First of all, I apologize for not having any photos up...I took some last weekend, but haven't learned how to download them onto the blog yet...hopefully, by the next blog we'll have some colorful pics to share.
I finished canning salsa and we pulled up the tomatoes. They got hit with a blight so we didn't harvest as many as we had hoped, but I got about 2 gallons of salsa put up for the winter...or until Marc eats it up. He's a salsa fanatic and has a bowl of it with tortilla chips every afternoon.
Katelyn and Jonathan have enjoyed harvesting carrots and eating them as they play in the backyard. Some carrots got mixed in with my flowers so they pick flowers for Mom while they pull up carrots.
Matthew harvested all the Indian corn. He has a beautiful collection of purples, reds, yellows, whites, and some that have a bluish tint. He set up a stand at the end of the driveway. A man stopped today and offered to buy all the corn at half the price Matt has them marked ($1 per ear or 4 for $3). Wayne told him that he'd have to ask Matt (who wasn't home). The guy said he wanted them to sell on e-bay. He gets $ 0.75/ear and $2./cornstalk. He told Wayne that if the weather continued to hold, he was sure Matt would be able to sell all he had displayed.
Our gourd crop is looking great. We have such a neat collection of different colors and shapes. We have several that are going to make great bowls once we dry/cure them. Hopefully, we'll be successful in our first attempts at gourd crafting.
Matthew, Marc, and I went and visited Aleatory Alpaca Farm (they have a website if you do a search by their farm name--it's on the AlpacaNation weblink) this afternoon...not to see their alpacas, but their Nygerian Dwarf Goats! The boys are seriously thinking of adding goats to the farm and they wanted to check out this breed. They are cute little things...about the size of our dog Brittany. These goats were very friendly--like Brittany!!! One tried climbing up into my lap once I started petting her. Sharon spent a great deal of time explaining how she raises her goats and then we got talking about alpacas (no big surprise!) and then chickens.
Sharon wants Marc to raise her some chicks next spring because she doesn't have much success with chicks but does fine once they are full grown. Then she got telling the boys how they should look into raising guinea fowl and pheasants. Before we left she had given them several ideas on farming ventures.
If the boys decide to get Nygerian Dwarfs from her, they'll let her know and she'll plan her spring kidding season by the total number of people interested in purchasing. (The does will be bred in November and deliver in May)
Tuesday we're going to visit a nearby Alpine goat farm where the owner makes goat cheeses.
If nothing else, we're learning a LOT about goats.
Rachael cleaned out a lot of the perennials that were past their prime. The gardens look much better, but very empty. I harvested some of my herbs to dry for a herbal wreath for our porch. I made one several years ago and it made the porch smell so nice. Right now the mudroom is a bit overpowering with all the herbs drying from the overhead beams.
This week I've spun a bit of Mystifier (rose/gray) with angora blended in. I'm really looking forward to seeing how that yarn turns out. Between working at the office and appointments this week, I didn't get as much spinning done as I would have liked. Maybe this week...but...
Monday Marc is having his big toe operated on...an ingrown toenail got infected and the doctor is going to cut part of it out now that he's been on antibiotics for 10 days. Tuesday Brittany gets her physical...she has several growths on her belly that need to be checked out. Wednesday Nathanial goes to the eye doctor and Marc goes for an allergy injection. Thursday Wayne goes to the chiropractor. Friday doesn't have any doctor's appointments...yet! I have a hand spindle that you spin horizontally that I need to learn how to use. At least then I could be spinning in all these doctors' waiting rooms.
Until next time...
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
It must be fall...
The calendar may say that Autumn doesn't begin for a few more days, but for us, the first sign of Fall is lighting the woodstove. It's official...the woodstove is furnishing some welcome heat for this chilly day. We attended a picnic this afternoon, which required a trip into the attic to retrieve sweaters and jackets. The boys (4 y.o. and 2 y.o.) kept us running so we didn't get too chilled...just tired!
As I type this, Wayne and the boys are moving fence lines...again...The farmer has finally cut and baled our back field and we are working at getting more permanent grazing pastures put in for the alpaca. We intend to have one large pasture with several smaller grazing pastures within.
We have the water line in and working. It is pure joy to have a water source right next to the barn. Hauling buckets does get tiring. We still need to get the electricity hooked up in the barn...especially with the darkness coming earlier these days.
This week I spun 2 skeins of yarn--1 from Indian Paintbrush (brown/white) and 1 from Mystifier (rose gray). Both skeins were delivered to the shop in Sidney. I hope to get a skein from Flashdancer (brown) and Mr. Wonderful (black) done this week and into the shop. I'm also trying to design the headband/warmer kit to put in the shop within the next couple of weeks.
School started officially at Riverside Homeschool this past week. We started a week later than the public school in order to complete one task that I committed to completing before the new school year began...cleaning out my craft room! It took two days, but the craft room is now 2 big boxes and 4 garbage bags less cluttered! I was even able to find places for all my unwashed or unspun fleece. The kids have been great at getting back into the school routine. The biggest challenge is dealing with the 2 littlest guys in the midst of "reading time". I've made up some preschool activities for them to do ONLY during school time. Hopefully, they won't lose interest in those any time soon.
Matt(20 y.o.) and Marc (14 y.o.) are talking over the possibilities of raising Nygerian Dwarf Goats. Matt wants to get in on this farming "thing" but doesn't have a lot of time. He's thinking he might be able to partner with "Farmer" Marc (since he's the resident chicken farmer and has experience with animals) to do the daily chores. Matt will help out more on the business aspect. He's thinking over the possibilities of breeding and maybe soap made from goats' milk. We'll see if it develops into reality. Wayne told them he doesn't mind as long as he nor I end up doing the work. We really don't need more activities added to our day!
Thanks for checking in on the farm. My next goal is to get pictures up on the site. A computer wizard, I am NOT, so I rely on Matthew to help me out.
As I type this, Wayne and the boys are moving fence lines...again...The farmer has finally cut and baled our back field and we are working at getting more permanent grazing pastures put in for the alpaca. We intend to have one large pasture with several smaller grazing pastures within.
We have the water line in and working. It is pure joy to have a water source right next to the barn. Hauling buckets does get tiring. We still need to get the electricity hooked up in the barn...especially with the darkness coming earlier these days.
This week I spun 2 skeins of yarn--1 from Indian Paintbrush (brown/white) and 1 from Mystifier (rose gray). Both skeins were delivered to the shop in Sidney. I hope to get a skein from Flashdancer (brown) and Mr. Wonderful (black) done this week and into the shop. I'm also trying to design the headband/warmer kit to put in the shop within the next couple of weeks.
School started officially at Riverside Homeschool this past week. We started a week later than the public school in order to complete one task that I committed to completing before the new school year began...cleaning out my craft room! It took two days, but the craft room is now 2 big boxes and 4 garbage bags less cluttered! I was even able to find places for all my unwashed or unspun fleece. The kids have been great at getting back into the school routine. The biggest challenge is dealing with the 2 littlest guys in the midst of "reading time". I've made up some preschool activities for them to do ONLY during school time. Hopefully, they won't lose interest in those any time soon.
Matt(20 y.o.) and Marc (14 y.o.) are talking over the possibilities of raising Nygerian Dwarf Goats. Matt wants to get in on this farming "thing" but doesn't have a lot of time. He's thinking he might be able to partner with "Farmer" Marc (since he's the resident chicken farmer and has experience with animals) to do the daily chores. Matt will help out more on the business aspect. He's thinking over the possibilities of breeding and maybe soap made from goats' milk. We'll see if it develops into reality. Wayne told them he doesn't mind as long as he nor I end up doing the work. We really don't need more activities added to our day!
Thanks for checking in on the farm. My next goal is to get pictures up on the site. A computer wizard, I am NOT, so I rely on Matthew to help me out.
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