Star had her second litter of piglets over the weekend! This time we could tell that she was getting close – her udders started to swell, and she looked well, pregnant. (still no piglets from Bee – we are trying to figure out why). She had TEN piglets! That’s a lot of newborn babies…
Homeschool: Zoology
We started a Zoology block for 4th grade last week. It’s supposed to be a Steiner thing about how mice represent intellect and are fearful, lions are emotional, cows are physical and digestive, but people are superior and have all those things. I couldn’t stand to teach something that, as a Darwinist,…
In the Garden: Broccoli and Cabages
It’s been a good week in the garden. I got some new veggies finally other than kale, collards, radishes, lettuce and turnips. I made an amazing cole slaw salad with the red cabbage. It think it was because it was so fresh, but it seemed sweeter and crispier than any cabbage I’ve had before. The…
Liming the Pastures
We just put 2000 lbs of lime per acre on the pastures. That will be our big fertility investment this year. For the past three years, we have invested quite a bit of money on organic fertilizer, but we have noticed that the pastures have become more and more acidic, favoring blackberries and broomsedge…
Goat Cuddles
(If you can’t tell, April hates being picked up like this. She is so cute, it’s hard not to.) It seems like this time of the year is always the most depressing. The pastures are all dead, revealing how much junk is lying around, lost during the summer in the tall grass. Tthe rye never…
Matilda’s new calf
Matilda’s baby was born on Tuesday afternoon! As usual, we got there just after she was all licked clean and was on her feet. She’s a pretty, friendly calf, although I am hesitant to be too enthusiastic. You see, Explorer is her father, and he’s Matilda’s calf from two years ago. Either she’s line-bred or…
Moving On
We just finished our most intense math block of the year – introducing fractions for 4th grade, and basic arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) for !st grade. The 1st grade math was fun – we used a story with squirrels gathering nuts (Addition gathers them a few at a time and puts them all…
Did You See Me Dwiving? (Thoughts on Creativity and Kids)
Back when Clothilde was just a little grub, a friend of mine stopped by just to pick something up. She left her 3-year old in the car, strapped into his car seat while she ran in, but of course we started chatting for a few minutes. Mirin was playing outside, and all of…
In the Garden: Getting ready for Spring
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…
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…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 