It feels like the whole province is burning and while it's awful, there's a haunting beauty to it as well.
Alright guys, I am so sorry about the big, long gap in posting. There are a few very good reasons for it and I'll 'fess up to them now.
First is that I'm having some struggles with the site. Once again I went to my page and it couldn't be found. And then I had log in problems. Again. I almost bailed in favour of one of the many other things on my list but persisted and here I am (thank goodness!). Now I know all of you know that time is limited so when you're having those sorts of problems, it makes you reconsider your host. So far I've been really happy but it's starting to feel like a bit like the old wordpress problems. I'm not going to switch yet but believe me, I'm noticing it and doing research. Second (which is really the biggest so I probably should have started there).: I quit my job. Yes, I left the place I'd worked for almost 15 years. I feel totally liberated and a bit nervous about what's on the horizon (more about that in a sec)! Third: I'm working on my doctorate. It's way more work than I would have thought but so much fun. I am and always will be a school nerd. Learning is my happy place! Fourth:Because a doctorate isn't enough, I've been taking some online classes. Mostly art-making ones. I have always said "I can't" to the world of visual arts but not this year! I'll be posting work as I make it :) And I just did a floor loom class too. I'll write about that soon. It was an interesting experience. You know the kind Experience. I'm still processing it a bit, if I'm honest. Fifth (and biggest): My co-conspirators and I are working on the first issue of Flannelberry magazine. Like the site, it will be a blend of wholehearted and simple living with creativity. And of course, the puppy is still in puppyhood which is a pretty time and energy consuming thing when you're in the depth of winter and can't take him on a big run or hike to get that puppy energy out! And there's your update peeps. I hope 2017 has kicked off well for you. XO So, I think we've talked about this before but it bears repeating, to my mind. You know how sometimes you read a blog, scroll through an Instagram feed, catch up with someone on facebook, and think "what the hell is wrong with me? I can't get half that done?" Or, "what the hell is wrong with me, I can't save/start a business/whatever" or "there's no way I can afford that/get all that done". I'm posting about this after a message I received. It was a heartfelt "please tell me your secret, I want to be farming and just can't make a go of it" kind of plea. Broke my heart a little bit because it was yet another reminder of how much social media skews our perspective of other's lives and from there, ourselves, if we let it. So let me tell you about my crazy life right now so if yours is crazy, or you can't figure out how to live off your 2 acres and ten mini goats, you won'y think something is wrong with you. First of all, we live in ten acres of forest. Love it. It's beautiful and private and restful and restorative and gives us lovely firewood to heat our home. It's also impossible to garden and live with sheep here because: trees. Why not cut them down? (I have actually been asked that). So, while we do have that to contend with dense forest (and yes, we did clear for the house and some garden) we have clay soil which is a treat. I know you don't usually read that but clay is the most mineral rich and, I have livestock with which to amend it so... I'm thrilled. I have a friend who was gardening on what seemed to be the most ideal place - open, flat, sunny, lots of water, soil looked gorgeous. But there was a high proportion of sand in it so when we had drought, she was watering multiple times per day. Yes, she had great produce but as she said "at what cost?" And they lived mostly off of what she grew so... they ended up selling and moving to somewhere more garden friendly. So, speaking of gardens... That is the unmitigated disaster that is my garden. I've convinced myself that leaving the tomatoes to fester might result in some shoots this spring (though it's rarely worked that way). And yes, there is row cover strewn about. We've had so much rain it was causing more harm than good to the plants so I threw it off and just left it there because:no time. Hopefully today I can get it cleaned up but maybe and maybe not. So, why no time? Well, I'm currently working three jobs - one of which has a 90 min commute each way. I won't be doing this over the long term and have given notice at one but yes, three. Am rebooting a small business, have the farm, this little guy: And of course, family and friends. On top of it, J is in a similar place with all of his commitments. And, I have a goat house and chicken coop in desperate need of cleaning, need to get more hay, and straw, and so on. Oh and garlic to plant and autumn seedlings to transplant. Now this is a big push for this month and isn't going to last but it's a true snapshot and hopefully, an accurate accounting so if your life is feeling a bit crazy or you're just questioning why you can't x, y, or z based on someone's Instagram feed - remember it's just the snapshot they're sharing with you. Many of us share about 1% of our life, right? So set realistic goals and work steadily towards them. That's all you can do. The Farmer's Almanac says my region is supposed to have a particularly cold and snowy winter. Now, I'm not sure what the track record of the FA is but I do know the people around here say if the berry bushes are full, it's going to be a tough winter. This year, the mountain ash and saskatoons were as laden as I'd ever seen them and folks reported record numbers of huckleberries in the high country. Funnily enough, the temps have been dipping way down, as low as 3*C/37*F overnight. That's a low we shouldn't really get for at least a month. At least the colours are fantastic. On the one hand, this cooling trend has got some challenges (tomatoes... so... close); on the other hand, it's been great. No one in my house is a heat lover, so there's that but more so, it's kicked us into squirrel gear big time. The woodshed is filling at an all time high rate, we've got canning going like crazy, though the dehydrator's been a bit quiet (I'll have to get on that asap). And, I've actually got winter crops started early enough that we might actually get to enjoy them as the weather turns! I've got a tonne of things coming - kales, broad beans, spinach, chard, cilantro, nasturtiums, and the all important carrots: I had great success growing carrots in buckets this year. I love the idea of being able to move them into the greenhouse to overwinter, mulch them, etc. But also, I don't have the usual worries about tree roots and our rocky ground. I've been improving it and building ever up and hope to have at least one big overwintering carrot bed but these are the insurance. There was a quick bit o'harvesting. The crookneck is an old beastie. Something between a summer and winter squash. If you catch it early, it's tender and cooks up just like zucchini. As it gets older, the rind gets pretty hard and then, well, I'm not sure. But I do like how it looks. And just because they can't help themselves, there's yet another hen on yet another nest. So, there may be another crop of babies coming. And there's more news but we'll save that for later. For right now, I need to get to my dye pots! of potato season! Getting home from a long day of work and heading to the garden to rustle up something for supper is one of the greatest joys of my life. Sometimes I think it's even more so for the fact that I had to get home after a day at work but not sure. Maybe it would be even more delicious to just be at home? I hope to test out the hypothesis in the next couple of years. Anyway, spuds are one of the greatest treats to my mind. It's like a treasure hunt, getting your hands in there and hoping you get some magic. You pull them out and voila, supper that fills the belly and tastes divine. Some people suggest not using up room on potatoes because they're cheap at the grocery store but really, they're easy to grow and I think taste miles better than anything the grocery store has on offer. They're ready for the pot. I cut up the big ones and throw them in boiling water first, adding them in from next largest to smallest. When they're done you can toss them with a little butter and veg, crack an egg over the mass and there you have it: insta-supper from the yard. Not super pretty but soooo delicious.
I would like to send a big shout out to Eagle Creek Potatoes. They don't know I'm doing this nor have they in anyway paid for an endorsement but my potatoes have been the best they've ever been. Now, the Woodsman has something to do with this as well. He and the Young Man built me some amazing raised beds (best Mother's Day gift ever). But these potatoes are absolutely gorgeous. No scab, no blemishes, no nothing that's bad for potatoes. I didn't do anything special to the soil - just from the chicken yard to the garden. And basically neglect them from there. So, get some good seed potatoes and get growing. Many places will tell you not to bother with potatoes. I'm going to tell you to go for it. Even when they're scabby, there's nothing like eating a potato fresh from your own dirt. And they're pretty bomb proof - even when I toss in sprouty ones from the pantry, they do ok. So next year, consider potatoes for an easy, satisfying crop. First of all - thanks for notes you've sent and my apologies about my long silence (again). I don't know about life for you but around here, things have been kinda kooky. Some has been good but some not so much. This has been good: Yep, three babies born at the end of May. Two bucklings and a doe. They're all adorable and friendly, and everything I could want in babies. And this: That was the second crop of babies. There was a third but after a day we managed to reunite them with their mama.
This came because I said "never again" to brooding chicks in the house. I said "never again" and then was faced with the option of either letting babies die or brooding them in the house. So of course... And then I started school. I decided, in spite of everything else going on, to apply for a doctoral programme. I thought it was one out of my reach and somehow got in. Funnily enough, now that I'm in the programme, I'm wondering if it isn't out of my reach. I have never been in such a tough programme but it's compelling. And I'm not much good at quitting. So, there's the update. I hope things are moving along well in your world. If, like me, you get tired of people who do all the things and seem to have gorgeous houses for showing off online (or just being proud of - no judgement!), you'll appreciate this glimpse into my actual life: Yep, that's real. An actual mountain of dishes.
Just as I was leaving for work there was a big fuss in the yard - raven cawing, hen shrieking, dog barking, and the high pitched shriek of a baby chick. I got over to the site just in time to see a raven with a dark, limp shape in it's talons as it flew off.
Dejected, I went over to the nest to see if any eggs were left and heard "peep peep peep" from the hay shed. Sure enough, a wee baby had survived the attack. So, of a nest of about a dozen eggs, we had one baby but really, better than none. |
AuthorI'm a 40-something writer and smallholder living in the wilds of BC with my family, our small herd of Nigerian Dwarf Goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, and cats. Archives
August 2017
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