Let’s get you caught up on the happenings at the farm.
The goats exploited the washed out barn bridge and learned how to make their way to the front yard. That quickly became the fencing priority – after Farmer man chased them away from the front yard with a dollar store water cannon. Effective, and hilarious! Worked better than banging pans together which was our first choice.
We spent a very hot day figuring out how to fix the hole in the fence until we can fix the barn bridge – mission accomplished. We are still working to fix the barn bridge and secure the main bridge a little better.
The cows have been mowing, and we have been mowing the leftover weeds as they leave a section. We are hoping that over time this rotational grazing will help our fields and there will less weeds left after the cows have eaten through a field. I, for one, am much happier with the visual image of the farm with fields mowed.
The cats are happy now that we have (at least for now) cleared the barn of the raccoons! We caught and transported 9 raccoons away from the barn. Far, Far, Away! Then we loaned our trap to Acres of Grace for the same purpose! They are up to 3 I think!
We helped out a just a little bit at Acres of Grace farm which is always fun – even if it is work. But, the best part of that was that I got to drive the tractor! OK, THAT is easily the coolest part of farming! (Still pretty nervous though, I only drove forward and gave over the controls before we got too close to the barn)
The messy garden has produced a little bit of food. I will still need to can my tomato products from a good run to the farmers market, but that’s okay. I have gotten a couple ears of fresh corn and a few cucumbers per day – WOW that is a nice perk!
The chickens are no longer freeloaders!
And, with free range chickens, egg-hunts are not just for Easter! What a good gathering crew! (Don’t romanticize this too much in your mind, they all roll their eyes and whine when asked to do this chore – but they do it well and are learning responsibility)
Farm life is ever challenging, this month it was the well. The farm animal well was accidentally left on (could have been any of us, no point in yelling). So the men worked together to get it up and running again. Two days, few hundred dollars – good as new and we won’t have to carry 100 gallons of water to the troughs by traipsing up the hill with 5gal buckets one at a time! WORTH IT!
We’ve done a lot of work but also had some time to relax together on the farm – when it rained so hard Farmer man couldn’t find something to make us all do! But really, we made time for family dinners and card games and my personal favorite – worship in the living room.
We’ll share a little old fashioned family worship time with ya
Alas, the farm days of summer are coming to an end. It is time to ramp up to the beginning of school. The last first day of school is quickly approaching for Candice and soccer has begun in earnest already!
The farm blog will continue, because farming stops for no man, or woman, or teenager, or . . .
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