It's A Wee Bit Hot Out There

The week that The Boy was gone started a cycle of rain that we were in for another week. It also included high humidity.Needless to say,it put a damper ( no pun intended!) on the outdoor plans. It put us a couple of weeks behind in laying down the loam and seeding. Last week,the chance of rain lessened as the week went on,but the temps have been in the 90's,with over 70% humidity-which put the actual temperature around 100 degrees. Rick has been out there,determined to get the loam spread as best as he can. Scoop up a load with the tractor,dump it in the area,and spread it out manually. I have been telling him to come inside where the AC keeps the house nice and cool every so often to rest a bit.He has been drinking plenty of water. We have also been fighting with the pool. We bought Green to Blue from HTH. Unfortunately,it didn't say on the bottle that it's not for use for a cartridge filter system,and that you need a material vacuum system for your pool. It broke down the metals,etc in the water and made them settle,but because our filter is not designed to pick up this sort of material well,when we vacuum the sediment spews back out of the outtake into the pool again. I finally looked this issue up last night,and found out that we have been using the wrong chemicals. Sigh. So we blasted the pool with chlorine,and have to start all over. I joked that by the time we can use the pool,the weather will turn to cold and rainy. Live and learn. I am hopeful that we can get the pool functioning for this coming weekend. We are having our Boy Scout Troop to the house for their Year Planning Weekend. It would be nice for them to use it.If not,then we do have the beach down at Sunrise Lake.

I think The Boy came back a carrier from NYLT,because on Monday at Yoga,My Dear Friend Michelle mentioned that her son,Ethan,who was at NYLT was sick with a cold. That night,I started having a scratchy throat,and by Tuesday AM I felt like I was swallowing glass. I was in bed for three days,even most of the Fourth,so it didn't feel much like a holiday for me. I did make some potato salad,and we had chicken ka bobs and corn  on the cob with the salad. We set off some fireworks (no ordinances here in town,though anything after 11:00 PM is noise nuisance)which is our yearly thing. Each day I do a bit more,not to over do it. My poor garden was so sad and full of weeds-Friday I got out there and weeded,finally. The Girls loved the weeds. The mornings are a bit rough.It takes a while for my head to clear,and I am bit stuffy,Mostly I just feel tired all the time,but I just putter along and yesterday was the first day I didn't nap or lay down.

The broilers have all been processed. Rick vacuum sealed them,some whole as roasters,some cut up. It took him over 6 hours to do it. We had about 28 broilers,give or take. We did lose a few over the course of time. That seems to be normal. Michelle and her hubby  were kind enough to lend us their homemade chicken plucker,and it was a time saver. The plucker is all clean and under cover. We just need to return it,I think it will be sometime this week.

In between rainstorms,I have been able to pick a couple few things.......

Some German Chamomile . I used my tea infusers to dry out the flowers. You can see the dried ones on the right, and the freshly picked ones waiting to be dried on the left. I am going to try some Chamomile tea this year.

This has been the best year for our strawberries so far. I have made it point,no matter what the weather or how I feel,to go out and pick the ones that are ready.I wash them,pluck the stems (which I then compost) and put them freezer bags.I am hopeful that I will have enough of my own berries this year to make jam with them.If not,I will have to go to the local farm and get some to combine them with. We have three harvests,and this was a sample of what I was gathering during our first.It has since gone down to just four or five berries at a time,but now we are getting some new blossoms for the second harvest.

We have invested in a roadside sign. We put it out on on the Fourth. Folks have been slowing down when they pass,which is good. Yesterday I sold three dozen eggs.We will have a regular sign by the road with our farm name,and this sign will be used just for what we are selling,which will increase with time.

Hopefully everyone out there is staying cool...if you work outside, please don't over do!!

Have a fabulous day on this Fabulous Planet!

It's In The Genes!

I think many folks in my family are a bit surprised at the turn my life has taken. Chickens? Goats? Sheep? Making my own soap? Composting?

Considering that I grew up with only a cat,never had a garden,and would much rather purchase food than grow it,I can understand why some are surprised.

Part of why this path has been chosen is because...well...since Rick cannot work,and I stay at home as his caregiver,we had to find something to do. Something worthwhile,that gave us (especially Rick) a sense of purpose. He needs to feel useful. Not being able to work really bothers him.He's worked since he was a teenager. Hanging around doing nothing has never been his style. 

I talked to him one day a few years ago about maybe doing more here,for ourselves. Let's start a garden,I said. Let's get some chickens and eat our own eggs. I was inspired by friends and websites. We have the time,let's do the most with it.

He was all excited about the idea. A reason to get up and at 'em in the morning! Something to look forward to! A goal!

We started with a garden,and chickens. We expanded to turkeys for a few years,and last year decided that we didn't want to do turkeys anymore. We have herbs,strawberries,blueberries,blackberries,and raspberries.Next Spring,we will have three Nigerian Dwarf Goats,and,hopefully,a couple of sheep. The goal with these is make goat milk soap,raw milk cheese,have raw milk,and spin my own yarn.All these are with the intention of selling what we don't need. Right now,we are planning our barn and milking area. 

Rick is very excited. He says he's always wanted a farm of his own. Now,he has one,even though it's only on .68 acres of land.

Going through our family genealogy,it's really no surprise that we have chosen ( or fallen into) this path of life. My ancestors were all farmers in Canada,or agriculteurs. When they immigrated down to NH,however,they started working in the cotton mills.My grandfather Charrette (my Mom's father) did grow up on a farm eventually had his own. My oldest brother,Valmore,is an agronomist. Rick's ancestors were some of the original settlers of this country,so farming has always been in his blood.One of his ancestors owned the biggest fruit farm in Stratham,NH at one point.

One never knows where life will bring you,or what path you may follow. When a door closes,a window opens. Rick suffered a brain injury,which was our closed door. Our little Cöpse Clearing Farm is our open window,with sunshine and a lovely breeze coming through.