All my focus has lately been on building the summer garden beds. March snuck up on me this year! I was supposed to be finished with most of it by now! Every evening after I finish milking Matilda and the goats I hurry to fork up some of the cow’s spilled hay and manure to…
Author: toadstoolsfairyrings
Milking Matilda
Matilda’s milk supply has been extremely variable lately. Sometimes there’s only a quart, sometimes three quarts, sometimes more than a gallon, and we have to quickly drink the extra if we haven’t brought enough jars. I didn’t used to like the warm milk, but I do now. Something about chilling the milk changes it forever….
In the Garden: Planting Potatoes and Hidden Gold
This week we finally got around to planting 15 lbs of potatoes. A little late this year, but we did eventually get it done. We got three varieties this year – Pontiac, Kennebec, and La Soda. We didn’t till the soil this year (tiller has a flat tire, among other problems), but ran the chickens…
Homeschooling/unschooling
I feel like our home schooling is changing…. I’ve been reading and thinking a lot about it. I’ve been reading a lot about unschooling lately. I also had an interesting conversation with a family friend who home schooled her two children. They are both now studying engineering at UF, and are doing very well. We…
Piglet Kiss
The piglets seem twice the size they were last week. They grow so fast! They are still cute as can be. It’s the way their little ears flap when they run. If they sense any sort of danger, they scatter, running incredibly fast, and hide. One evening as we were just about to shut…
Olustee 2015
Last weekend found us at the Olustee battlefield for the annual reenactment. We’ve gone most years, but we missed last year which was the 150th anniversary of the battle. Ethan was a major civil war buff since he was a kid, and he has an 1861 reproduction black powder muzzle loader he fires off for…
Nature Finds: Bagworm and Wingless Moth
The insect life has mostly been hunkering down and hiding through the cold spells (which have been very long this year), but the slightly warming weather has brought a few cool nature finds out of the woodworks. The first photo was easy – it’s a bagworm. I love the way they make their cocoons from…
Goat Gossip
(M’am, could you pick the perpetrator out of this line up, please?) Ethan says it was probably April on the far right – not for any particular reason, other than he says her Shrek ears haunt his dreams. She did turn out to look a little like someone did cruel genetic experiments on her (although…
In the Garden: Savoy Cabbage and Kohlrabi
It’s been so beautiful – except for Tuesday, of course. That was an awfully dreary day, although I’m sure the rye loved it. Hopefully the Snow Queen’s blossoms didn’t freeze in the cold spell last night. The garden is put to bed under the cold-protection again. The savoy cabbage was ready – it turned out…
Yarn along: Scandinavian-style Colorwork Sweater
The modified tunic/sweater with Scandinavian-style color patterns is coming along (my, that doesn’t sound very nice, does it? I’ll have to think of a different name for this – Still Light Sweater or something….) I finished the yoke and am working on the body now. I’m knitting plain grey until the bottom, so all I…
Nursing Cows
On Friday Matilda was not to be seen when I was getting her barley and hay ready to milk her. I thought it was odd, because usually she is hanging around the gate, practically tapping her hooves with impatience. So I knew something was up when I had to walk up there and find her….
Valentine’s Day Hearts (Refined Sugar-Free/Grain-Free)
This year was the first Valentine’s day we have celebrated in a LONG time, although goodness knows I’ve tried! I always have pink, red and white felt and construction paper on hand, and plans for heart-shaped desserts, but we always end up being sick. It all started five years ago when we got the Norovirus…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 