I’m always busy, regardless of the time of year, but as I go through my notes of the past couple of weeks, I began to realize that it feels a little ramped up, even for me. I always keep a calendar in my phone up to date, a calendar for a page-a-day for events and appointment, and a weekly calendar for events and to keep track of what I made for a meal that day. I don’t like to have a fridge full of leftovers and I have trouble remembering what day I cooked a particular meal, so I keep this calendar to know to feed week-old leftovers to either the dogs or pigs, according to what it is. I also keep a farm calendar to keep track of weather, farm happenings, egg customers, etc. I also use the farm calendar to put together the farm happenings for this blog. With Kinzie’s work schedule, school and a new season of softball about to start, I realized that Tom had no idea where we were at any given time. I bought a whiteboard calendar and post work schedules, softball games, when bills are due and other events like doctor appointments and birthdays; all color coded, of course. All this might sound like overkill but I’m in my sixties, trying to keep up with a teenager and need all the help I can get.
Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by the amount of work I’m trying accomplish. I was surprised, pleased and even grateful when I showed up to gym class two weeks ago and was told there was a pool party at one of the lady’s houses right after class. I knew I had lots to do, but I also needed a break. I’m glad I went. I love these ladies and it was really nice to do nothing for a couple of hours in the hot sun with my feet in the pool. (Because I didn’t know about the party, I had not packed a swim suit. I’ll be prepared for the next one for sure!)
A couple of weeks ago, I went out in the morning to do chores and did not see my biggest dog, Beethoven. Tom and I drove around the area (rural enough that I can’t technically call it a neighborhood) looking for him. On the road behind us, we spotted a family of deer. Two young bucks in velvet, a couple of does, one of them with twin fawns and an older doe with a collar on her. The fawns jumped up and ran into the thicket but soon came back when they learned that no one else was running. Tom recognized the older, collared doe as one a previous neighbor had owned as a pet, which I believe is illegal. The neighbor is in prison on other charges now and the doe has made a home and family in the same area. It was cool to see her and her family. We did not find Beethoven.
When we got back home, another couple of does were right outside Kinzie’s window, not in too big a hurry to hide. They eventually wandered off while we watched out our granddaughter’s window.
Beethoven came and went for several days. Each time, he was very overheated and took a long time to cool down. I believe he had a girlfriend somewhere for a while. I don’t know how far away she lives, but it must be a good distance. It appears the romance is over now as he no longer feels compelled to leave.
I have been collaborating with a friend Toolman Tim Cook who has a YouTube channel, Toolman Tim’s Workshop and a podcast, Workshop Radio. We are putting together a Cookbook of the Collapse and I have been doing videos focusing on cooking from the pantry. I want to be able to feed my family in case their is no electricity or refrigeration. I posted a video on making spaghetti, but making your own sauce instead of opening a jar of store sauce. None of the videos are gourmet cooking but I feel like the food I am trying to expose people to will make providing for our families in a grid down situation is important. The spaghetti video can be seen here.
I’ve had a few disappearances with my younger chicks. I’m not sure what happened to a young cockerel I had put in with the adult birds along with his other brooder mates. I suspect that a black snake was getting into the chicken tractor as I have had other younger birds disappear with no evidence of resistance. I have a relatively small batch of meat birds that will be going to the processor next week. I lost one of these birds in the heat and that was really upsetting. We have more excessive heat warnings for the next few days and I’m certainly concerned about losing more before I can get them processed and into my freezer.
I’m getting more regular on posting podcasts recently, though not on the schedule that I hope to adopt. I had been irritated with a podcaster I listen to as he opined that single women who were having trouble paying bills on their own just get married and let the husband support them. As you can imagine, I have my own opinion about that. That podcast can be seen here. The audio only can be heard on any pod catcher of your choice.
My most recent batch of layer chicks have hatched and the hatch rate was much higher than previous rounds of incubation. I have not restarted the incubator. I was going to try to sell chicks this summer but my low hatch rate has me keeping them for myself to expand my flock.
I usually move my animals on Saturdays when Tom is home, but our schedules have not meshed for us to do that and my pigs were way past due for a move. I mowed the perimeter for the next paddock, set up the temporary fencing inside the area where the pigs would be moved to. The next day, I moved them in to the temporary paddock, then set up their new paddock area. By the time I had gotten the new fencing up, the waterers, shelter and the girls moved, I was tired. Still, I was proud of myself for getting this done by myself. That video can be seen here.
On Saturday, we got to babysit my youngest granddaughter, Ivy. She will be three years old this November and doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. She’s also very smart with a good vocabulary (spoken like a true grandma). Thank God, because I am no good at guessing what babies want before they can talk! It was a fun day and we really enjoyed this time together.
Last month, there was a spell of relatively cool weather so I put the rabbit does in with the buck. Tom made a couple of nesting boxes and we moved the girls to larger quarters to accommodate the nesting boxes. Birthing time has come and gone with no kits. Better luck next time.
I have been on the medication, Dupixent for a few years now for food allergies and very severe eczema. It has been truly a blessing for me and I was even able to loosen my diet several months ago. Going without beef, wheat, dairy, pork and rice took all the fun out of eating. I still had some eczema flare ups but they were so much less than what I had endured previously, I didn’t care. Recently, the flare ups have become more frequent and it appears that some of my food allergies have re-emerged. Time to rethink how I eat again. At least this time I have a little experience and it should go easier. Still, it is a little discouraging, but I’ll live.
The excessive heat has given me an excuse to stay inside and work on the trim in the bathroom that we never finished. I’m a terrible carpenter, but I’m learning and will keep on plugging.
I did another podcast on the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in France. I did not watch it but was upset about the images I saw later regarding the Last Supper depiction with people in drag. Before you tell me that it was a celebration of Dionysus and not the Last Supper, I will tell you that the people involved did admit that it was a taste of both. My thoughts on this can be seen on this podcast
On a much lighter note, Kinzie’s school softball team had a scrimmage and the season starts full force next week. My busy summer is about to ramp up even further. Still, I love to cheer her on and I video everything in hopes of gaining access to college through her talent. I will be crying frequently this year as she is a senior and will graduate high school. I love this girl very much and want the absolute best for her.
See you next time!