, (e.g. One hour for math, and then you have to move on to the next subject whether you are finished or not) has worked well for reducing procrastination and daydreaming.

And Winnie is one smart cookie. No one is surprised, but man, that kid can do some school. Her favorite thing is knowing Seppi’s lessons better than he did.