Feb. 14, 2006 - February on the Farm
We woke up to snow on the ground...what a surprise. It doesn't snow too often here. Usually we hear it in the forecast for days in advance and the children are so hopeful that it will really happen. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. They are sleeping soundly now and will wake to a beautiful morning. Katherine has the chicken pox but the others will be out playing I'm sure.
It has been a full month since I have written. I considered going back to my old-fashioned pen and paper journal, but I can't seem to get to that either. So here I am, attempting to record this amazing life we are living on our little farm. We are in our slow season for just another few weeks. Our farmer's market starts up again in March and runs for 10 months. We rarely miss a week. I will start with bread and cinnamon rolls, some specialty cookies and scones, etc. We will have a good supply of eggs. I will also have our full line of soaps, lotions, bath salts, lip balm and salve. We have some wool roving left from our shetland sheep but not much. I have 16 fleeces to get shipped off and processed into yarn and more roving. In March we shear again so I should be well stocked by the summer market. As the season progresses our booth will fill up with produce, jams and syrups, honey, berry lemonade and apple cider, until we are fairly bursting out of our double space by August. The first bed of greens is already planted under a sheet of row covering, and now under a blanket of snow!
This may be our slow season but we have been very busy here at home. Dave has been getting caught up on farm chores before he starts fulltime on the house building in March. He works nonstop maintaining the farm, supporting our family and now building us a beautiful log home. He has all the apple trees pruned except one huge old King tree that is just too high. Our trees are the old-fashioned full size trees planted many years ago. He tilled up our large garden and began to build raised beds for me. They are wonderful and will be so much easier for me to keep up. So far I have 2, both 4 x 16. The first is planted with mixed greens: lettuce, kale, beets, and spicy mesclun. The second will be filled with spinach in the next week or so. Eventually most of the garden will be raised beds. I think we have room for 11, leaving plenty of space for our marionberry and raspberry patch, corn and potatoes, and the herb garden.
Dave also spent time working on animal fencing. He fixed the hot wire in our neighbor's pasture and we moved Isabelle out just the other day. Our new neighbors are truly an answer to our prayers. They are sharing their beautiful pasture with big evergreens and plenty of grass. Isabelle went out just fine but refuses to go into the new milk stanchion. She is the most stubborn animal I have ever encountered. But I do love her and I'm just letting her back into her old corral for milking. The vet was out to check for a calf last week. She was supposedly bred to a black angus and due in late April but I began to wonder about that. I was still getting over 4 gallons of milk a day and she doesn't look very big to me. Usually a cow will begin to taper off in production by now. I didn't want to dry her up needlessly so decided on the vet check. She IS pregnant!! I was so happy. So now I'm milking only once a day - getting 3 gallons of milk. Isabelle is quite a producer but she needs a rest before her calf comes. I'm cutting way back on her grain in hopes of drying her off by the first of March. Our pigs will really miss the extra milk and whey from cheesemaking. They love it and complain loudly if we give them plain grain without some form of milk over the top.
The chickens are laying well again, with the addition of an extra light in the barn. I am getting about 12 dozen eggs a week from our 25 hens. I gave a dozen hens to our new neighbor so we have room for a few chicks this year. Our former sheep barn and one section of the garden is available for birds now so we will also raise 50 cornish cross for our freezer.
The sheep are out on pasture and growing the most gorgeous fleeces right now. I love to just stand at the fence and look at them. We have shades of brown, black and cream in our flock. Some coats are long and crimpy and some shorter and fluffy. Ferdinand the ram is still keeping them company for another month, so we should have 11 pregnant ewes for sure. Before long we will need to fence in one more section of pasture so we can rotate them back and forth.
The pygora goats are also beautiful right now. Their coats are long and curly. They are half way through their pregnancies and will need to be sheared soon. We have only 2 dairy goats now, Abby and Alice, as we have so much cow milk coming in. Both are bred to the pygoras for some mini-dairy goats. We are going to have lots of babies on the farm this year! Beginning the third week of April and going probably to the end of June we should have 1 cow, 6 goats, and 11 sheep deliver. Of course, we get a human baby at the end of April, too!!!!
I went in for an ultrasound last week. I wasn't planning to have one at all, but lately I have really wanted to check in with this baby. All has been well but I just decided I wanted an overall picture. It was so wonderful. We have a healthy baby girl growing just beautifully...four daughters!! What an incredible blessing!! This baby breaks our pattern of boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl. So now I'm enjoying these last 10 weeks of pregnancy and getting prepared for a newborn in the family. We don't need to buy much. Cloth diapers, a carseat, a sling and a buggy. When Cecilia-3 was a baby my sil lent me her European buggy. Eva is from Denmark where babies always take their naps outdoors. I began to do this with Cecilia and she slept so soundly in the fresh air, all tucked into the cozy buggy. So this will be our big purchase. I am looking forward to having the baby with me wherever I go, either nestled in the sling or sleeping beside me. Between the garden, the roadside stand, the farmer's market and the animal chores I am outside alot.
The children have had a good winter and are looking forward to spring. Kieran-19 went to Chicago last week to audition for 4 musical theater conservatories. He is so talented! In another month or so we will know if he is off to Boston, Miami, Cincinatti or Ohio. Emily-15 has begun an amazing homeschool program to earn her high school diploma. www.clonlara.org She also started driver's ed last week. Ben-13 is on the wrestling team for the first time. He said it is the hardest workout he has ever had, harder even than football. In his first match he pinned his opponent! He wrestles again today and I'm hoping to get down our hill in the snow to watch him. Katherine turned 10 last month and we celebrated with family and friends at the ice skating rink. She is growing into a lovely young lady who loves to read, knit, write, and be with her friends. Katherine is my companion on the farm, in the kitchen and at the market. Gabriel also had a birthday in January, turning 6. This was a big birthday for him, going overnight it seems from a little boy to a big boy. He has begun to move out of the family bed to sleep with the big kids. His birthday presents included a BB gun, a hatchet and a homemade bow and arrow. Cecilia-3 is looking forward to being a big sister. Right now I am just cherishing my time with this little one. She is so sweet, clever and loving, the whole family adores her.
The fire has warmed our little cabin and the children are all awake and excited by the snow. It is Valentines' Day...my heart is certainly full.
Comments
Feb. 14, 2006 - how beautiful
Posted by Cathy
I have just loved reading your blog. You and your family are just wonderful.
How precious....a new baby girl soon. What a blessing.
Hope to "see" you soon on the "Homestead".
Blessings,
Cathy
Feb. 16, 2006 - Wonderful.
Posted by MoWin
Molly, I so enjoyed reading your blog. You have a great family. I hope to continue reading about them, the cabin, the animals, and just your homestead. Keep us updated.
Blessings,
Winona
Feb. 19, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by schomeschoolmommy
Your family is charming. And your farm sounds delightful. I enjoyed reading about a day in your life. Enjoy the snow. That is a joy that we don't get to enjoy much here in South Carolina.
