no hat

this morning when i went out to bring water and hay to the cows, i had to stop and take off my gloves, hat and extra sweater. i was too hot! quite a change, from the way it has been lately. the ground is still frozen, but it really looks like spring is on its way at last.

i've been carrying a stick with me lately. we have a rooster that is quite rude. he attacked both me and ed several times. he's very macho and just keeps coming at us whenever he feels like it. last time he came at me, i had to hit him with a board. i never feel good hitting anyone or anything, but there really is no other way with him, unless you want to get spurred. he's fast too, and he keeps coming at you until you hit him hard enough. he is very useful at protecting his ladies, otherwise i'm afraid he'd be soup. someone said that if chickens were larger than they are, we'd all be dead. they can certainly be mean.

aiyana has been reading to the cats lately. amazingly, they sit in her lap and listen. i think they just want to be by the fire, where she usually sits. i can't imagine them being interested in the books she reads to them. the last one was pretty trashy - it was called "magic kitten".
 
peace

Spring Equinox

Spring Equinox just passed a couple of days ago. This is the time of equal day and night, a time of balance, and the first day of spring.
It has been warm, then cold, and warm again. Tonight we're expecting a low of 12F. We'll be covering the lettuces and salad greens in the greenhouse extra good to protect them from frost.
Still, despite the challenging weather, new shoots are coming out of the ground every day. Birds are returning, and I have already seen three butterflies flitting about. There is hope in knowing that no matter how hard the winter, no matter that ice is still on the ground, young shoots are bravely coming through, instinct brings animals out of hibernation, and life begins again. I keep this image with me to carry me through difficult times, when things can seem heavy, or dark, when i feel stuck.
I like to remember that no matter how hard my own personal "winter" may be, instinct and the life force I have within me will pull me through. Life renews itself, heals itself, and continues.

The nights have been cold over the past week, in the low 20’s, but during the day, the sun came out and this made all the difference. The snow is gone off most of our fields. Outside, the soil is still too hard to work but inside our two green houses it’s a different story. There are lettuces, spinach, spicy salad greens, radishes, peas, carrots and beets growing, as well as the soil blocks I started which will be transplanted outside in a few weeks.  Sena and Aiyana like to go to one greenhouse after schooling, take off their shoes and jackets and play. It gets pretty warm in there, 70’s or 80’s, depending on how much we vent, and it smells good too, like earth and fresh greens.

The snowdrops came out a few days ago. I’m always so happy to see them! They have a suddle, sweet smell and I like that you have to get down low, almost lying flat on the ground in order to smell them. It feels like a bow, which is quite fitting.

The cows are on pasture now, and loving it. We’re doing rotational grazing, which means that they get a new piece of pasture every day, and even though there isn’t much grazing now, it’s nice to have them out there getting used to the system. They spend all day out in the sun, and when I run my hand along their backs, they feel nice an warm.

The chickens like to go over to the cows. I love the sight of them together, the cows chewing their cud and slowly moving around, the chickens scratching in the dirt, pecking around, and taking dust baths. They’re happy together.

I gave the cows some fresh greens today - Tatsoi from the greenhouse, which is going to seed. Wow, did they like that! The next time I came over with a bucket, they expected a treat again, even though this time I was just bringing water. They ran over to me, a little too excitedly, I thought, for a 500-600lbs animal. Fortunately they put the brakes on in time.

I had a very good day today, because as soon as I woke up, I remembered that my attitude sets the tone of the day much more than what happens to me, what needs to get done, and so on. I also remembered throughout the day to focus on whatever I was doing at the time and avoid thinking about all the other things that need to get done. I hope I remember this more often.

Peace

Some recent activities

Ed, splitting wood. He did it for four hours every day, over the course of about one week. I honestly hink that I can do maybe 10 swings if I really push myself, before I'd be totally exhausted and useless for the rest of the day.

Sena's been working with Jasmine every day, and she loves doing it. Here she is getting Jasmine used to the halter and to being led.

 Aiyana got to walk Yo, our friend's doggie. She always asks about having a dog, but we're not going to do that any time soon, so in the meantime Yo is coming over for a weekly walk. They are both very happy.

I've been making more cheese. This is my first Cheddar. It's drying right now, and then I'm going to put it in the root cellar for aging. Not at all sure what it's going to be like.

Other than that, Spring is here! (I think). Today it's been just glorious, warm and sunny. Sena said that the wind felt different, much milder than before. She and Aiyana said that they felt glad inside, and a "Wake Up!" kind of feeling. They wanted to go out barefoot and I let them.
The fields are still mostly covered in snow, but it is melting fast. Hopefully a couple more weeks and we'll be able to get some seeds in the ground.

Peace

Still winter for now

It's been too cold to do very much outside. Still, thanks to our high tunnels, I was able to start some seedlings, about 8000 onion plants. Brassicas like kale, cabbage and broccoli, will be started later this week. There are also crops in the ground, like spinach and salad greens, growing well despite the cold. I have them in the high tunnel, covered with double row cover. They are growing strong now with the increasing daylight. We had some for sale last week, and we will sell again this week. Unfortunately we cannot sell right here at the farm because it's too icy, and we have no parking space with all the snow. Walking around the farm is just not a good idea right now, unless you have spikes on your boots, or you're us. We sold our greens to Willimantic and Fiddleheads food Co-ops. We've heard from people who were very happy to have fresh greens. They are a treat at this time of the year. I am grateful that we have them.

The cows are doing very well. They've come such a long way since they arrived here. They are very comfortable with us now, and we've all settled in a routine. Jasmine was very afraid and nervous when she arrived, but now she comes up to us and follows us around. Both she and Opal love to lick us, especially our hands. It's nice, but it can get a little much, especially since their tongues are kind of rough. They've licked my face as well. I really love them. I hug them sometimes, because I love their bigness. They're amazing animals.
Soon I have to start working on training Opal for milking. She's getting big, so maybe she'll have her calf early. Could be anytime between April and June. I have to get her used to being in the stanchion where she'll be milked, having her udder washed and generally being handled for the time it takes to milk, which I think will be anywhere from half an hour to an hour, probably more at first given my inexperience. At least Opal is experienced, thank goodness.

I've been reading quite a bit about dairy cows lately, trying to find out about different aspects of keeping them, such as feed, health, pasture management, calving, etc. My favorite reading so far has been Joan Grohmann's "Keeping a Family Cow". It is well written and informative, but more than that, I just like the author a lot. She's in her 80's, and still keeps a cow and other animals, plus her garden. She has a blog I like to read, called Heifer Diary. When I'm 80, I also hope to have my garden and my cow, just like she does.

Aiyana's writing

Aiyana had to write a few sentences for her lesson a few days ago. Here is what she wrote:

"The trees outside looked like silver when the lightning flashed. They whispered to each other. They never bother me. They have magic powers. They are very clever. They always have the right answer."

A quote from Stella, my four-year-old niece

(My sister sent me this, and I want to share it. Her daughter, Stella, is the same little girl who sang Hellelujah on the potty a couple months ago)

"Somewhere in the world, we will all die...", brief pause, and then she continued "but we will have fun before that."