tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18858232069137631432024-03-08T11:12:29.891-08:00Down by the CreekFarming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.comBlogger291125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-63727506167530035522014-12-31T18:59:00.001-08:002014-12-31T18:59:09.883-08:00Goodbye and good ridance 2014The truth of the matter is that 2014 has been hard. There have been bright spots, but they have been so overshadowed by the hardness that sometimes it is hard to see them, to feel them, to remember them. 2013 seems so long ago. 2015 can't get here fast enough. And all we can do is hope that somehow 2015 will be better than 2014 has been to us.<br />
<br />
From the start, looking forward to 2015 tells us things will be different than usual. Baby boy will be arriving when I should be focusing on getting my garden starts started, he will be a newborn as things outside are getting going. Orchard pruning, garden preparing, fence fixing, all will be things that won't happen this year. We haven't decided what to do with the gardens this year. After all, what with the flooding/debris flows last summer, they aren't in the best of shape anyway, and who knows what this summer will bring in terms of rain events, although we are pretty convinced the debris flows will not happen to that extent again, at least for many years and even then it would be another post-fire-type event. Then, although the mister will be on day shift for the first 6 months, he will be on night shift for the last 6 months, so even if we got a garden in between birth and new-babyness, harvest would be seriously challenging for just me with 3 little kids. <br />
<br />
The laying hens should have been replaced last summer (they haven't laid since my birthday in late September), and so definitely should be replaced this summer, but again, I can't decide if it is worth the extra effort this year, or if we should just relegate ourselves to buying eggs for the next 2 years and put chicks off until spring/summer of 2016 when things hopefully will be more settled and under control.<br />
<br />
Similarly, with the irrigation still being completely broken, pigs are in question. How do we keep them happy and wallowing and watered with no irrigation. Sure we have the well water from the house, but I'm not at all sure how good our well actually is in terms of using that much extra water, on top of the extra we will use just to keep the raspberries and strawberries and fruit trees going.<br />
<br />
The good news is that 2015 will be my last year in any portion of pregnancy, yup, three will be plenty for us. So that is one thing that I am extremely excited about, and I'm looking forward to getting back in shape for the last time post-pregnancy, etc.<br />
<br />
A lot of things I'm looking forward to will be simply in the planning stages in 2015, for 2016 and 2017: camping, hiking & canoeing trips with the family, getting nearer and nearer to our house being fully paid off, doing more adventures with older kids and less financial obligations each month, planning a big trip to celebrate being mortgage-free. All of these things are things we are dearly looking forward to and dreaming about, but they won't come to pass in 2015, although the steps we make throughout the year in 2015 will be what allows us to get there in 2016 and 2017.<br />
<br />
However, at least 2014 is over with, and hopefully things will be upwards and onwards and easier from here! Happy New Year to you and yours, and I hope your 2015 is filled with good things :)Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-24404862501266105002014-11-22T20:56:00.002-08:002014-11-22T20:56:55.574-08:00Farm catA couple of months ago, likely mid-late September, my husband came home one night later than usual (this was before he switched to night shift), and found a black/grey cat in the carport. He almost did away with it, but didn't want to wake me to that unexpected noise, and by the next morning, I'd convinced him that since we have the chickens, gardens, and yard fenced, having a carport cat wouldn't cause cat-dog interactions, and wouldn't be likely to have cat poo in the gardens, and I wasn't too worried about my chickens from a cat.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I figured the cat was an abandoned or fire/flood refugee cat, likely partly wild or feral, but would be great at controlling our rodent population without resorting to poison like I had been on the brink of for a good six months to a year, after a mouse chewed the kids car seat straps (unsafe costly inconvenient event, that). I picked up some cat food at the feed store, and we started feeding it. For the first while it wasn't eating much every night, and some nights it didn't eat anything at all. By the start of November we'd convinced ourselves that it must belong to someone down valley, and be wandering up. But that would be about 3/4 of a mile, which didn't seem like it would be conducive to a long-lived cat (lots of hungry coyotes around here!).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZI2Jpp841jkogMyAl6BNeg5KKyxSnFPRSSpfKImy4iay0SvviZ8ItPTZ5M-0EMdSYTvgK6cUaXMIAgljgNyRYq_4RkcAukhW3c0wsLmK9KETNmsszzVIwC3xg4MKY9nWCXxH-Hl4BpDU7/s1600/IMG_2936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZI2Jpp841jkogMyAl6BNeg5KKyxSnFPRSSpfKImy4iay0SvviZ8ItPTZ5M-0EMdSYTvgK6cUaXMIAgljgNyRYq_4RkcAukhW3c0wsLmK9KETNmsszzVIwC3xg4MKY9nWCXxH-Hl4BpDU7/s1600/IMG_2936.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First picture, first daylight sighting, on the right side of the door opening. She came out to visit us from somewhere in the mess of a garage, hungry for attention, happy in the sunlight.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But we kept feeding it, as the group we thought were possible owners were renters who wouldn't be staying the winter, and we figured maybe we would be adopted when the renters left. Then Little M spotted a calico late one afternoon, shortly after sunset. We followed it and it ran up valley. We were puzzled, but wondered if there were just a fair number of cats roaming around after the fires.<br />
<br />
The calico started coming nightly shortly after dark, but that was all we were seeing of her. We started assuming that she, too, must have another home. Then last week we saw the black cat for the first time since that first time my husband saw it. And there was the calico with it. That's when we put it together where they must be from. A quick phone call to a neighbor up valley and it came out that they used to belong to the folks up from us whose house and outbuildings burned in the initial push through of the fire that first night. The cats had been rehomed to one of the adjacent neighbors in their little group of three, and were supposed to be staying in their barn. In fact, these new owners said that they had never seen the calico out of the barn.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WiFI5kzhOEE_9ZnsZGSNO-3UbPnXMJL35VbZ6pXr_WKzGgddvyCu2HAjCEAw5QYJSHLAzHxCoxoYcaOf0RY3PgrjxoOpH2xS1O029Ele8KdoQE6UqC3tGdnXkWTGiXV0GzZLA4l-3aqA/s1600/IMG_2946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0WiFI5kzhOEE_9ZnsZGSNO-3UbPnXMJL35VbZ6pXr_WKzGgddvyCu2HAjCEAw5QYJSHLAzHxCoxoYcaOf0RY3PgrjxoOpH2xS1O029Ele8KdoQE6UqC3tGdnXkWTGiXV0GzZLA4l-3aqA/s1600/IMG_2946.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giggling sisters sledding down the hill, photobomb courtesy of the calico cat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Well we felt really bad and stopped feeding them, not wanting to put these two in danger of coyotes, tempting them down for food, especially after dark as they had been doing. We assumed it would end, the nightly visits. Little M was devastated, and I started keeping an eye out for people needing new homes for barn cats. Then one night my husband left the garage door open over night, and the next morning he saw the calico cat stalking/playing in the field beside the garage.<br />
<br />
Not wanting to shut her in the garage, not knowing how much time she was spending in there vs in her 'old' barn, we left the garage open, but didn't see her again. Then yesterday/night we got about 7 inches of snow, our first snowfall, and with it dumping down outside I assumed she would have headed back home. Except there she was, looking for food, right on schedule. I checked tracks with flashlight, and saw some coming out and then back into the garage (I assumed). I went back out with some food, and went to the garage, then came back, and with no new tracks out of the garage, there she was in the carport, friendly as could be.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSX6VArU9cRDFKhM9GWqVWttChPTXa5WPzw97eg6jfP0gCSIIIayyHYbai97PPYVjRY9XuJJprUEWNj7sKpNXclOw_w0a1sYuNttToLepUTZeoBM6JQNUMPK5DPuhotWDUc07pdsA4HZUz/s1600/IMG_2948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSX6VArU9cRDFKhM9GWqVWttChPTXa5WPzw97eg6jfP0gCSIIIayyHYbai97PPYVjRY9XuJJprUEWNj7sKpNXclOw_w0a1sYuNttToLepUTZeoBM6JQNUMPK5DPuhotWDUc07pdsA4HZUz/s1600/IMG_2948.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks for the breakfast, and the petting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I rethought it, and she must be staying in the carport, and have ventured into and out of the garage, the tracks I assumed meant she was living in the garage. I called Little M out, and she was able to pet her as well. I have no clue what prompted the change, before last night anytime we rattled the doorknob when she was eating in the carport she would be off like a flash, but suddenly it snowed and she decided she liked us.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35XFR1SUlceWGzw9Kt7u5XEXvyhQhrtJVId5D8eyruqr4SUcmSrgwCW2vhUpUo9HQozdaCu4H0nOnbxNwvJfBeoyZSSzQFlpMqZxJ_8VbcSPSPG3xuTIKoGB1C5x81qjrbKakmOTiywB2/s1600/IMG_2951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh35XFR1SUlceWGzw9Kt7u5XEXvyhQhrtJVId5D8eyruqr4SUcmSrgwCW2vhUpUo9HQozdaCu4H0nOnbxNwvJfBeoyZSSzQFlpMqZxJ_8VbcSPSPG3xuTIKoGB1C5x81qjrbKakmOTiywB2/s1600/IMG_2951.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anything interesting on your mitten? Treats perhaps? No? Oh well, back to breakfast.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Today we were out playing in the snow, and she was out with us the whole time. I don't know whether to assume she's now adopted us, or if she will venture back and forth still, but she's a cute friendly little calico, and I know exactly how Little M feels about her ('can I go back out and check on my cat?' - all day!). We will never have an inside cat, so outside she will have to stay, weathering the cold, snow, wet, heat, coyotes, cougars, and all. But from all accounts she's always been a barn cat, which is why her initial owners weren't able to take her with them where they are staying now while they figure out what their next steps are. So maybe she will be fine. And hopefully she will eat lots of mice and no birds and snakes... As a biologist I have a very hard time with outdoor cats, but in our situation, where I was on the verge of putting poison in our vehicles for the mice, which I feel has worse/bioaccumulating/longer term impacts on the ecosystem, I guess I'll have to live with her eating some birds and snakes. As long as she kills mice while she is at it...<br />
<br />
The pictures here were the first I was able to take of her, today, the first time in daylight that I had more than a fleeting glimpse of her, during our frequent excursions outside to play in the snow, and 'take care of' the cat, who Little M has of course named Golden Rabbit, although she generally just calls her Cat, or The Cat.Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-7649378725200121582014-11-19T09:08:00.000-08:002014-11-19T09:08:13.258-08:00Surprise!We found out after the fire evacuation that we were expecting a third baby - due in late March/early April. We hadn't quite decided if we wanted to try for a third, and were definitely planning to wait another year, but the stress of the fire apparently changed my body's mind. Oops! We are very excited, especially because we recently found out that this third (and last!) baby is a boy!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDdZmcyhBJcoM4YcXMn-3Ui4_TOZFYTEO14cTEbxbm3L4hCf00T_2blMjuJqAQR9HtSqLev9rV_knZ-xDClNi8xL9zvE4Vrc8pZOjH3C_PaBIIp0yoUnGYPquLED7e5eW-eCHpvSeDFpk/s1600/IMG_2905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDdZmcyhBJcoM4YcXMn-3Ui4_TOZFYTEO14cTEbxbm3L4hCf00T_2blMjuJqAQR9HtSqLev9rV_knZ-xDClNi8xL9zvE4Vrc8pZOjH3C_PaBIIp0yoUnGYPquLED7e5eW-eCHpvSeDFpk/s1600/IMG_2905.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Obviously I've been pretty absent around the blog these last few months, there has been a lot going on to get our property back in shape after the fire and flood, and being pregnant on top of that has been enough to handle. Now that I'm past 20 weeks (and the shingles episode of weeks 17+, yikes!), and my energy level is getting back into the normal realm, I'm hopeful that I will begin to post more regularly again!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ib9HED6xZaIGAd33il08paMd2550zCxx695fnVcgphGO9_7p8toNBO-0v9sOOJpr_1eRm_pVG_o3f9e427NZ4D0ytBbK8v2gKF2jjdEvAVN9UjhD1rHk641TgZ9pQCybpPg3jQW-CfRj/s1600/IMG_2884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ib9HED6xZaIGAd33il08paMd2550zCxx695fnVcgphGO9_7p8toNBO-0v9sOOJpr_1eRm_pVG_o3f9e427NZ4D0ytBbK8v2gKF2jjdEvAVN9UjhD1rHk641TgZ9pQCybpPg3jQW-CfRj/s1600/IMG_2884.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup, definitely pregnant. Starting to not fit in anything but pregnancy shirts, and even some of those are too short! Yikes third pregnancy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I certainly have a backlog of fun pictures to put up, as we did manage to have some fun this summer and fall :) <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTctUtiYNxR1vSYeOGU2RzMIzqMTIokftNjl1r2U_woFwOokn23GHfqnNx3rIO9u8I0JiHtjmdrJEIgQPO9onD03D57Y80uJoLeLCUTq5nESWZZLBSiuaxqkqMcGvTSFGS271upIOlKb3f/s1600/IMG_2694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTctUtiYNxR1vSYeOGU2RzMIzqMTIokftNjl1r2U_woFwOokn23GHfqnNx3rIO9u8I0JiHtjmdrJEIgQPO9onD03D57Y80uJoLeLCUTq5nESWZZLBSiuaxqkqMcGvTSFGS271upIOlKb3f/s1600/IMG_2694.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About when I started visibly showing, during a visit to my parents home in Ontario Canada earlier this fall (pics to come!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-34050631389561043802014-09-18T09:38:00.000-07:002014-09-18T09:38:03.372-07:00Inspiring blog post titles & random ramblings onI read a title to a post the other day, and without reading the actual post, the title just fits where we are at these days: <a href="http://www.thenester.com/2014/08/when-the-dream-comes-true-but-the-reality-is-slow-ugly.html" target="_blank">When the dream comes true but the reality is slow and ugly</a>.
I mean, wow. So fitting. Not in any particular way I can describe, but
it is exactly how I am feeling about our present. Although of course I
might use different/stronger language to describe the reality than 'slow
and ugly'. (stupid and stressful? irritating and heartbreaking? you get
the point!)<br />
<br />
Regardless, we are moving on from the
fires and the debris flows/floods. Moving on from the bummer summer.
Moving into fall, keeping our fingers crossed for light gentle fall
rains, for a snowpack that doesn't melt all at once, for spring regrowth
that quickly starts holding the soil together. Looking forward to snow
and the peace and calm and quiet that falling snow lends to our landscape.<br />
<br />
We
haven't decided what to do with the gardens yet. The lower garden got
scraped off, but I couldn't bear to put the energy into it to rake, hang
fences back up, and seed a fall cover crop. I just didn't want to sink
myself back into it not knowing what even the rest of the fall would
look like. Not knowing if we would decide to start a garden elsewhere
(but where?) next spring, or wait a year to see if the majority of the
debris/dirt/rocks were down from that chute. The side garden we will
likely keep going next summer. It is big enough that apart from the soil
being much poorer than what the lower garden had, and the weed bank
being MUCH larger, we should be able to plant everything we want in it.<br />
<br />
It
is funny, initially when we started the side garden, I imagined letting
the lower garden go back to grass, to pasture, so maybe this will end
up happening after all. After all, the side garden is much easier to
defend from future debris flows, compared to the lower garden, where
defending means putting up a berm to keep the debris flow material on
our neighbors property, where the flow originated from. They aren't the
friendliest of neighbors even now, and I imagine that could send them
over the edge into certifiably crazy.<br />
<br />
And if we do
pigs (currently dependent upon the irrigation for our little valley
being repaired which isn't looking all that good) next summer they will
be on the east side of the property, about where we had the pig the
first year. They are just too smelly to have in the garden, beside the
play structure. Besides, we have plans down the road to have a little
patio type area in the garden, which definitely means no smelly pigs
along side! We'll just have to haul the manure across every fall I
expect, which is quite worth it to have the smell and the flies on the
downwind side (most of the year) of the house.<br />
<br />
Anyway, that is our little update here!Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-28404357020509273352014-08-26T12:40:00.001-07:002014-08-26T12:40:01.535-07:00When it rains it poursSo Thursday evening last week I was supposed to go to book club about 20 minutes away, but part way there I had several signs that it might not be the smartest move, so I turned around and came home. Little did I know that the danger wasn't where I was headed, it was to my home. Not even an hour later we had self evacuated with no notice (aka grab kids, the baby's carseat, the dogs, get out into the truck, worry about seatbelts and installed carseats down the road while the driveway is still somewhat passable while fearing for the house's future) due to extremely heavy rains bringing debris flows down off the hillside to our north.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3yYOc2t3kpvWLul2ePjyFdLSlvQkQYHCciaTEx4ktRusMWcrKZFJ20wm0Qu3u7lNA-82PVVvhAy8nEZAE_yQXfoRqtwIqbWFQkLAXmOjSF_k33xiCdi0sX4xsDWOX3E63mFE0WRCDNMG/s1600/IMG_2351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3yYOc2t3kpvWLul2ePjyFdLSlvQkQYHCciaTEx4ktRusMWcrKZFJ20wm0Qu3u7lNA-82PVVvhAy8nEZAE_yQXfoRqtwIqbWFQkLAXmOjSF_k33xiCdi0sX4xsDWOX3E63mFE0WRCDNMG/s1600/IMG_2351.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As the flood waters moved across the alfalfa field next door.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One flow came down headed for our garage, and split, coming down our driveway, across the chicken yard, through the side garden, and down on through the pig area. The other part of that flow veered to the other side of the garage, and went down the field there to join with the stuff coming out the bottom and side of the pig area. Another flow came down just on the other side of our property, and curved in and took out our lower garden. Then the creek and some irrigation lakes let loose and the bottom and middle fields flooded, and were covered with silt and mud.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEba_SEjPTiRn1EyqVhI3GSZRHVawxYdOslVFeoJILn3uRtAdsKxEt25W-_sgs-J6hXy9Q-S-o8lhmqCyzkeA6zC9Jv3WON6vDfQpSn0ynnOdjtlm39wX8ISbVEjjbg7eNCG8ufa4Jek9v/s1600/IMG_2361.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEba_SEjPTiRn1EyqVhI3GSZRHVawxYdOslVFeoJILn3uRtAdsKxEt25W-_sgs-J6hXy9Q-S-o8lhmqCyzkeA6zC9Jv3WON6vDfQpSn0ynnOdjtlm39wX8ISbVEjjbg7eNCG8ufa4Jek9v/s1600/IMG_2361.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blurry photo of the entire alfalfa field covered in flood waters, as darkness fell on the landscape and the heavy rain finally started to let up a bit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
When we left for the first time that evening, we didn't get far. Another much larger flow had eroded the road, and was mohawking water, mud, rocks, and other debris. We call the drainage up above it big valley for a reason, but we've never seen it flow at all, let alone that much. Later on, after returning to our luckily still standing and not impacted house, we were evacuated again by the county, as they were concerned about not knowing whether all of the irrigation dams had blown, or what was in store for the rest of the night. We went to a coworkers cabin and spent a restless night, returning in the morning to find all animals accounted for, although pens and gardens were all rather the worse for wear.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3l7WTXxXgLQ4Q-5gOXY5kafNSU6QRwzQlGS9oyse328SpZxnlzTeb-ZIxsaHAf1m5LK4F6onE8k13yYT73Es8VnNeZVazCqtVe4yLqNTc1zmCHTIVe4_9jH8uoObZxNxXZTpu-yMsa2SV/s1600/IMG_2364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3l7WTXxXgLQ4Q-5gOXY5kafNSU6QRwzQlGS9oyse328SpZxnlzTeb-ZIxsaHAf1m5LK4F6onE8k13yYT73Es8VnNeZVazCqtVe4yLqNTc1zmCHTIVe4_9jH8uoObZxNxXZTpu-yMsa2SV/s1600/IMG_2364.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Debris flows on the left of this picture met at the bottom of the garden with the flood waters, which swept across the entire lower and part of the middle field, bending fence posts clear to the ground if they weren't swept away entirely.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We've mostly dug the salvageable produce out of the gardens, but clearing the 1.5-2 foot deep sand/silt/debris off the top may have to wait until we know more about whether/how often these flows will happen in the next few years before the burned areas revegetate.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5TRW8ElN1qRuiT6KHoKrlggn7kdYyP7W87zbrPcGutOr3J-fffj3WQkrAqBJLzjoWHdlVYKawn4jd3W9U1gf1ufR5WL9fYFyT5GhD4Nyrfc9e9Sby_UfnettO3bgrrALR2FszVIB3_e5/s1600/IMG_2365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS5TRW8ElN1qRuiT6KHoKrlggn7kdYyP7W87zbrPcGutOr3J-fffj3WQkrAqBJLzjoWHdlVYKawn4jd3W9U1gf1ufR5WL9fYFyT5GhD4Nyrfc9e9Sby_UfnettO3bgrrALR2FszVIB3_e5/s1600/IMG_2365.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">flows swept through the chicken runs, underneath the chicken coop, through the garden, pig pen, and then down to meet with the flood waters.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We are hoping that this rainstorm, which produced the heaviest sustained rain (about 2 hours of steady very very heavy rain, perhaps the heaviest we have seen here), and which got stuck for several hours on top of us/the drainages that feed down to us, was an anomaly, but we aren't sure how optimistic to be at this point.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtmu4HsW4MC86pAe6iV6w4wKtEFs_vGclakVuyqDFBM6hUiyRlAZNvrRZoj1C2ureYEpDgsKmrOw44Xhqh41nUFMEvIW0hrdzWjDx5ynFyAqa_Cj-sg_R8i1492EJmwdLcnl2DxZH-oTC/s1600/IMG_2382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtmu4HsW4MC86pAe6iV6w4wKtEFs_vGclakVuyqDFBM6hUiyRlAZNvrRZoj1C2ureYEpDgsKmrOw44Xhqh41nUFMEvIW0hrdzWjDx5ynFyAqa_Cj-sg_R8i1492EJmwdLcnl2DxZH-oTC/s1600/IMG_2382.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lower garden was covered in about 18 inches plus of debris and sand, totalling squash, zucchini, lettuce, and making harvest of onions, leeks, carrots, and potatoes extremely challenging. Not to mention knocking down and covering the garden fencing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-7983720557550245952014-08-20T13:53:00.000-07:002014-08-20T13:53:45.951-07:00A Grocery Envelope UpdateSo it seems like it was <a href="http://farmingmama.blogspot.com/2012/09/buying-groceries-with-cash.html" target="_blank">almost two years ago</a> when I last updated on where we were at with our grocery budget. A lot has happened since then, after all we added a new member to our family (Baby E, who likely should be upgraded to Little E as she has been walking for about 4 months now, and is really a baby no longer!), and the kids both have gotten older & bigger. So we've increased our food needs, but we have tried to keep with the same approximate monthly budgeted grocery amount (well, I've upped it about twenty bucks).<br />
<br />
So I thought it might be helpful to share what has happened in the last two years that has worked, some of which I figured out from what didn't work as well. Leading the list of what has worked is using just cash. At the beginning of the month, or the last week of the last month, I go and take out our grocery budget in twenties, and put it in an envelope. At first I was just using an envelope from the bank, or a recycled one from the mail, but at some point I saved up for and purchased a zippered fabric envelope (from <a href="http://www.shopgussy.com/category/zipped-pouches" target="_blank">here</a> back before she started her new shop and mostly closed down Gussy Sews). The grocery money being in a real zippered pouch is great, there is room for a pen, sticky notes, old receipts, and best of all, it looks fabulous AND doesn't need replacing every couple months to avoid loosing small change!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GYbqzyhaA4kq2FYlW_X9ZaqNNceI4AN0Br-mq7wtj0d159Sk1fA9pUb8taz1k3jiNzUcWbQIXV5y1dgWzQ4JgO0EeRXMcPn85M9jCiJJtPzwmw3vQRnHnrRvmo83foHHRdeWgfKDxNnF/s1600/IMG_2321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GYbqzyhaA4kq2FYlW_X9ZaqNNceI4AN0Br-mq7wtj0d159Sk1fA9pUb8taz1k3jiNzUcWbQIXV5y1dgWzQ4JgO0EeRXMcPn85M9jCiJJtPzwmw3vQRnHnrRvmo83foHHRdeWgfKDxNnF/s1600/IMG_2321.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
Once money got even tighter (ie once we were trying to stretch our purchasing power to feed bigger mouths, and once food costs really started inching up noticeably here in the last 6-8 months), what worked even better was to divide the monthly money up into weekly amounts. Before I started doing this, I was starting to get to the end of the month, and be on pretty basic rations, or not be able to get more milk for a few days until the next month, or I would end up starting the next month's money a day or two before the end of the current month just so we had enough. This way, it is much much easier for me to ensure that I'm not buying (and eating!) higher end meals in the start of the month and running out before the end of the month.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLd7NR6MeU_RBO7ZwwlLvyN24qGy3n98ACMaL_4ypzW_P6BAShkGj7vNB8CcvOiOwVAHofQg6xzwZQw41cd_CL7iC4OIHXVvNM4YPedirsumyVkh_4QZUby7y1jWwdL4kt4XInsB6m8Fd/s1600/IMG_2318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLd7NR6MeU_RBO7ZwwlLvyN24qGy3n98ACMaL_4ypzW_P6BAShkGj7vNB8CcvOiOwVAHofQg6xzwZQw41cd_CL7iC4OIHXVvNM4YPedirsumyVkh_4QZUby7y1jWwdL4kt4XInsB6m8Fd/s1600/IMG_2318.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
After a few months of doing that, I realized an additional trick that helped even more, to have a twenty set aside just in case (if we ran out of money one week, if we all of a sudden needed a bunch of more expensive bulk things all at once, etc). And the hope with that twenty, was that that hopefully wasn't used in a given month, and so was thus moved into a 'pantry' type envelope the following month, available for purchasing staple-type items that we use often when they are at deep sale prices. My goal with this was to gradually build up a sort of pantry at home, purchased at the lowest price I've seen items, that each week I could 'purchase' from at that low low price, thus replenishing the 'pantry' envelope, and thus money from that week's allocated funds to be gradually put towards more elaborate menus, or heck, just more food as the kids' appetites grow!<br />
<br />
My thinking overall was that eventually we would get to a place where our limited funds in the grocery category wouldn't be so limiting, so we could eat pricier meals, or so we could reduce our grocery budget and put that money into another category instead.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGG64r96O1PhydRdehIGkMkXc0XpR9MNS2YM-t0A5069GYHjvUYqWr7TtswN5xhaP13-RyaBs1Qjtod8uDubDg6iaGH8LaZRGPOHMamYqpnqhwo_kbd5FI1d1h3p8ZkGQkbAZf3Q_AgP3/s1600/IMG_2325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGG64r96O1PhydRdehIGkMkXc0XpR9MNS2YM-t0A5069GYHjvUYqWr7TtswN5xhaP13-RyaBs1Qjtod8uDubDg6iaGH8LaZRGPOHMamYqpnqhwo_kbd5FI1d1h3p8ZkGQkbAZf3Q_AgP3/s1600/IMG_2325.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
It was all working fairly well although I was still struggling with the pantry twenty some months, both in terms of saving it, and in terms of keeping those pantry items separate and 'paying' for the at home back into the pantry envelope - it was a bit trickier than I was anticipating, and thus not all that user-friendly. But then the fire happened, and most of what was in the fridge had to be tossed at the end of the 8 days without electricity, with only intermittent generator power that was especially non-existent at the beginning. Luckily the freezer contents (we have a stand alone upright freezer next to the fridge that keeps a lot of produce and lots of meat) fared a bit better, although some less dense stuff had to be fed to the pigs as it lost its consistency/got freezer burned although as far as we could tell it all stayed cold enough to be safe to eat.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3gsazVU61VQdh138WdwYwtSWgWfPG62r_Z5h_Igx13e4nPLTRI3vdrYVXZxyuZThYTmhBDa7eSU2rq9XooOH-5ul8rOFjFmE_629kb4Y72I59Ld8ZAzxKpRAMn3xq9WOvDC4hpUZU7sZ/s1600/IMG_2319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3gsazVU61VQdh138WdwYwtSWgWfPG62r_Z5h_Igx13e4nPLTRI3vdrYVXZxyuZThYTmhBDa7eSU2rq9XooOH-5ul8rOFjFmE_629kb4Y72I59Ld8ZAzxKpRAMn3xq9WOvDC4hpUZU7sZ/s1600/IMG_2319.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
So obviously during our evacuation we used more grocery money than we had allocated for the month, and I was able to flex things around to give us the grace to do that, but even after our return, this month, I've found that we are struggling to stay within the budget, as there are a bunch of fridge items that needed replacing, on top of the usual stuff, and then there were a bunch of things like chicken stock, half cans of beans, etc, that were frozen in the little freezer on top of the fridge, and I just tossed those outright, so I'm finding that a lot of things that I would typically grab a small amount from the freezer, instead of making or buying a whole bunch, just aren't an option right now.<br />
<br />
So now I'm having to decide do we drop down to cheaper meals (more beans & rice type things, and less meat) for a bit, or do I up the grocery budget for a few months until we get things replaced. Sigh. Decisions decisions!Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-67370965125213172212014-08-12T10:49:00.000-07:002014-08-12T10:49:11.965-07:00Getting back to 'Normal'2 weeks after the fire almost took our house out, a new fire, started by a spark from the rim of a flat trailer tire, took out 10 more homes a little ways further north of us, growing to slightly over 500 acres in just a few hours. These people, some of them friends and acquaintances, had mere minutes to get out, and were not in any way in harms way even a half hour before.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2j5rvOIDs9VttPbTNFD4KOCgceOtyZbAyGjDSDpYR-uUQ48or2FzGlqi2JBBENfj000ItQX7HMnmKECDdlXssdXtk5jsajNMav5IxZApYOOO2K3KwEvCEKBetLVZBzkpHCU5o0XRRTvy/s1600/IMG_3954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2j5rvOIDs9VttPbTNFD4KOCgceOtyZbAyGjDSDpYR-uUQ48or2FzGlqi2JBBENfj000ItQX7HMnmKECDdlXssdXtk5jsajNMav5IxZApYOOO2K3KwEvCEKBetLVZBzkpHCU5o0XRRTvy/s1600/IMG_3954.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
During the two days after, a crazy series of thunderstorm cells moved through and sparked another bunch of wildfires, thankfully most of which were quickly contained, but two of which are still burning and providing a second influx of crazy smokey air to our little valley.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThPBkGnTXy2DY-BFA_ifsHauQPhp6A3f0frq51wrZmaXlQ_GQ93QoivZNShhKuVshk4sjxZRkl2KFLO8SDKX0_AxwwNwUCprcFS3hwmlM8KCgUjIL0rb_bRjCORmpRTbxBfcjROrShJH4/s1600/IMG_3968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThPBkGnTXy2DY-BFA_ifsHauQPhp6A3f0frq51wrZmaXlQ_GQ93QoivZNShhKuVshk4sjxZRkl2KFLO8SDKX0_AxwwNwUCprcFS3hwmlM8KCgUjIL0rb_bRjCORmpRTbxBfcjROrShJH4/s1600/IMG_3968.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Up our little side valley, the storm that moved through didn't start any new fires, after all, there really is not much left to burn, but it whipped the air around like crazy, causing grey-out conditions at our house several times over the course of the afternoon, with all of the ash, dust, and dirt that the wildfires left behind blown up and around.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1quwG1kBPrCGasFePJzpPXEsATAaeh6ixTWgMsGrH1ZS_k7M_rTvnTh-RV8LAYOHZDesOfsbE5OfvHrNwxz8A4SOYEvkNUzPpUT_PjxX_il1hvVW86LB5O2IX4de3zF9-jOJS8V5QR61B/s1600/IMG_3969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1quwG1kBPrCGasFePJzpPXEsATAaeh6ixTWgMsGrH1ZS_k7M_rTvnTh-RV8LAYOHZDesOfsbE5OfvHrNwxz8A4SOYEvkNUzPpUT_PjxX_il1hvVW86LB5O2IX4de3zF9-jOJS8V5QR61B/s1600/IMG_3969.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Today, of course there is still a tree stump visibly smoldering on the hill above our house, and a second series of thundercells are supposed to be moving over the next few days. We are all pretty exhausted of dealing with the constant extra vigilance that is required, the smoke, and the stress.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhOyEMqzMCPgG6Ke6Xx23oZC_KfOeg39ao1T194pDztI-sfaFO1tGEBO82_bfyPn9dbkwe7hMvxeKyGMgDBJfFjBR2A7bUZUsmuAPnOSk7s6VG0qrh13qCHxyVc5KUrClQICNVmhH4voh/s1600/IMG_4044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhOyEMqzMCPgG6Ke6Xx23oZC_KfOeg39ao1T194pDztI-sfaFO1tGEBO82_bfyPn9dbkwe7hMvxeKyGMgDBJfFjBR2A7bUZUsmuAPnOSk7s6VG0qrh13qCHxyVc5KUrClQICNVmhH4voh/s1600/IMG_4044.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm ready to be past the phase of looking at pictures and remembering what the background looked like before, ready to be done the firsts - first full moon rising through the blackened burnt dead trees on the far hill slope, etc, and move on into the new still natural, will be green again someday soon, normal. After all, fire is a natural part of the habitat we live in.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfYBQL9Zy1r8kYIYNmO6bExUTa2SAyBHvf31Z1zo8g3NMab6VV9zD0Y73xull0FSgaY7xWby13YsLDcBVu23VkBKT1mC9yqr4cq0fCqO-On8UlrFU_OeSq53UuyzTGvblXeFbkNnkuNlC8/s1600/IMG_4041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfYBQL9Zy1r8kYIYNmO6bExUTa2SAyBHvf31Z1zo8g3NMab6VV9zD0Y73xull0FSgaY7xWby13YsLDcBVu23VkBKT1mC9yqr4cq0fCqO-On8UlrFU_OeSq53UuyzTGvblXeFbkNnkuNlC8/s1600/IMG_4041.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
And on the up side, there have been many beautiful sunset shots, and the gardens are doing really well with all of the heat we have been getting (I can't remember a day where the high temp wasn't in the 90's or over 100).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGBTrViSfmmkKa2aLkNWkbGDtlJaiNNnIKXeTWNGqIGh2V3z8y8MXaTsNLlVMLLAEzQU2aMN_9cZr1XX4dnWUoZMSqmyLFKs_UvXpk6_8AHTuht-fYKn9_QI5upKePYJMQNfatLuR5lHh/s1600/IMG_3983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPGBTrViSfmmkKa2aLkNWkbGDtlJaiNNnIKXeTWNGqIGh2V3z8y8MXaTsNLlVMLLAEzQU2aMN_9cZr1XX4dnWUoZMSqmyLFKs_UvXpk6_8AHTuht-fYKn9_QI5upKePYJMQNfatLuR5lHh/s1600/IMG_3983.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><br />
The house is slowly getting put back into a relatively tidy place after our evacuation, and the up top neighbors, who lost their (second home) house to the fire, have had sightings of their two lost horses in the last couple days, indicating that both survived the fire (previous to that we suspected only one had, and hadn't seen him in over 2 weeks). So, life is moving onwards, and things will recover, slowly, with time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSotzkp-Q6TKHdBWfv0ckaQvTdnosH9o0Puk1PBnny9O5OlxjFApYbBjE4OB40TBXXOqdX6yrN1Z7XocFdv9PeB5SKeaCUYiAd9PK__Bx_Z83NQEnbzZ1R3Dz88U1n7gtnk2PSC4TFs9Y/s1600/IMG_4027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSotzkp-Q6TKHdBWfv0ckaQvTdnosH9o0Puk1PBnny9O5OlxjFApYbBjE4OB40TBXXOqdX6yrN1Z7XocFdv9PeB5SKeaCUYiAd9PK__Bx_Z83NQEnbzZ1R3Dz88U1n7gtnk2PSC4TFs9Y/s1600/IMG_4027.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
However we are all pretty much ready for winter to come, for snow to fly and put out the fires once and for all, for clear cold nights, and for the return of the bright bluebird sky days that this area is usually known for. Ready for time to fade the stress, to blur the old memories of green forests full of trees, and to allow us to be fond once more of this newly changed landscape we live in.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkj-DEt6uP9NlemVqtfVNf018uXP6v-WawiEwh5fiK5lavouRC0aSQ-FRKS3plPc0fisWyhe-U0nhPNPg7t70njUV9iw1HGaAWH79QOaF2i-caB_dAIQhXO2dCgTrOGp4Wesk-sblsKdW_/s1600/IMG_4020_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkj-DEt6uP9NlemVqtfVNf018uXP6v-WawiEwh5fiK5lavouRC0aSQ-FRKS3plPc0fisWyhe-U0nhPNPg7t70njUV9iw1HGaAWH79QOaF2i-caB_dAIQhXO2dCgTrOGp4Wesk-sblsKdW_/s1600/IMG_4020_2.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-10376404901019058372014-07-29T10:36:00.001-07:002014-07-29T10:36:56.290-07:00Before, During, and AfterSo I likely haven't mentioned exactly where I live on the blog before. But the story I'm going to share today lets that little secret out of the bag, so here it is. I live in Okanogan County, in Washington State.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKbcHZVHzQw0axZUVM3Lhs7vhptoD33bG8PzjGamRLLIXKXkvC_CDlazPVb9bieUkH3VD3kNBW0dPftjG8Dz4UZbTx5ZmjVZrQaYafIvA5DF13Ett_cpyG3iKlwff9Qv4Q3zKY5sawXBo/s1600/IMG_3566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJKbcHZVHzQw0axZUVM3Lhs7vhptoD33bG8PzjGamRLLIXKXkvC_CDlazPVb9bieUkH3VD3kNBW0dPftjG8Dz4UZbTx5ZmjVZrQaYafIvA5DF13Ett_cpyG3iKlwff9Qv4Q3zKY5sawXBo/s1600/IMG_3566.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
On the east side of the Methow Valley, towards the south.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqKlA1rjhhQrEki_LXqgl2tnzOaYUzyLe4nZ4RVL7qjDGI8Wfk9QjqyWM6qwMTxuQnukcNQzhIUmDBJCH1IP0RfwG4Gvm00ulsDxW1h2qQOt8l8820hDUa-LtsIX4qKsJERDCGeiLqf2L/s1600/IMG_1674.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqKlA1rjhhQrEki_LXqgl2tnzOaYUzyLe4nZ4RVL7qjDGI8Wfk9QjqyWM6qwMTxuQnukcNQzhIUmDBJCH1IP0RfwG4Gvm00ulsDxW1h2qQOt8l8820hDUa-LtsIX4qKsJERDCGeiLqf2L/s1600/IMG_1674.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The east side that has been devastated by the so-called Carlton Complex wildfire.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVox0rJGwsb3iSVff53DhvjZ4c7iv1fgcpl9yzozXY8G1gxvjCxh6KxOj2yUl0jTCYVoOsqwrxlB98tvaAaKvo3vlHUKPdWYvFwRf6TghqG36nkXK7u73i3HvnBgZFLeAuQlyMRysRRVlr/s1600/IMG_1696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVox0rJGwsb3iSVff53DhvjZ4c7iv1fgcpl9yzozXY8G1gxvjCxh6KxOj2yUl0jTCYVoOsqwrxlB98tvaAaKvo3vlHUKPdWYvFwRf6TghqG36nkXK7u73i3HvnBgZFLeAuQlyMRysRRVlr/s1600/IMG_1696.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
Last official acreage I saw had approximately 250,000 acres burned. I can't even fathom that many acres. Except I can. It is almost the entire forest I know between here and my husband's work, between here and the larger town we stock up in once a month or so. Much of the forest is black. Moonscape. Charred beyond recognition. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVog_aeO8UmM2IgxZ3BGzrw1p1jzgckiXlvkCyM2LRwZzTEn_mAczzMZKEunRbh2Uf6wzfkk86AvN10Y9F7O6X3I0xtoizhpX3vaPY1sqw_jCp1Gq64q1d-9jCu6yQQJyprnuXRqsT4T51/s1600/torchingtreeatourhouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVog_aeO8UmM2IgxZ3BGzrw1p1jzgckiXlvkCyM2LRwZzTEn_mAczzMZKEunRbh2Uf6wzfkk86AvN10Y9F7O6X3I0xtoizhpX3vaPY1sqw_jCp1Gq64q1d-9jCu6yQQJyprnuXRqsT4T51/s1600/torchingtreeatourhouse.jpg" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Approximately 300 structures burned, I'm not sure if that is inclusive of barns and outbuildings or not, as in the last couple days as deputies were finally able to get around and drive the roads to check on houses, and that number doubled from 150 to 300 overnight as they realized the extent of the damages.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJXncBoe_enMHTkFBiQqsEfbwumapBhIRFw6CK1M-NNfvVMtAqrU6zxKgNNhSLuzD0xHLHbOOoW3MG0f41r3-KADBppVyv3Dx0C2iY8iAHAd3sQi5C12kfimW2LBqwo3Mwcg2QU7g5aYD/s1600/IMG_3863.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJXncBoe_enMHTkFBiQqsEfbwumapBhIRFw6CK1M-NNfvVMtAqrU6zxKgNNhSLuzD0xHLHbOOoW3MG0f41r3-KADBppVyv3Dx0C2iY8iAHAd3sQi5C12kfimW2LBqwo3Mwcg2QU7g5aYD/s1600/IMG_3863.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Luckily, three times lucky to be exact, our house survived. The gardens, apart from pig-caused damage due to loss of electricity for over a week, survived also. The chickens and pigs are doing well too. But the rest, the riparian along our little creek, the forested north-facing hillslope, the sage-brush dominated south-facing hillslope, charred beyond recognition in most places. The pines just north of our house by the pullout, torched (and responsible for the second attempt on the house).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbCi1cKcwltyxutQq35lT1kmO03OfLw9KY-K2iA0dhVLB5RGD1DzaVkQPSAoUOt729LjvnfyS9kI5wjxjIGKf8QGZFbGNm0nnECRtRjvFjDtZxDrRkLxzPX44uf5seDyEl7n8713UdpjV/s1600/IMG_3910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcbCi1cKcwltyxutQq35lT1kmO03OfLw9KY-K2iA0dhVLB5RGD1DzaVkQPSAoUOt729LjvnfyS9kI5wjxjIGKf8QGZFbGNm0nnECRtRjvFjDtZxDrRkLxzPX44uf5seDyEl7n8713UdpjV/s1600/IMG_3910.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
At least three of our neighbors, one being a part-timer, have lost their homes. Two in the initial roll through as the Cougar Flats fire steamrolled south aided by high winds and extremely hot & dry conditions, and ended up on top of us, prompting a very short notice level three (get out right now) evacuation with no other notice than the smoke plume getting closer and closer behind the hills to our north. The other may have been due to a poorly set back burn, which also almost took our place out. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1OJt6AWbhHa_Ux7FcQXbdwP1slcrcyvKBPkrQtVBjAhp2SfT-vHjneR0r88qe90oWmnj21Fq9FpSdHCSExgTxCagQyQCr5NoonSfn5Eza8Uffj5J_P8UNjhfzVTrgBRf6GIEky2LZQfx/s1600/IMG_3865.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1OJt6AWbhHa_Ux7FcQXbdwP1slcrcyvKBPkrQtVBjAhp2SfT-vHjneR0r88qe90oWmnj21Fq9FpSdHCSExgTxCagQyQCr5NoonSfn5Eza8Uffj5J_P8UNjhfzVTrgBRf6GIEky2LZQfx/s1600/IMG_3865.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
We were so very lucky in that my husband was able on Friday to go to the house and see if it was still standing from the huge fire that forced evacuations Thursday late afternoon, and his presence is honestly the only reason why the house is still standing. He witnessed the secondary fire come down the hill slope just to our north. Torch the large pines. He left, as the fire spotted across the road, melted our old white fence, approached the house, and as he was thinking it was all over, that it was just too dangerous and hot, and with only him, luckily at that point a neighbor and two locals out sightseeing drove by, and together the four of them went back and saved it, running buckets of water from our (luckily gravity fed thus still functioning without electricity) irrigation water, and the neighbor (who lost his house later that day, although he is a part-timer so it wasn't his primary residence) offered the use of his mini excavator to run lines around the house to stop any more fire from slowly burning grasses up to the house.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiME_VVrOBun7abPYvn7pszS9bA-CkJAujeDJdea_fsCWdjVZtJk2MRN3QXdJrtZxkuCgVjK9i9OkRosNGePHWMIRrTwUohE5w1qpIIg-vFTXZwn3NZLOQ9sK8w-MPYr_n70z7KJ5rty7jF/s1600/IMG_3913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiME_VVrOBun7abPYvn7pszS9bA-CkJAujeDJdea_fsCWdjVZtJk2MRN3QXdJrtZxkuCgVjK9i9OkRosNGePHWMIRrTwUohE5w1qpIIg-vFTXZwn3NZLOQ9sK8w-MPYr_n70z7KJ5rty7jF/s1600/IMG_3913.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Then the same friend who helped us load a second vehicle of our possessions in the moments before we had to evacuate on the day before, came down and helped my husband finish up, get the animals into safer locations, complete the lines around the house and fields. And then the fire picked back up, spotted way across the alfalfa field to the south hillside, and they had to leave quickly as it got too dangerous yet again. My husband drove to me and the girls thinking that it was done, that the house was sure to burn.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigOpMpnceR6YutM2LYa-FpG_XRgBA39zORua5PsO0R9ZoRg7SAKYATodvUVc9v6GTCaUvSXpvV1khpRzt1uVZFfE8KQ3OVHTnTooAy8cBeJ5wXY5YWz6q_wq6KJp6hXjxls3Z9GaLBONT1/s1600/IMG_3919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigOpMpnceR6YutM2LYa-FpG_XRgBA39zORua5PsO0R9ZoRg7SAKYATodvUVc9v6GTCaUvSXpvV1khpRzt1uVZFfE8KQ3OVHTnTooAy8cBeJ5wXY5YWz6q_wq6KJp6hXjxls3Z9GaLBONT1/s1600/IMG_3919.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
But it pulled through, all their work paid off. The house was still standing Saturday morning. We were so lucky to have those neighbors, friends, to help us. We stayed with those friends for 2 days after we were evacuated, before I couldn't handle the constant stress of fires all around us, constant huge mushroom clouds of smoke southwards in the direction of our house and my husband's work, and the constant noise of the airplanes and helicopters flying overhead as they were fighting the fire. I then left with the girls and dogs to the other side of the mountains to stay with my sister-in-law and her family live. We stayed there a week, and returned on the weekend, to see the house for the first time in 9 sleeps. To see my husband in the first time in 7 days.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNN4k5UJb7XrXBgt8ju1TGFj_2OCWsxx9bTO_y3sSXqcglYjcsQmPSqLGdUNQ5UF7AICA5MyYIuf540rLD7sTZfcbfLY9EwOys1bco6UFMTgB6IH8zcPMKEI3lE9j6jN0NtoIfHpzyCcY/s1600/IMG_3921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNN4k5UJb7XrXBgt8ju1TGFj_2OCWsxx9bTO_y3sSXqcglYjcsQmPSqLGdUNQ5UF7AICA5MyYIuf540rLD7sTZfcbfLY9EwOys1bco6UFMTgB6IH8zcPMKEI3lE9j6jN0NtoIfHpzyCcY/s1600/IMG_3921.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />
We are fine. Shaken, mourning, overwhelmed at times, but overall we are grateful to be alive, to have our house, to be ok. The community is rallying, moving from disaster, crisis, on into recovery, repair. We are so thankful for our friends, our neighbors, our family, the firefighters and first responders, and so heartbroken for those who lost their homes, their possessions, their livestock to this fire.Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-10422686384964844012014-07-06T13:17:00.000-07:002014-07-06T13:17:28.089-07:00Family Canoe Number OneWe went for an afternoon in the canoe the other week. It was the girls first time in a canoe I think, definitely Baby E's, not as certain about Little M, she's been in a sit-on-top kayak, but I am not certain of whether she has been in a canoe or not. Anyway, we went up to our favorite local fishing spot, which is a small lake nestled up high in the woods.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25HSS-0_sJs4knuGG8Nt-vGQ9KuUOMs4KAV33Vzc4CkLpLnG2GiQRLSFNI6VaN0vCSVjZ0vWDSERq0OzbX7b2pckv1NgOqdVnORYyVPrcrtiD0Kk1yc9EzcRzlewLeTEWxoaB-NHS8EGV/s1600/IMG_3443.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25HSS-0_sJs4knuGG8Nt-vGQ9KuUOMs4KAV33Vzc4CkLpLnG2GiQRLSFNI6VaN0vCSVjZ0vWDSERq0OzbX7b2pckv1NgOqdVnORYyVPrcrtiD0Kk1yc9EzcRzlewLeTEWxoaB-NHS8EGV/s1600/IMG_3443.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
The canoe did great, the mister and Little M caught two smallish fish (the lake is stocked), and the baby did alright for the most part, with a break in the middle for me to go for a bit of a hike up the nearby forest service road while she napped on my back.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbft4OLVQtiLBwvY9BmNVnhLD-IV4hPPeb01sjQLDqbNrOnyZyLZRCnvC8QyY4Kowy626bKane1nJuoHVamjgq58lHp9C01XExkvHsCwviaVk5K9Pm_6g7boKXzEY_rDhbr9xHCWA45Efm/s1600/IMG_3458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbft4OLVQtiLBwvY9BmNVnhLD-IV4hPPeb01sjQLDqbNrOnyZyLZRCnvC8QyY4Kowy626bKane1nJuoHVamjgq58lHp9C01XExkvHsCwviaVk5K9Pm_6g7boKXzEY_rDhbr9xHCWA45Efm/s1600/IMG_3458.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
Overall, I would say our first outing was a success. Things to do better at next time mostly just includes timing it earlier in the day so the littlest one isn't desperate for a nap! Also, the mister has to my knowledge never paddled a canoe for any distance before, and since I've got to be up front with Baby E, he needs to be steering in the back. Let me just say that his J stroke was non existent... So we need to remedy that at some point...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4o3_1alikihAvI0lARuLhn7KbQKQiueUox42sDH0mn9_epXq3nD5Vlh6Q-Fm_ZF4daDIQhdii319mcTvB_WawEdC-k7cvcjfWh8M6FxBUHVbimDOd4mDQLKZqkVJcamNJfMRQ9Q0J_p_8/s1600/IMG_3467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4o3_1alikihAvI0lARuLhn7KbQKQiueUox42sDH0mn9_epXq3nD5Vlh6Q-Fm_ZF4daDIQhdii319mcTvB_WawEdC-k7cvcjfWh8M6FxBUHVbimDOd4mDQLKZqkVJcamNJfMRQ9Q0J_p_8/s1600/IMG_3467.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
I'm hopeful that we will be able to get out at least one more time for a day trip in the canoe, maybe a day that will include more paddling than fishing and floating around, and I'm even overly optimistic that maybe we will be able to get out overnight... Of course, overnight would require some gear that we don't quite have all together yet, but again, I'm overly optimistic that we might be able to patch somethings together and make it work... we shall see :)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9BQrdD3mVcIdQFus25NOZcq6_1WgkD0RNvR6Pk0Tx02ClEmp1A7MoMESjJAcCzE2sSKjzeJFbuP0-l8JwndXmP1RAfb-zzKpH6Yn_XeJQkG6zbZoLqb63LjuRa8neNpFAR3T3GkPItWr/s1600/IMG_3471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI9BQrdD3mVcIdQFus25NOZcq6_1WgkD0RNvR6Pk0Tx02ClEmp1A7MoMESjJAcCzE2sSKjzeJFbuP0-l8JwndXmP1RAfb-zzKpH6Yn_XeJQkG6zbZoLqb63LjuRa8neNpFAR3T3GkPItWr/s1600/IMG_3471.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
I spent a lot of time on the water in my teen years, and I'm quite comfortable paddling for extended trips in the backcountry, in kayaks or canoes, and so I'm not worried about that aspect of things at all. It's more getting the gear together, and figuring out sleeping arrangements so that we can manage the youngest during the night...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqXYNUoQhNbmr1x9-vRTzWAvF51aAn2A7337ULGv_LDyHyaiAtqPHn0TK8Ge2N8UYbvo548E7Q-uR8htY5whhX45YlN269fanJjQyIGNlRlWwzAe5XtQeiBQ0cG5dHX39z8Q3JYzSjvov/s1600/IMG_3484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqXYNUoQhNbmr1x9-vRTzWAvF51aAn2A7337ULGv_LDyHyaiAtqPHn0TK8Ge2N8UYbvo548E7Q-uR8htY5whhX45YlN269fanJjQyIGNlRlWwzAe5XtQeiBQ0cG5dHX39z8Q3JYzSjvov/s1600/IMG_3484.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-30111931058925293702014-07-03T11:48:00.000-07:002014-07-03T11:48:18.226-07:00Irrigating the side gardenWhen I started actually planning the side garden layout over a year ago, one of the things I thought about was how were we going to keep it watered. You see, the old garden, or as I've been calling it, the lower garden, is right beside the main 3" irrigation pipe going down to the middle and lower fields from our turnout. That makes it simple to run a hose off of the irrigation line and set up 2 sprinklers, one on each end of the garden. We don't have them on a timer, but every morning, or every other morning, I make sure to toggle the valve on the hose off the irrigation line to turn the irrigation water on to my garden for about an hour give or take.<br />
<br />
I've wanted a more user friendly and automated set up, but the irrigation water is rather sediment-filled. In fact, chunks of various sized crayfish are common (and sometimes whole, live crayfish - the other day I had to flush 4 live ones out of the grass irrigation riser in sequence!)... The hose and simple sprinklers we have in the garden currently don't get clogged up often, but a timer with a screen on it would definitely need more unclogging maintenance, likely making the time savings actually nonexistent! What we really need is a screen/filtration system, but that would likely then necessitate a pump, so at the moment we aren't quite going there yet.<br />
<br />
The side garden, though, is located much closer to the house, and further up the slope from the irrigation pipe, so in terms of water pressure off the irrigation system, we would likely have trouble getting even the low pressure sprinklers in the lower garden to work up there. So that means watering off the house well water. I don't have a problem with that, after all, we keep the small patch of grass near the house and orchard watered using well water. But it seemed like I could be more water efficient in the garden by using drip irrigation or some sort of smaller sprinklers directly on plants, and thus avoid watering the paths, thus saving all that water (and avoiding all that weed growth!).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3b2oE9jU0mgmNNpv70tmundhvIXa5mGpkV4bNOgYDsLxmxFE1g31cQEMNv72uYmp9I5x8pptbi73aRwp0R-AV4owZF3QsDwL_NJkuDbkw0FI2V7JxtJg3X9x4CO5LBzym9SKgtLAAHxp/s1600/IMG_1122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3b2oE9jU0mgmNNpv70tmundhvIXa5mGpkV4bNOgYDsLxmxFE1g31cQEMNv72uYmp9I5x8pptbi73aRwp0R-AV4owZF3QsDwL_NJkuDbkw0FI2V7JxtJg3X9x4CO5LBzym9SKgtLAAHxp/s1600/IMG_1122.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
Initially in the lower garden I had planned on using drip irrigation, but without a filtration system on our irrigation water, that just wouldn't work. I realized this after several summers ago we put drip irrigation off the irrigation pipe on the orchard, and not even a year later the drip line was so clogged up that it was basically useless. It makes sense, the drip tubes are 1/4, plus all the little drip holes are even smaller, so even fine sediment would build up and clog them, even without the chunks of crayfish!<br />
<br />
The benefit of having tried the drip irrigation in the orchard is that I had a bunch of semi-functional parts on hand last spring when we were setting up the side garden irrigation. I used much of what we had on hand up while assembling a workable system to irrigate the (then smaller) side garden. Of course, I had to go bit by bit using house water and basically flush all the drip irrigation tubes out, but it worked alright for the raspberries, 2 rows of strawberries, and peas, plus a loop around the rhubarb and in the herb circles.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiI2DMeQdw7GBzV1VEYkaJDQ8_eix5fZapt-xLb8TnrEZMNuCpGuMOH5ODWSEK-kBf29PjLrPr5gAUovMT3krXaeBdECI7Bwa1YTQVOi31Kz1oVlGgGljfLn_Nklj_kuopscVbqNmoPla/s1600/IMG_0857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFiI2DMeQdw7GBzV1VEYkaJDQ8_eix5fZapt-xLb8TnrEZMNuCpGuMOH5ODWSEK-kBf29PjLrPr5gAUovMT3krXaeBdECI7Bwa1YTQVOi31Kz1oVlGgGljfLn_Nklj_kuopscVbqNmoPla/s1600/IMG_0857.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
This spring I purchased additional drip lines, and some drip emitters, as with the doubled area, I was needing more areas irrigated. It was working alright, although the drip lines for the herb area was the dregs of the old orchard stuff, and was piecemealed together and most was not functioning at all, let alone enough to keep the area wet enough to really fill in. But it was working enough to keep the plants in there alive, and there were a couple extra spots to fill in marigolds and some other flowers and herbs.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPb_msijkCBEQkHvyDSP7LQMiSQaQRCJJjMAA0R-4hRgslBTiuaWfGgc2hLYqIo1NNnlqbc0q6f0CXOiuYF1AxUPZ_QrUJm6tgmcEWBw9ZSxLFYaFTOIyy2WCPjqy-o6viEvT_MEgG_qJ0/s1600/IMG_0996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPb_msijkCBEQkHvyDSP7LQMiSQaQRCJJjMAA0R-4hRgslBTiuaWfGgc2hLYqIo1NNnlqbc0q6f0CXOiuYF1AxUPZ_QrUJm6tgmcEWBw9ZSxLFYaFTOIyy2WCPjqy-o6viEvT_MEgG_qJ0/s1600/IMG_0996.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
But then the bottom row of tomatoes started getting pretty wilty, and I realized that we needed two runs, to operate at different times, so that there wasn't so many drips off of one hose. At the moment I've ordered another timer, with several outlets, so that I can have the main single timer on the house, and then split it down by the chicken coop and have several different systems going in sequence every morning. This way I hope to be able to add microsprinklers to the herb area, and have the tomatoes get enough water. I expect the irrigation system in the side garden will take me several years still to nail down the right components and such for each sort of plant/pot, especially as the garden expands over time to completely fill the fenced area, moving the pigs to another area yet to be determined, but I think we are on the right track now!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAyBRW5O5AGfY0I7C5yubxyANRboWGXP8EpgsGXzmCYthPO2dJJQaIEtXVRzvinjbfQu3ohGCSFpxdgHJ0EZEYnv6MW3OYopB2qvI3BJR4pN5zJ_1eHHEud6XFnBkdyFYZAo36-0Hvqk0/s1600/IMG_1193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAyBRW5O5AGfY0I7C5yubxyANRboWGXP8EpgsGXzmCYthPO2dJJQaIEtXVRzvinjbfQu3ohGCSFpxdgHJ0EZEYnv6MW3OYopB2qvI3BJR4pN5zJ_1eHHEud6XFnBkdyFYZAo36-0Hvqk0/s1600/IMG_1193.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-44303315950684247202014-05-23T08:50:00.000-07:002014-05-23T08:50:11.070-07:00FencingWhen we bought our place, we knew we would need some sort of fenced area for the dogs, so they could be outside with us more, and outside unsupervised more. Over the almost 5 years we have been here (and how it has been that long I have NO idea!!), we got used to the lay of the land, and moved things around (like the chicken coop), and established new garden spaces, and slowly we worked out where the fence would go, and what it would contain. We decided that it made sense to have that fenced area for the yard, for the kids too, so that there would be a 'safe' area where the kids could play, with the dogs out with them. We decided that having the existing orchard separate made sense, and having the new side garden and chicken area, as well as the lower garden, adjoining the yard also made sense.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO76ad9MJFR-6kOq1_5OnakBJliY13WgO7rBXS-xyd0m9ClZP0JVs_wtoByviGupDYC6GyfHP1sfAunyWKcHzGkMrZM8ZPyXWuHYe8XtNUtHUHoLhq6ToZkwjL7TOzyMwXWnWhocQBF-1q/s1600/IMG_2844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO76ad9MJFR-6kOq1_5OnakBJliY13WgO7rBXS-xyd0m9ClZP0JVs_wtoByviGupDYC6GyfHP1sfAunyWKcHzGkMrZM8ZPyXWuHYe8XtNUtHUHoLhq6ToZkwjL7TOzyMwXWnWhocQBF-1q/s1600/IMG_2844.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I can't speak enough of the benefit of letting the space work as it is for a while, and making updates and changes slowly, once you see how you use the place, and what the strengths and weaknesses of the different areas of land are. As a result, we're pretty happy with where the fence is going in, where the gates are, how the overall area works within the larger landscape of our property, and how our play, garden, and living spaces work within the fence.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gp2WDV2D-JT5N8ecfItYB_WlT-a9HWf9EySSzW5as3PT9eTsomoJm-BaqmXcVGVskH1atGSqneef8JKoIAdYhwgnLN8vTvsZe0NxHYQRXEYaScoKLduM4I6ICTiRRCKq_N9-TWssD-5a/s1600/IMG_2651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gp2WDV2D-JT5N8ecfItYB_WlT-a9HWf9EySSzW5as3PT9eTsomoJm-BaqmXcVGVskH1atGSqneef8JKoIAdYhwgnLN8vTvsZe0NxHYQRXEYaScoKLduM4I6ICTiRRCKq_N9-TWssD-5a/s1600/IMG_2651.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Building the fence has definitely been a learning experience for us, one we have taken slowly, and one that has shaped us in more ways than we likely realize. We started the fence 2 years ago (!), redid the posts last spring, and finally are at the last stage in the final side. Much of the fencing material was free, either fencing and posts existing on our property in other areas, or as trees cut into poles, mostly from our property. Early on, I bought a great book - Fences for pasture & garden, by Gail Damerow, which really helped as we imagined and installed the fence. The details were especially great for figuring out things like H-brace tensioning, which I had never done before.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZn7GzIHgaeHS4RtD6VRNJZnl5C3I3-fZOCFfAR2TAQvQVykRTL9-1Mjb4jCEbLFAiQA5MkO779bEY4jVNEeWPqQgzCmiIH7L4uzV_8-0Lsc22AocHDFWQ2hOC9SbSJN5Tl7Jqd-jBBSAJ/s1600/IMG_2647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZn7GzIHgaeHS4RtD6VRNJZnl5C3I3-fZOCFfAR2TAQvQVykRTL9-1Mjb4jCEbLFAiQA5MkO779bEY4jVNEeWPqQgzCmiIH7L4uzV_8-0Lsc22AocHDFWQ2hOC9SbSJN5Tl7Jqd-jBBSAJ/s1600/IMG_2647.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Just as we have learned from installing the fence, so to has my husband learned from building the gates. His first gates were flimsy things with short lifespans, but these latest gates have been things of beauty, with the strength necessary to last.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrxII1cQwytGvUIHIq_sVaHBHB50xJl3JmgBijdpGoQezWBoX7RrXtfC-hYV_1LctRLa4iH5mftLRTRt3qCY5xmbEHfplDlfGFeHeeRMmnaispmLyANh9MaiGtANycht9gg_PdwVVFN_pb/s1600/IMG_2659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrxII1cQwytGvUIHIq_sVaHBHB50xJl3JmgBijdpGoQezWBoX7RrXtfC-hYV_1LctRLa4iH5mftLRTRt3qCY5xmbEHfplDlfGFeHeeRMmnaispmLyANh9MaiGtANycht9gg_PdwVVFN_pb/s1600/IMG_2659.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Although at times we get frustrated with the number of things still on our dream list for this property, and at the slow progress we seem to be making, when we sit back and look at the pictures of when we moved in, and compare those pictures to how the place is now, we are somewhat awed of what all we have accomplished, even if it isn't near done, or quite under control yet! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitY1GQtvJjRXgRcBzgfPB5eJqlM74Y5KvRYV9JVlHu2caReC3oDT5ZN_MkxzC4ocXfR_sj0b2eFdjckrHsZFgbuiQiHPj7aWwOjW3TNX7u-Gzvw01hsGyab1Y549YCvub2tGxnISYQOnet/s1600/IMG_2905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitY1GQtvJjRXgRcBzgfPB5eJqlM74Y5KvRYV9JVlHu2caReC3oDT5ZN_MkxzC4ocXfR_sj0b2eFdjckrHsZFgbuiQiHPj7aWwOjW3TNX7u-Gzvw01hsGyab1Y549YCvub2tGxnISYQOnet/s1600/IMG_2905.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-49606154406676903222014-05-22T13:10:00.001-07:002014-05-22T13:10:37.408-07:00Photo annoyanceSince the story of my life right now seems to be that in order to do what I want/need to do, I first have to slog through any number of other tasks to get clearance to do the thing that I am wanting to do, of course I've been trying to post for several weeks now, but have been low on space on my computer to download pictures to accompany a post.<br />
<br />
Of course, clearing more space on my hard drive means moving old pictures across to the external photo drive & associated back up flash drives, but that means I needed to fix some broken links, and I had been putting off doing any moving of pictures until I weeded down the number I had. These are photos from when Little M was born, and I had been at first insistent that I would first, before moving them, work up some photo books to have printed. Of course, she was born over 4 years ago, and no photo books have yet manifested, so likely I need to accept that I will have time for that sort of activity later in life, but not right now, and move on (ie get the darn things off my hard drive).<br />
<br />
Of course, doing so resulted in iphoto loosing the links to the photos I was trying to download, which meant yet more time spent wading through photo files, moving them around, and re-importing them. Talk about a pain in the rear! I've had several of this sort of problem with iphoto, but since in reality it is due to my overloaded hard drive being just too full, I guess I can't really blame iphoto. I'm not sure I will ever really get used to being so far behind on things, but the reality of having small kids is having limited time, and limited money, which for me has definitely meant being behind on any number of things, thankfully none are really critical, which is likely why I get behind!<br />
<br />
Perhaps later this week once I have the photo files sorted back out, I will post an update on our spring - May is my absolute favorite month here, so I've got lots of fun photos to share, and lots of associated adventures.Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-29162927204426817672014-04-24T14:05:00.000-07:002014-04-24T14:05:00.266-07:00These days I'm...Saying goodbye to my beloved Irish Water Spaniel, Tia, my constant companion for over 9 years. She had what turned out to be a <a href="http://farmingmama.blogspot.com/2013/11/exhaling-into-november.html" target="_blank">cancerous mass removed from her leg last fall</a>, that unfortunately came back in her lungs with a vengeance in the new year, and we let her go a couple weeks ago as it was clearly her time. We went on a nice hike with her the weekend before, and it is nice to have that memory of her in the woods with me right up to the end, just like old times.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiH6BJq8XuE-AVRhC0j7xkFOblSNeG8FPy0bULHi5ysMYWJYARJwA5dNRcVWKVEVWPd9Z_gDYGfKhma3JPQRqVzetSYTChvV-3WajImZCAep-_GCymMEtpDGSRVMpK3TfvRa7yLeQb8s1/s1600/IMG_0962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiH6BJq8XuE-AVRhC0j7xkFOblSNeG8FPy0bULHi5ysMYWJYARJwA5dNRcVWKVEVWPd9Z_gDYGfKhma3JPQRqVzetSYTChvV-3WajImZCAep-_GCymMEtpDGSRVMpK3TfvRa7yLeQb8s1/s1600/IMG_0962.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Feeling in awe of this large garden space to work with, and constantly admiring the new additions that keep making it more and more a creative space for us to grow in: yarn for the birds to use for their nests, garden spaces for Little M to grow plants in, haybale compost piles, and the fun continues.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4BpkIREBSjaEoMzWI8RZg2Gi0aETA9xTPrxlGnBLwE1f46LOUTCK4-2Miui3hPJcR7uS7TmtyF0RbVw1YQ410Ccr2Zwo8qzvJio1mTFRKVCnb7o3RScggifIkwVgkiayDQiXhXYJA29F/s1600/IMG_1959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF4BpkIREBSjaEoMzWI8RZg2Gi0aETA9xTPrxlGnBLwE1f46LOUTCK4-2Miui3hPJcR7uS7TmtyF0RbVw1YQ410Ccr2Zwo8qzvJio1mTFRKVCnb7o3RScggifIkwVgkiayDQiXhXYJA29F/s1600/IMG_1959.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Going on a backpacking trip for the first time with the four of us, just up the hill, and loving tent time at dusk with this crazy-hair girl.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUVQ2zTrUjUBAaOQeiLJVaortw_Ra-2Jpdc_8Qq_dXIg6XJk22KK7tkObwkA-tAS3wSmVc9mlpisAq8KWg9zBF9ENzL9u9wBOedF3VfNe3JHyZq2vcFtBw-ibW7DJqIs8NTkiHngXIA0O/s1600/IMG_0481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZUVQ2zTrUjUBAaOQeiLJVaortw_Ra-2Jpdc_8Qq_dXIg6XJk22KK7tkObwkA-tAS3wSmVc9mlpisAq8KWg9zBF9ENzL9u9wBOedF3VfNe3JHyZq2vcFtBw-ibW7DJqIs8NTkiHngXIA0O/s1600/IMG_0481.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
Also loving this little cutey on my back on the way up. Not so much loving the midnight hike back down as we realized three in my little tent is too many, and realizing in order to make it through the night, let alone on a multi day adventure like we've been hoping for this summer, we would need a slightly different approach to gear.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGDjxc7FSdpJ3SgAdQlki98FPQRS-KHc_khvuXXLIr3HKu2XAsSNKkDhPbgf0g0oSjUCwBtU7PTLqIYZmpw1MMYc6LYpOC4Wdsk0_knspsgsy3wALtxCr6QOQV0M4o-yS2wBjbbdMg96j/s1600/IMG_0474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGDjxc7FSdpJ3SgAdQlki98FPQRS-KHc_khvuXXLIr3HKu2XAsSNKkDhPbgf0g0oSjUCwBtU7PTLqIYZmpw1MMYc6LYpOC4Wdsk0_knspsgsy3wALtxCr6QOQV0M4o-yS2wBjbbdMg96j/s1600/IMG_0474.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
Feeling proud of these little cactus that I've started from seed intermittently over the past 8 years.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZj4J7DlzJIUfPKS1Trhypggd3c5mv4wcklMbHrglIybxGottU9KtQPph5VRTDlNX7CohtILc9jfOTdQ_5IwQkf4y7ZjVI1G-gyojUac5B7rE_z699svovZLpvnfZmexqe7QetUz3uK6F/s1600/IMG_1968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzZj4J7DlzJIUfPKS1Trhypggd3c5mv4wcklMbHrglIybxGottU9KtQPph5VRTDlNX7CohtILc9jfOTdQ_5IwQkf4y7ZjVI1G-gyojUac5B7rE_z699svovZLpvnfZmexqe7QetUz3uK6F/s1600/IMG_1968.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Watching fresh life appear on herbs I had worried were dead in our early very cold spell last winter before we had any snow covering.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvFdOWPBYj6HvFjgJNx8eqV7TW62xDGs1G0ghyphenhyphen9wZdipFpIrP_18jKRPxsvpTOiD48iD9ikwpBr8Vuxpt-gwTiHYgLt6Ok5RpyvGYLMW0aR9lv_6elh9VEDhT9WGigmc6LoJIhkMVa04p/s1600/IMG_1956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvFdOWPBYj6HvFjgJNx8eqV7TW62xDGs1G0ghyphenhyphen9wZdipFpIrP_18jKRPxsvpTOiD48iD9ikwpBr8Vuxpt-gwTiHYgLt6Ok5RpyvGYLMW0aR9lv_6elh9VEDhT9WGigmc6LoJIhkMVa04p/s1600/IMG_1956.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Watching the moon set over the mountains as the early morning sunlight starts to fill our world.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbbjF1rNDhORk0vHjIF7O6cHJ_C6B_LijxVYm0GKzeGNGbJm97GpXUxqnFw4KnNMd45Yv-bHNv45j3SApmpYxD8-gdH5Y1mW5k7c-l9y7RanlGIonpzhFVXXX8FJ3do61gXVGLKLvA8hi/s1600/IMG_1878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbbjF1rNDhORk0vHjIF7O6cHJ_C6B_LijxVYm0GKzeGNGbJm97GpXUxqnFw4KnNMd45Yv-bHNv45j3SApmpYxD8-gdH5Y1mW5k7c-l9y7RanlGIonpzhFVXXX8FJ3do61gXVGLKLvA8hi/s1600/IMG_1878.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Starting SO MANY seeds with this little monkey!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLayvMlpXYo2JIZAe1ep_XUJnjFTf_g0YW4h_WWPfZ1YjDSxETbhen8RhUmKjQNxl8U-xOUfdz6jKvg2r1hIYkirW27mG1fj4hNYDHiIAP4tffPJqeMGHCLXOC8rsJ01vCE_bcz5OzvaK/s1600/IMG_0275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLayvMlpXYo2JIZAe1ep_XUJnjFTf_g0YW4h_WWPfZ1YjDSxETbhen8RhUmKjQNxl8U-xOUfdz6jKvg2r1hIYkirW27mG1fj4hNYDHiIAP4tffPJqeMGHCLXOC8rsJ01vCE_bcz5OzvaK/s1600/IMG_0275.JPG" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-26837646777486159492014-04-23T10:08:00.001-07:002014-04-23T10:08:07.506-07:00Getting outside!We've been spending so much time outside lately, especially now that the mister is back on dayshift, and I'd love to blame my lack of posting on that, but actually I had several posts prepared last month that just never made it to publish! Not quite sure what happened there! Of course they are now sadly out of date, so here's the update instead of those old almost-posts :)<br />
<br />
Little M is a self proclaimed 'big help' now, at 4, and with Baby E quite content to be watching the proceedings from my back in the Ergo, we've got 2-3 sets of fairly capable hands quite consistently working around the property, so we've made some real progress. This is the most productive time of year for us around the property, so him being on the same shift as me right now has been meaning we've been motoring through tasks like no tomorrow!<br />
<br />
I've been keeping the mister busy already moving the pig structure further to the south, taking fencing down and reinstalling it elsewhere, putting in more posts and getting the garden and chicken/orchard area completely fenced, and starting on the dog/yard fence. It's exciting seeing our plans for this land come together!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjth3dg3GJnxdclQ6qQM4nmzW7eVi77uCjyZL5dpKkt1w5fSyuHfTqRzMRW5zdTaiNVlWleNHUBwMAzlSOAVSgyGck5YLzNxAHAAyXdieTFAP0OD0yYzpBn-2maGi6Ycnp48015TRfKbPCr/s1600/IMG_2019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjth3dg3GJnxdclQ6qQM4nmzW7eVi77uCjyZL5dpKkt1w5fSyuHfTqRzMRW5zdTaiNVlWleNHUBwMAzlSOAVSgyGck5YLzNxAHAAyXdieTFAP0OD0yYzpBn-2maGi6Ycnp48015TRfKbPCr/s1600/IMG_2019.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a>You can see the garden and pig area on the left side of this picture below, taken on a hike up the hill beside the house. The chicken coop and behind is the chicken/orchard area, and in front of the coop is the fenced side garden area. The pigs will be in the lower half of that this year, doubling the area in there to be gardened this year, which will be a challenge I'm sure.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcmNvj-BaXl0hyhWBd-5mb6uVz_k-9O4RUCOn1UqAapVLc-fK9xpP4oeUsWSy_YZ80st_hHqfStQyVN_zV_7JuSyxISKns0ZrDNXc98dWFhyphenhypheni-kDvmLVFxPNFDrFwdf-VYRz6qx5I8iQF/s1600/IMG_0487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJcmNvj-BaXl0hyhWBd-5mb6uVz_k-9O4RUCOn1UqAapVLc-fK9xpP4oeUsWSy_YZ80st_hHqfStQyVN_zV_7JuSyxISKns0ZrDNXc98dWFhyphenhypheni-kDvmLVFxPNFDrFwdf-VYRz6qx5I8iQF/s1600/IMG_0487.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
We've gotten most of the fence posts in for the yard fence, although we still need to finish our H-braces complete with tension wiring, and then dig the trench for the fencing to be buried in along the posts. It will be nice to have a secure area for the dogs, to keep them a little more under control. The griff's like to tear off to the creek, or after deer, or just generally off on walkabout every now and then, which has made me limit their outside time more that I would like. The fence means that when we are out gardening, or playing in the yard, they can come along with and get their energy out! Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-79837688451284807712014-03-18T10:52:00.000-07:002014-03-18T11:15:49.189-07:00Decluttering & SimplifyingWe've been decluttering or simplifying for quite a while now, realistically I've been purging extra belongings since I first started packing for my move out west 8 years ago for grad school, and I've done major purges several times since, once when I moved into my truck for a season or two nearing the end of grad school, and once as I moved down into the States to be with the mister.<br />
<br />
I don't think I would call what we've been up to lately a major purge, but it has been a rather intentional stuff reduction to make room for more daily life, with less time spent daily on organizing/sorting/cleaning/tidying. I definitely started small with this several years back, and slowly have been building up steam. Its hard getting rid of stuff, especially stuff that has memories attached - oh, so and so gave me that, or oh, I got that at such and such, but for me the evidence is definitely behind having less stuff and being more content (and less stressed by the amount of tidying one has to do!).<br />
<br />
Lately I've gotten a great little helper - Little M has gotten big enough, and old enough, to be a great help, so she's been helping, and we are moving through different areas of our home, decluttering as we go, organizing, tidying, and making sure that we limit the amount of stuff we have, only keep things that are useful and/or beautiful, and attempt to have only one of things when duplicates aren't necessary.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKiZOyd5werzdHi41l-oZrA0bShrQGEe1O_s6uOxgGzb8VssbY9Xc35edRJw5XHKMPffPlz1-b0B4U2Vo-3Zv-6GkcsdqCfn1j-30SBSgog72qItraqXlXSco3LOs8Vzo8o1ANz_lVt6j/s1600/IMG_1702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZKiZOyd5werzdHi41l-oZrA0bShrQGEe1O_s6uOxgGzb8VssbY9Xc35edRJw5XHKMPffPlz1-b0B4U2Vo-3Zv-6GkcsdqCfn1j-30SBSgog72qItraqXlXSco3LOs8Vzo8o1ANz_lVt6j/s1600/IMG_1702.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">some furniture (not my rowing machine though!) on it's way out the front door, with associated kid-decorations</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One of the problems I've been noticing as we try to pare down certain areas, is that since a lot of our stuff is second hand, we often have two or three somewhat useful items, when we could get away with one if only it had all the right characteristics. For example, we had 4 oven mitts, but one was hard to use but a great thickness, two were nicely fitted but had random thin patches that often resulted in hot hands, and one was rather stained, singed, and a bit too large. We got rid of one, and likely could get rid of one of the thin ones, although I hate getting rid of half a set, so for the moment here they be. I could list any number of other things/types of things that we have that have the same problem, a couple not-quite perfect items where one would do.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNCGPWqWjL_NW9ZmlXUz7DiOQsoCdQWsTKe-cErZ3_C2pXAcQATGnrWHK_mfyeoPRpXvKPiunXasI3HMao6Ay0aTM9icvv_1xnBgO-CFcNsOPKzxklEobAXIvoWt0R8ZIbqTtT1oB5CDt/s1600/IMG_1673.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNCGPWqWjL_NW9ZmlXUz7DiOQsoCdQWsTKe-cErZ3_C2pXAcQATGnrWHK_mfyeoPRpXvKPiunXasI3HMao6Ay0aTM9icvv_1xnBgO-CFcNsOPKzxklEobAXIvoWt0R8ZIbqTtT1oB5CDt/s1600/IMG_1673.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kid clothes on their way to be donated</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is a problem I've found with second hand/gifted things, they often aren't the perfect ideal item for your current use. However, since thrifting saves so much money, and since reusing things instead of buying new is important to me, I'm not sure of the best solution for that problem. Another reason you end up with a multitude of not-quite perfect items is if you have stuff that you've had for a while, but your use of them has changed over time. I'm trying to be intentional and make do, but there are certain areas (my wardrobe for example), where I'm winnowing things down, to see what is really needed, and what might need to be replaced with something more suitable.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbcmmGyY1vUU2SG2xQEBrLwTh3Mi98VUUovZPHW066qS-_yJvHIwnB9zS6lWq7zZQI4mLo-T9v5EUAOwa6Q_1GVle_6-WKHGFAZjEoYwSQQOiLXa0SpR9fImcUTbRQ0e1EyVMYPxry4iG/s1600/IMG_1677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbcmmGyY1vUU2SG2xQEBrLwTh3Mi98VUUovZPHW066qS-_yJvHIwnB9zS6lWq7zZQI4mLo-T9v5EUAOwa6Q_1GVle_6-WKHGFAZjEoYwSQQOiLXa0SpR9fImcUTbRQ0e1EyVMYPxry4iG/s1600/IMG_1677.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">freshly decluttered bins of outgrown kid clothes waiting for Baby E to fit them</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In terms of how much stuff we've gotten rid of, well pretty much every time my mother in law (an avid ebay seller!) comes to visit, we send her home with several bags and boxes of things to be sold, or donated if she doesn't feel they would sell or be worth selling. In addition, Little M and I took a large load of kid clothes in to a local women & child support group type organization, where they have a room in the back filled with donated kids clothes for people to pick through as needed. We had gone through our stash of Little M's outgrown clothes as I had realized we had over a dozen long sleeve t-shirts in one size, so clearly I was keeping too many items between kids!<br />
<br />
As you can see from the above photos, there is still a long way to go to get a much simpler, streamlined house with less clutter, and less possessions, but we are on a roll at the moment, and motivated to get there! Ahhh... less stuff just feels so good!Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-18530167395505656682014-03-06T11:16:00.005-08:002014-03-06T11:18:35.885-08:00UpgradingWe resisted 'upgrading' to smart phones for years, but finally did this past month, and boy, do I regret not doing so earlier! The reason being - we were holding off because of the added cost of a data plan. Well, I'm not sure if this has just recently changed due to the big companies finally realizing they needed to compete with the smaller companies running off their towers, or what, but we are paying LESS now, for 2 smartphones than we were before for 2 dumbphones!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Part of the reason is our own fault. We were out of contract with our old dumpphones for several years, but hadn't realized that there was a 15 dollar a month per line discount if you bring your own phones, which phones out of contract are. So we should have been paying 30 bucks a month less before already. So there was that savings, and the rest of the cost savings must be due to better rates now than in the past.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wFlTsFHJ5jYmoEwQF9EuOG2ZMJ0thaVWQk9yw2cb89pFHKi2VECW3MlM8UuzLY-feJasq4tI41akMPyzzVQ1xsL-jbbh57SH-CYeDUTbNcc4NrM8KUA_2L-1kcHZ4Mne_xVfV5jPXp6T/s1600/IMG_0033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4wFlTsFHJ5jYmoEwQF9EuOG2ZMJ0thaVWQk9yw2cb89pFHKi2VECW3MlM8UuzLY-feJasq4tI41akMPyzzVQ1xsL-jbbh57SH-CYeDUTbNcc4NrM8KUA_2L-1kcHZ4Mne_xVfV5jPXp6T/s1600/IMG_0033.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
<br />
We bought one old used iphone with some of my saved birthday/christmas money (thanks mom & dad!). I had been saving that money for a new laptop, but mine still is doing
ok, so that got moved down the priority list for the time being, as the
reason we had to upgrade, or do something, now with our phones was that
my husband's finally died (at 4 years it was not a surprise, and had
been coming for almost a year with a slowly dying screen). We'll use the monthly savings in our new phone bill for the next few months to save up for another used iphone, and then we will both have smart phones!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFACjiNjr7c0wbvSdtOSMC6sECdSFOeEZuzATjkUVUu2y_afDBMhezrUnDyIewCssiBsAAp-BIQe0k60k7x0pI-x9Cx6H0nctBUSEciyM0fOyzh3WjvoDwinAwHAYDX6z7Ico84JFn7tz/s1600/IMG_0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFACjiNjr7c0wbvSdtOSMC6sECdSFOeEZuzATjkUVUu2y_afDBMhezrUnDyIewCssiBsAAp-BIQe0k60k7x0pI-x9Cx6H0nctBUSEciyM0fOyzh3WjvoDwinAwHAYDX6z7Ico84JFn7tz/s1600/IMG_0025.JPG" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
We had both been wanting smartphones for a while now, and so while it was a good exercise to delay that want, since it truly wasn't a need, once we needed a new phone, and realized we could actually save money with a smartphone plan now, it was a no-brainer. Not to mention the added savings and convenience we will realize by having the convenience of a iphone: GPS/map capabilities when driving in the city, imessage & facetime to better stay in touch with my Canadian friends and family, to do and grocery list apps to reduce paper lists & forgetting of said paper!, and easy photos without lugging the DSLR around everywhere - even in the house!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3Kt_X9G0LSBuqRTA4SvUwFgdOUE-70zYCeD8DuAUA5pXjnlto236zXm7fwqCZzhUnsdlEM_DEKNZF2a7Q278FAPqH7ATt-Npm9AU9Zd-b1ygpW8UUASMdEe0Q6bWPlpwgBmchTjs1RnG/s1600/IMG_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3Kt_X9G0LSBuqRTA4SvUwFgdOUE-70zYCeD8DuAUA5pXjnlto236zXm7fwqCZzhUnsdlEM_DEKNZF2a7Q278FAPqH7ATt-Npm9AU9Zd-b1ygpW8UUASMdEe0Q6bWPlpwgBmchTjs1RnG/s1600/IMG_0023.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
I've already been making my daily to do lists on my phone, and have started trying to find the perfect grocery list and grocery price book app, and the simplicity of snapping quick pics of the girls on the go has been just great (and stitching them together to create photo collages is SO easy on my phone!).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDsq3bOyyDTqvrrQtuZHvmYCX_cjZMEokSuAcNvPfCg2RwwMGbs7zC8fXVOgvB4uPDuMBUxSVAxh6oMCRWEM4WQGiNFfBAyP3jl94mkhC3h6eBCjdMszRcoBM3h30WA4ztS8zqxzsyAuS/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDsq3bOyyDTqvrrQtuZHvmYCX_cjZMEokSuAcNvPfCg2RwwMGbs7zC8fXVOgvB4uPDuMBUxSVAxh6oMCRWEM4WQGiNFfBAyP3jl94mkhC3h6eBCjdMszRcoBM3h30WA4ztS8zqxzsyAuS/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a>Having an extra 20 or so bucks in our pocket each month, even with setting aside money for future phones, and with having iphones, is a pretty great feeling!! Of course, there are associated costs - protective case (I have a bad habit of carrying too much stuff and thus dropping semi-important things like my phone - never the baby, but often the phone!), old-school handset (for Little M to talk more easily on it to the grandparents), and now I'm realizing that although I specifically got an old iphone 4 as nothing newer would be compatible with my old mac laptop running leopard (still!), due to it being upgraded to ios 7, it actually won't sync with my itunes. Not really a problem unless I wanted to sync my icalendar or itunes, as it still will sync photos,, but I had been excited to transfer some podcasts across from my itunes. It will be simple (I think) to set them up to be downloaded directly to my phone, but a bit of an inconvenience that I wasn't expecting. Ah the joys of having old things, right?!<br />
<br />
--the photos in this post are from the last few days with my new phone. yay for moments captured that otherwise wouldn't be, as I'd been finding that with 2 kids, I rarely had time/hands free for the real camera, and I do so love having photos!Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-27517781773977050382014-02-15T08:06:00.000-08:002014-02-15T08:06:07.529-08:00LostSo I don't know if there is some mysterious house elf in my home, or if I am losing my memory, but at the moment there are several things missing from my kitchen that I have no clue what happened to them! So frustrating if they are misplaced somewhere around the house, and so upsetting if they are actually lost for good!<br />
<br />
The least significant is the special glass 3M pads that I use for scrubbing off the wood stove glass doors. Regular scrubber pads would scratch the glass, but these special softer ones are designed for glass. Can't scrub the baked on grit off my wood stove doors without them! I have no clue when they went missing, it has been longer than I like to admit since I scrubbed the glass on the stove, but when I went to put my rubber gloves on, the scrubbers weren't sitting on top like they used to be, nor were they fallen down behind. Hmmm...<br />
<br />
Then more of a daily inconvenience is that one of the two one teaspoon measures that I have in the kitchen has been missing for months now. And of course it is my favorite all metal one from the set that my sister in law gave me for christmas one year, that goes in the dishwasher as there is no plastic on the handle like my other set. I've searched all through Little M's play kitchen things, but it is nowhere to be found. I've been thinking perhaps it is under the oven, and so cleaning under there is on my to do list, but clearly it has been on my to do list since around the New Year, so its not a huge priority to get that cleaned. If I knew the teaspoon measure was under there however, you can be sure I would be pulling the damn oven out immediately. Arg.<br />
<br />
Anyway, anyone else have a house elf? Sigh... Or a faulty memory?Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-20627512180174416632014-02-07T14:00:00.004-08:002014-02-07T14:00:46.075-08:00Upswing-ingThe past just over a year has been a bit of a rough one. Part of it has been how we've been looking at things (I mean come on, right? we brought a brand new healthy baby home, how could it not be an amazing year?). But there have been a lot of expensive things that have happened, some with good (and really great) outcomes, but still they have been draining, both emotionally, and financially. It was a year where we often felt like we couldn't catch a break, couldn't get ahead. Starting 2014 we felt like we would be getting out of it. You know, 2013 was that year, 2014 would be better. But January had barely begun and I felt <a href="http://farmingmama.blogspot.com/2013/11/exhaling-into-november.html" target="_blank">Tia's lump</a> returning. We started looking at prices, length of recovery, and quality of life. Hard things to weigh with a level head when you are talking about the best (dog) friend you have moved across the continent with, who has been by your side for over nine years. The year had barely begun and here we were right back into the heavy stuff.<br />
<br />
We have a couple people in our lives who are pretty negative, glass half empty kind of folk. In truth, they are glass three quarters empty when in truth it is likely only a quarter empty. We do our best to dampen, and outright avoid, their negativity, as it really doesn't sit well with us. But we were feeling like we were turning into that sort of people. So we started trying to look on the bright side. Instead of choosing between two crappy options (amputate or euthanize), we looked at it the opposite - two good options - one where a beloved, 11 year old dog would get to live out a few more months until due to cancer impeding her walking ability she would have to be put down, and the other where a beloved, 11 year old dog would be able to get a third (or would this be fourth?) chance at life as a pampered-to-the-best-of-our-current-abilities three legged dog.<br />
<br />
Then the vet said she wasn't sure it was actually the mass coming back, that it might just be scar tissue, and that she would look at it again in two weeks and see if it had changed.<br />
<br />
Then one of the two remaining manuscripts from my masters thesis work was accepted pending revisions.<br />
<br />
Then the waldorf-inspired daycare that we absolutely love told us that they were going to be expanding in the next few months, and that they might have some extra spots, which would solve my 1.5 day a week dilemma at our other daycare, where it takes me 45 minutes to drive to Baby E to nurse her bottle-refusing self, which severely limits my work hours, and really eats into our time at home those days, and generally has been causing me a lot of turmoil over not being able to find the current balance between earning enough money to get the necessary bills paid and being at home with my family enough to keep everyone healthy and happy and all the chores kept up with.<br />
<br />
And all of a sudden, on the Friday of a long week, I'm feeling all joyful and happy. Hopeful. The upswing has happened. The worm has turned. I'm sure there will still be trials and tribulations to come. There always are. But there are now enough good and positive things under our belt, that the good will hopefully keep outweighing the bad for another good long while, and we will be able to look at it all with a positive light once again. Happy day. So on this Friday, I hope you all are able to look upon your lives with that positive outlook that makes for a bright tomorrow! Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-45412057873046281642014-02-05T18:37:00.001-08:002014-02-05T18:38:42.869-08:00Under the weatherWe've been battling a cold or flu for the past almost 2 weeks, with me being the last one to get sick, and the last one to (just today) start feeling better. Little M was spared the worst of it, having a cough just before the rest of us got sick, and a cough and stuffy nose just now, but avoiding the high fevers that brought the rest of us to our knees. Now that we are recovering and getting back to our normal work, play, home routines, I'm feeling that sigh of relief that comes when life gets so much more manageable again!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFHYz2w7c8Yz6R2PohMjJ2JA3sAp5mWMf0gF_6LtlmuIA3QrKHLU_VUiixMM312E3tVvdzIr0TicHZ2M-J75HB0dCTDT03UQqMXKgHtyPc-TojAtS4A0RaV0q_1SMrBw9Z8TeWMbqBEai/s1600/IMG_1034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoFHYz2w7c8Yz6R2PohMjJ2JA3sAp5mWMf0gF_6LtlmuIA3QrKHLU_VUiixMM312E3tVvdzIr0TicHZ2M-J75HB0dCTDT03UQqMXKgHtyPc-TojAtS4A0RaV0q_1SMrBw9Z8TeWMbqBEai/s1600/IMG_1034.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
One morning early on while we were sick, I had a burst of energy one morning (trust me, I regretted acting on it later in the day!) and swapped some furniture out in our living space, moving the carpet play area closer to the wood stove so we would have a cozier place to play. Within the hour us three girls were contentedly playing with 'legos' (really duplos, but don't tell Little M!). She has been really into her lego's since about mid-December, before that it was wooden blocks that were the thing. The lego thing is going into its second month now, and I'm absolutely loving building with her - castles, or barns, or barn castles are the most frequent construction. Baby E enjoys 'playing' with us too, although the last week or two she has been getting awfully close to making forward crawling movement, and has needed frequent rescuing as she gets into positions that she can't get out from, and can't comfortably play in either. In the picture below you can also see that Little M got her first real/professional haircut - her bangs finally grew out long enough, and the bob cut is working so well!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGAIG5j-MNu_AeHM7NSZT64RXNDUOrbuI8RlHPPCZ5Y8d9vJXOP1T60pXf0fr3RtLSASzpzBHQ_ab-olV_tm4AI5pXB1_izAkUzpl4qdLK2jzHjHbRxkgw4Mekc9Mr4YjNvlfTBrKyREz/s1600/IMG_1186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGAIG5j-MNu_AeHM7NSZT64RXNDUOrbuI8RlHPPCZ5Y8d9vJXOP1T60pXf0fr3RtLSASzpzBHQ_ab-olV_tm4AI5pXB1_izAkUzpl4qdLK2jzHjHbRxkgw4Mekc9Mr4YjNvlfTBrKyREz/s1600/IMG_1186.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Well, I hope you are all well, and enjoying the last bit of winter that the season has been throwing our way (at least here, where we finally have a few inches of snow, and the temps are dipping down into the negatives, and staying well below freezing even during the day!Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-81880218797445901812014-01-17T11:03:00.001-08:002014-01-17T11:04:24.832-08:00When the weather gives you spring...We've had basically no snow this winter, and lately the temperature has been getting above freezing during the sunny daytimes. It feels like spring, but it is still January. My husband said the other day, well, if the weather is acting like spring, then we should act like spring, and start working on our normal spring-time chores and property fixups.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJb-XiDsLeJbILPZ7bY_IKVARpN-hk_7HYnNAVEuZx6eJAQMUFM4Z8pyntvvum3cKYZqbZYvRE5Ba4Q4H3vC4ISGpPEA4yydIsbHVGLVtIOA69kM7m4PAFid35KI1Bq_w1KBS6xui9aRe/s1600/IMG_1046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJb-XiDsLeJbILPZ7bY_IKVARpN-hk_7HYnNAVEuZx6eJAQMUFM4Z8pyntvvum3cKYZqbZYvRE5Ba4Q4H3vC4ISGpPEA4yydIsbHVGLVtIOA69kM7m4PAFid35KI1Bq_w1KBS6xui9aRe/s1600/IMG_1046.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
We walked around, and decided where the next side of the yard fence would go, to keep the dogs a bit better contained (hard to stop the disgusting poo-eating behavior when you can't see them, ahem), and to better define the distinction between maintained yard/orchard/future pasture.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQ7TX6Ylmk1p2zTHsZaMaQYo9WD01kmrDduZH7PudVhYmhafU6i_-p-qq6dLeI1cS8od8JetrYBUs7tl6nuVrSrCJ1s-nuDD6UcNleV5Y7caTMF7CUl1jFLEtOGvOzdXWK72ThJg8FHVW/s1600/IMG_1038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQ7TX6Ylmk1p2zTHsZaMaQYo9WD01kmrDduZH7PudVhYmhafU6i_-p-qq6dLeI1cS8od8JetrYBUs7tl6nuVrSrCJ1s-nuDD6UcNleV5Y7caTMF7CUl1jFLEtOGvOzdXWK72ThJg8FHVW/s1600/IMG_1038.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
One of our goals this year is to get the rest of the yard fenced, so we have a safer place for the dogs to be, and a safer place for the kids to be, requiring a little less parent supervision. This way we are hoping that the dogs and kids (and thus us!) can be outside a lot more, but in a more contained space. That was part of the idea behind having the new side garden, and the playstructure right there, so that we could be close enough, but each be doing our own thing if desired.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqG6S4eepHwdcvvUPRtc3JZze03FOo_o63UrH75P0Maakcr975cyq80OgPtU4XgsnYiaEYQRFc4mq1zrKVHJ5ZZLPjR2ovcYFJrW5yos0zGevdbOW4FkJI8YQGWKw5UDLqZ1yEewjHDfSa/s1600/IMG_1036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqG6S4eepHwdcvvUPRtc3JZze03FOo_o63UrH75P0Maakcr975cyq80OgPtU4XgsnYiaEYQRFc4mq1zrKVHJ5ZZLPjR2ovcYFJrW5yos0zGevdbOW4FkJI8YQGWKw5UDLqZ1yEewjHDfSa/s1600/IMG_1036.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
As you can see from the pictures (taken at dawn as the moon set and the sun rays then started to hit the mountains to our west), there really isn't much snow! It might be a bad year for the river levels, and for wildfires, if we don't get any significant snow in the next couple of months. And this canadian expat is seriously jonesing for some white blanketed views!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjx_bojC7txWoCtS5wRa1hZ8DAr7ynNTgb0_sMSavOwK6vRA-hkPfe652tNIkypmG86SsPuDxfBJW0lw3nx8FVifKusEZ_Et7JFcFMRjDbcZ7yUDUz8Ya1hfqGleTd7EiqvRrKdi-7231/s1600/IMG_1045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjx_bojC7txWoCtS5wRa1hZ8DAr7ynNTgb0_sMSavOwK6vRA-hkPfe652tNIkypmG86SsPuDxfBJW0lw3nx8FVifKusEZ_Et7JFcFMRjDbcZ7yUDUz8Ya1hfqGleTd7EiqvRrKdi-7231/s1600/IMG_1045.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I think this is going to be one of those 'when life gives you lemons, make lemonade' times, and the mister was already out earlier this week doing some pick up of leftover logs/boards from the side garden fencing we did last spring, and used them to keep working on burning the stumps out of the bottom of the yard. There is always work to be done, and if winter snow isn't going to force the work to stop, then I guess we had better make use of this time, who knows what weather the next months will hold!Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-75340408580309984482014-01-09T21:10:00.002-08:002014-01-09T21:10:33.879-08:00A 2 minute chore rantSo as usual this time of the year, there is a lot of talk about to do lists, simplifying, and setting goals. One of the things I keep reading about, and this isn't just lately, is how if you have a to do item that would take under 2 minutes, to just get it done already. Well, it seems to me that the people who say this don't have little kids. Or a husband who sleeps during the day. Cause let me tell you, the number of 2 minute things I can think of that need to be done, but that under no circumstances can I possibly do right now, is about a mile long at any given moment of time.<br />
<br />
Let's see, what sort of items make that list for me? Well, one that is often on that 2 minute list is swiffer the floors. When the baby is being needy, there is no way I can swiffer the floors. Wait, you say, can't you wear said baby and still swiffer? Well, yes, I would say, but to swiffer, I must first get a new swiffer rag (We use washable microfiber cloths on our swiffer), and put the dirty one in the laundry, which involves bending over, grabbing all the junk from under the rag, and shaking the rag out outside before throwing it in the laundry. Bending over with little one on my front? Difficult. Shaking the rag out outside in the cold winter temps we've been experiencing? Not advisable.<br />
<br />
There. And so swiffering goes on my to do list, and does not get 'done immediately'. I could list a bunch of other things, but seriously, there are a whole bunch of simple chores or to do items that most of the time I simply can't get to, due to either baby or sleeping husband, or both. So needless to say, every time I read about how I shouldn't be writing down 2 minute tasks on my (limited daily to 10 items) to do list, I shake my head at their well intentioned advise, and write those simple things down anyway!<br />
<br />
Regardless though, I'm doing fine entering into the New Year with my wits about me, and not setting myself overly ambitious goals. Because seriously, I'm keeping the kids alive and the husband asleep, so 2 minutes will just have to wait, because those mean success in my life right now. (Besides, who doesn't love crossing even 2 minute tasks off their to do list?) :)Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-69494524162663356462014-01-08T19:38:00.001-08:002014-01-08T19:38:10.545-08:00Fish Tanks & ParenthoodWe got a rather used fish tank from a friend last week, whose youngest is a little bit older than Little M. I've had a tank on my mind for a while now, and have gone back and forth on what to put in it. A rotating cycle of natural captures from the property? A captive bred snake or lizard? Or perhaps just a few fish, to see how it all goes?<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylqh0otytlabftUVV0teAyZrN8ooITfijEfu6P-oqirfWhO7hrADZeQYNez5f1DSPgmMClbN9atALNHLvAjyJYR5spXmvjPaG1tZDZOPa8TZmkmgiJo87bdG9GISyAi3N88C9IeEs6wEi/s1600/IMG_0856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylqh0otytlabftUVV0teAyZrN8ooITfijEfu6P-oqirfWhO7hrADZeQYNez5f1DSPgmMClbN9atALNHLvAjyJYR5spXmvjPaG1tZDZOPa8TZmkmgiJo87bdG9GISyAi3N88C9IeEs6wEi/s1600/IMG_0856.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a><br />
Yup, we went the cheap, easy route, and picked up a handful of fish the other day. Molly's that hopefully will last a while.<br />
<br />
<br />
Of course, writing this, one day after we introduced them to the tank, I've already had to bring the tongs of death out to collect one dead fish, drifting on the substrate. Little M didn't notice that one wasn't swimming too upright today, but I did, as his rapid breathing progressed into sideways floating, and then into sinking. He's in the garbage now, sad little guy, and I'm moved into the next stage of parenthood. One I never saw coming before it hit me. The disposer of dead fish stage. Not that I haven't had fish, and dead fish, myself since leaving my childhood home, where I can't recall if it was my Dad or Mom, but likely my Dad, who was the disposer of dead fish. But disposing your kid's fish, that's a new one for me. Hmmm...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mKb7MTqsNyBI66Ghdsv5vM9HpmgHHxf8BNhmvZsfcdgRPsSsxfPY2erWGRo5GUfvhkwGawVuz0CRLCMxgxqjOd_jxeBbssenbbBlBglhLdTafW7rz3I69HGDSdQVqxrN4MU0qb9kPfTs/s1600/IMG_0858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9mKb7MTqsNyBI66Ghdsv5vM9HpmgHHxf8BNhmvZsfcdgRPsSsxfPY2erWGRo5GUfvhkwGawVuz0CRLCMxgxqjOd_jxeBbssenbbBlBglhLdTafW7rz3I69HGDSdQVqxrN4MU0qb9kPfTs/s1600/IMG_0858.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Regardless, Little M loves the fish, as does Baby E, and neither has noticed that there is now one less (going from 4 down to 5 apparently isn't too noticeable, although I'm sure after this there won't be any fooling Little M, 4 to 3, or much worse, 3 to 2, will be much more apt to hit her counting radar). The mister is none too convinced that fish, or a water-filled tank, are a good idea, but I put up with a lot of his things around the house, so he can put up with this one for at least a while, at least until the kids grow past the fish tank stage - if they ever do! :)Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-52110365469561463702014-01-01T15:44:00.003-08:002014-01-01T15:44:36.791-08:00Closing out 2013This past year has been a challenging one, for a variety of reasons. But it has also been a wonderful one. Our newest addition, Baby E, has added a depth of family to our lives that I wasn't expecting, making us, at 4, feel very much a solid unit.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1b2XGGAwP_LVjsNJNwKVbH2gpdXLCeIhjrXvaBwcec0IYlEOsWqglFzj44gdrf6h5_F_NfiYnrcHCFyP6nDkDG1AVuMPWGIkoIrZuALECh-8W2z14Rnw7Uy4Sj65ZzjqwvTMG5pkDJ77/s1600/IMG_0804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg1b2XGGAwP_LVjsNJNwKVbH2gpdXLCeIhjrXvaBwcec0IYlEOsWqglFzj44gdrf6h5_F_NfiYnrcHCFyP6nDkDG1AVuMPWGIkoIrZuALECh-8W2z14Rnw7Uy4Sj65ZzjqwvTMG5pkDJ77/s640/IMG_0804.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The past almost two weeks has been filled to the brim of relaxing family time. I've had a few days of work, but most of my time has been spent with the girls, with the addition of sometimes the mister, and sometimes with his mother's side of the family too. My 'spare' time (if there is such a thing with 2 littles!) has been filled with a high percentage of reading, and some crafting as well, as my mother-in-law and myself crocheted to make the girls a pair of matching fox hats.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6YgkzfKlo-ramIfK1yXvugcWEEnlbyZUYADKHD3Y9-wsyf6XlASj1BzdODS5o3rZMYUv5EXMzPaQxzZymnGx35Db_siPbYCNDx_nskfE6pfCQe7gix4S0GFOOAoj4gGotm-iHr17w27AP/s1600/IMG_0583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6YgkzfKlo-ramIfK1yXvugcWEEnlbyZUYADKHD3Y9-wsyf6XlASj1BzdODS5o3rZMYUv5EXMzPaQxzZymnGx35Db_siPbYCNDx_nskfE6pfCQe7gix4S0GFOOAoj4gGotm-iHr17w27AP/s640/IMG_0583.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />
At home, we finally have a tiny bit of snow on the ground, so the world at least seems a bit more wintery, which is nice.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oy31t5_vTylulddzxt7fmpV_q0BfQPBV3HQGlkLGpc8F4tDs55qMyAnnQ1KBjFSmG05wRNPCac9E4q5k7xOjOu4rA6HwK3vhyphenhyphen_m_Hawg5u3PJDYcj6ue63Y6TvMCMTHoTPEIqD8us2II/s1600/IMG_0834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oy31t5_vTylulddzxt7fmpV_q0BfQPBV3HQGlkLGpc8F4tDs55qMyAnnQ1KBjFSmG05wRNPCac9E4q5k7xOjOu4rA6HwK3vhyphenhyphen_m_Hawg5u3PJDYcj6ue63Y6TvMCMTHoTPEIqD8us2II/s640/IMG_0834.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Little M got a new sled for Christmas, and has been having a lot of fun sledding on small hills here and there. She's not much for longer hills, or steep hills, and needs a nice flat spot at the top for getting on the sled, but she is sure loving sledding on her terms!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkzSmM6GwmtzdhUzhOZZ9pOADdRYl90nKGRHmcdptlb6GquEZj_XUSbDUi5BkpiTV_9F2oVlcV1iOohxLeSW9REJLXj2aRgg2c4FEOJb7jU9n_M9lwrvWo0GsFBInY4lnykba25ahKoqe/s1600/IMG_0842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFkzSmM6GwmtzdhUzhOZZ9pOADdRYl90nKGRHmcdptlb6GquEZj_XUSbDUi5BkpiTV_9F2oVlcV1iOohxLeSW9REJLXj2aRgg2c4FEOJb7jU9n_M9lwrvWo0GsFBInY4lnykba25ahKoqe/s640/IMG_0842.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />
Wishing you all a happy start to 2014!Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-73339715989173999772013-12-16T12:21:00.002-08:002013-12-16T12:21:18.964-08:0010 Days & StuffThe mister is visiting his little sister in Hawaii right now as she graduates from university this week. In his absence we've likely overbooked ourselves with fun (busy) activities to keep everyone from missing him too badly. Of course since it is the Christmas season, most of our activities have been christmas parties, but yesterday we celebrated an early solstice with the girls' (waldorf inspired) daycare.<br />
<br />
This year, as I've been slowly decluttering our (relatively small) home, to make space for one more (albeit still tiny) human, I've almost been dreading Christmas and all the stuff it typically entails. Little M is not yet quite at the point of totally grasping the concepts of limited space, of too many toys, or of the impact of clutter. She's slowly getting used to how we are trying to stick to the concept of one in, one out, and she has gone through her toys and chosen some to give away to make room for new toys to come at Christmas. But she is still young, and still has a hard time parting with things, and understanding that there is a limit.<br />
<br />
The baby on the other hand is quite easy going about my efforts to reduce the size of her wardrobe and the number of baby toys she owns. She still has more than enough baby toys, but we were able to pare down quite a bit, which was really great. In fact I have 3 boxes of kid clothes and toys to give away, if I ever get around to bringing them into town to donate!<br />
<br />
As most people do, I get attached to things, but after several long distant moves, and many short moves, I don't have a lot of things compared to many people. Something about moving out west in your truck with your dog and another person, and having basically all your worldly possessions in the truck does that to a person! I don't like clutter, and all the time drain that having lots of possessions means, so I've tried to be pretty selective about what I bring into the house. As are most things though, it is a constant work in process, and I'm still adapting to the new level of complication that having 2 kiddos brings to the de-cluttering & simplification process!<br />
<br />
Anyway, all of this is to say that at the (early) solstice celebration, I was really in love with the simplicity and connectedness of the celebration. Celebrating the shortest day of the year with friends and light rings much more true to my non-religious background than all of the consumerism and focus on stuff that American Christmas seems to entail. Especially for our family, with 3 sets of grandparents, and 2 in-state Christmases to attend besides our own family of fours' Christmas, it just seems that we focus too much on gifts and stuff, and there is less emphasis placed on the importance of spending time with these special people that we see so rarely.Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1885823206913763143.post-24565046279282844402013-12-13T12:41:00.003-08:002013-12-13T12:42:57.687-08:00Planning to plan, dreaming to dreamI've been doing a lot of thinking about plans for this coming year. We've started the initial brainstorming of what our financial goals will be, and that has meant a lot of thinking about future projects and ideas to be implementing. My problem always is overloading my plate with too many good ideas, and I'm definitley feeling that right now in this process, as we look at a huge list of potential things, and try and narrow the pool down and prioritize it!<br />
<br />
Some of these goals are family goals, but the more personal ones, or ones with the kids that I'm taking the lead on, are fairly overwhelming me at the moment. Since I often use this blog as a sort of settling ground for my ideas to help me decide which I want to take further, I thought a brain dump was in order to help me sift through all these great ideas and prioritize them. I suspect when I redo my winter darkness goals into my 2014 priorities/goals I will use these as a guide.<br />
<br />
<u>For the Kids </u><br />
Finances/Allowance - Little M is a good age to start learning about money (saving/giving/spending)<br />
Chores - with some being paid and some being unpaid<br />
Speech Therapy - Little M has a hard time with her initial consonants, and we're getting extra help<br />Bottle Feeding - Baby E is having a hard time learning to use the bottle, which complicates daycare<br />
Ontario Grandparents - keeping in touch with them (skype, emails, photos) since we rarely see them<br />
Weekly Rhythm - redoing it to better work with our schedule, especially as it changes come January<br />
<br />
<u>For the Farm</u><br />
Expanding the garden - doing it in a manageable manner, choosing crops wisely, cover crops<br />
Seed Selection - need some new seeds & varieties this year - irish eyes/seed savers/west coast seeds? <br />
Fences - both for garden & yard space for the dogs as well as the orchard - plan, length, cost, poles<br />
Chicks - having a broody hen raise our own fertile eggs vs. ordering new chicks (of what breed?)<br />
Pigs - fitting them back into the budget, number (brothers again? friends?), source/breed question<br />
Fruit trees - pruning the ones we have, new ones for the side chicken area if the fence goes up?<br />
<br />
<u>For Mama</u><br />
Essential Oils - learning how to use the ones I have, reading up on ones to get in the future<br />
Reading - for pleasure & bookclub, augmented by our weekly library trips, fit in during naps/bedtime<br />
Simplifying - purging stuff, one in - one out, creating a handmade home, living more intentionally<br />
Friends - keeping in touch with local & distant friends, via skype, phone calls, play dates, dinner<br />
Crafting/sewing - meeting my creative needs, also inspiring Little M to create too<br />
Finance/work balance - meeting our financial needs through paid work while still meeting family/house/cleaning needs around the home, also dictates daycare balance, and also wrapped up in here is meeting the little family checklist goals we have/will set for the next year<br />
<br />
<u>Back Burner things for some year in the future:</u><br />
soap making<br />
fixing the house up!<br />
a 100 dollar startup (something sewing/crafty, etsy? still very much in the dream phase)<br />
more animals - fish/lizard/snake/bunny for the kids inside, cow/sheep/barn! for the farm<br />
all those saved bookmarks! (move to pinterest??)<br />
a new (thrifted obviously) wardrobe to replace the failing remnants of my (thrifted) grad school garb!<br />
<br />
Do you keep a list of back burner type ideas? Those things that you want to do some day, but know you can't fit them in right now? How do you keep those future dreams in check to focus on the dreams for today?<br />
Farming Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938675746905624146noreply@blogger.com5