The cow fell through

We just got word today that our cow arrangements fell through. The warts that the cow had on her teats got worse and she's been hard to milk because of that, so the woman selling her does not feel that it is right to sell her like that. Which is nice of her, but....

For us, this is very disappointing, as we've been waiting for this cow for a few months and we're all set up for her to come, and we've passed up some other nice cows for her. But at the same time, we don't want a cow with problems, especially since she'll be our first; so we'll have to start looking again. At least I'm glad that there's been some resolution, and we know where we stand, and we can move forward from here.

The "Grow Your Own Food" course Ed and I taught last week went really well. We put a lot of energy into it, ad we were both exhausted at the end (7 hours of intense focus and talking can do that), but sleep put us right again. We had 12 people attending, which was a good number given the size of our house. We had excellent feedback after the course, and people seemed really excited about what they learned and about going out to their gardens and applying it. One thing I found really uplifting and encouraging, and this is not the first time I've noticed this, is that people really do want to do what's right for the land, as far as working the soil in a beneficial way, without using toxic chemicals or poisons, but they just need to: 1) know that this is possible and realistic,  and 2) get the practical knowledge on how to do it.

We got some snow on Saturday, so yesterday we had to dig out the greenhouses. We can't have too much snow accumulating on top of them or on their sides, or we'd risk the plastic covers getting ripped or even collapsing. So we shoveled, and it was a lot of work. It felt really nice to come in the house and sit by the fire afterwards. Unfortunately, once I sat down I didn't want to get back up, but diner had to be made, dishes had to be washed, and the children had to be put to bed. But, I did take some time for myself later, after everyone was asleep and snoring loudly - just the cats and I sitting on our soft sheepskins, staring into the fire. That felt luxurious.

Ed and I will be heading to the NEFV (New England Fruit and Vegetable) conference this week. It is a huge conference with thousands of people attending. Last time we were there, two years ago, we learned some practical things that served us well since. After we come back from the conference, it will be Sena's birthday, then Christmas, and then the girls and I will be going to Montreal to visit my family. Busy time of the year!

Peace