I got a lot of work done in the orchard over the weekend to get ready for spring (Clothilde helped, of course. She took my hat and gloves when I went to get a drink!). I pulled out all the weeds and blackberries that had grown up around the trees and bushes over last…
Author: toadstoolsfairyrings
Barn Raising
At last, the barn actually keeps the rain out. This was supposed to be our huge, big, extra-special project for 2014…well, we did get around to it in the end! This will help keep the tools from rusting, keep the feed and hay dry, and will hopefully provide a spot out of the elements for…
Cows on Rye and Green Teeth
We put the cows on the rye at last. It was so difficult to get them out at first. We thought they would gallop out, heels kicking and horns tossing and start inhaling the rye. But they just sat with their heads poking through the other side of the hay ring and chewed while we…
Lost Calves
We got some cow’s milk!! This is big news after our family was rationed only one quart of goat’s milk a day after Matilda dried up around October. It’s only a little taste of what’s to come, and we only got a half gallon, but it was hard-won. We moved the cows down to the…
Pink Radishes
I pulled some of the radishes that were taking over the beets and salad greens. This year I tried over-planting radishes with the other root vegetables. I’ve heard it helps shelter them and keeps the seeds from washing away. It didn’t seem to work very well, because the radishes took over and shaded out the…
Work in the Orchard
I’ve spent a lot of time in the orchard this winter, pulling weeds from around the trees and blueberry bushes, putting down kelp and lime. The earliest blueberries are just now putting out their first flowers, and there is even a blossom open on our beloved Snow Queen peach. All the work has been so…
Star Returned
I forgot to mention before – Star came back. She looks thinner than before, and we found her gobbling up the rye. Unlike Trespassers William, she was willing enough to hop back in the electric fence for some oats. We are re-thinking our pastured pigs. We’ve been trying different things to figure out what works…
Geranium’s New Calf
Geranium missed the date she was AI’d for in December, but she still looked pregnant. She must have been bred by our bull Explorer. As Christmas came and went, she looked more and more ready to give birth, we just didn’t know when. Last week her udder started to swell, so we knew it would…
Nature Finds: Lichens
Brrr……we’re getting the usual freezing cold January weather. My uninsulated block house is like an igloo. The walls are sweating. The temperatures feel so extreme here. I think it’s the humidity. The heat is intense, and the cold is also intense! When I lived in the mountains of North Carolina during the coldest winter…
Back-to-home-school
We are back to home-schooling again. It’s another math block – fractions for the first time for the 4th grader, and introduction to the four processes for first grade. I wanted to have some cute little wooden figures to help with the four processes, but buying beautiful Waldorf-inspired carved figures was cost-prohibitive (sheesh…it would have…
A Day Without Shadows
Sunday was one of those gray, misty days without shadows. The prospect of rain was hovering over us, and we went out early and worked until the first drops began splattering down. I weeded the fruit trees and mulched them. Moving the old hay into the wheelbarrow with a pitchfork gave me an odd sense…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 