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Hi Everyone,
This has been one long and enjoyable day. We arose at 5:00 this morning so that we could go outside and milk the cows, move the sheep, cows, and chickens to new pastures, feed all the birds and let them out. Then we had to pour up the milk to make kefir and yogurt, and bottle feed the lambs. When all that was done we grabbed us a bite to eat before we left for church at 9:00. We had a wonderful time at church worshipping the Risen Savoir, and being reminded how God came to earth to be a man, live a sinless life, and then die on the cross for our sins—but that is not the end of the story, for up from the grave He arose, and now sits on the right hand of God in heaven preparing a place for His followers to spend eternity with Him. What a glorious day that will be! We got home from church around 2:00 to the smell of a leg of lamb cooking in the oven. We went right to work cooking some fresh collards and carrots from the garden, and heating up some canned potatoes. My brother-in-law and his two little ones, Makenna and Josiah came over to spend the afternoon with us. We ate dinner, did the dishes and then played outside. I let the lambs out to play with the children, and two immediately took off after 22 month old Josiah. He was running as fast as he could with the lambs on his heels, and I was running behind to catch up. Thankfully his Dad came to the rescue. Gary then sat down on the front steps holding Josiah in front of him. The lambs huddled all around. Josiah was not afraid of them as long as he was in Daddy’s arms. When the lambs would run off to play, then Josiah would climb down and run around in the grass. As soon as he heard the lamb’s baa-ing, then he took off for security. When we came out with the bottles to feed the lambs, he held onto Mom’s skirt. Then he finally mustarded up the courage to pet them. After we locked them back up, he wanted to go and investigate them from the outside of the pen—from the secure side. They left around 6:30, and it was time for the evening chores and for me to write my journal. Before I could start my journal though, Papa needed help separating the calves moving the sheep and Jersey cows to a new pasture. The calves ran all over the fields, all around the pond—and I didn’t get back inside until 8:00. So here I am at 8:23, and this is as far as I have gotten so far. I am sure that you shall read the rest of this journal much faster than it will take me to write the rest of it.
This week we were able to bring some projects to completion—and what a relief that was. Monday morning Steve and I organized the lamb in the freezer that Papa had picked up Friday morning before we started processing the chickens. Since we were too busy with chickens, the boxes of lamb were just placed in the freezer. Steve and I brought them out Monday morning and organized them in other boxes—so I do not have to freeze to death in the freezer trying to find certain cuts of meat. While we organized the lamb, Mom finished cutting up the last of the chickens. Then I packaged the meat in the vacuum sealer machine, and we got them to the freezer. When all that was done, we got the Poultry Kitchen all cleaned up and the tables put back into the milk house. It was then time for lunch. After we ate we headed to the garden to finish weeding one of the beds. Then I marked out the last of the garden beds, and Steve filled them up with the compost dirt. It was a sense of accomplishment to finally have it all done. We have only been striving for this since the beginning of March. We have been so busy, that I have had to just accept getting accomplished a little bit at a time. It was then dinner time, and after we ate I sat down at the computer to catch up on all my receipt paperwork.
Tuesday Mom and I milked the cows and then Steve and I bottled the milk and kefir. Before lunch Steve and I headed to the garden to finish preparing the last three garden beds. One was full of the last of the beets that needed to be harvested, the other was supposed to be full of carrots, but for some reason only a few sprouted. The third bed was full of potato onions—that were not doing very well. The catalog said that they wouldn’t grow in Florida or Texas, but since we live so close to Georgia, I thought that we would give them a try. We tried—and they didn’t prosper. We got the beds all weeded and cleaned up before Mom called us in for lunch. After lunch we headed back out to the garden and installed two trellises to grow the yellow lemon squash and the tomatoes on. Then I headed back inside to finish making the yogurt, while Steve and Mom started packaging eggs. When I was done, I joined them in their fun. We finished up around 5:00, and then it was time for dinner. Before we could retire for the night though—there were orders to put together and receipts to make for Wednesday’s Jacksonville delivery. Plus, there was a lot of laundry to fold and put away.
Wednesday was Crane Crew Help day—and what help they were. Samuel worked on some drone footage of the garden and of the sheep being let out of the sheep barn and running down the lane to fresh pasture. Then he helped us milk the cows, while Timothy and Peter helped Steve move a batch of chickens out to the pasture and to package some eggs. When that was done Samuel helped Steve bottle the milk, while Peter cleaned up the milking parlor and Timothy put the cows back to pasture. Then all the boys used their strong muscles to help load the ice chests and fill them with ice. When that was finished they gathered the eggs so that Mom and I didn’t have to do it later. Amelia was a big help helping me calculate the totals for all the group orders. Then Samuel loaded up the drone footage to the computer—and it was time for me to start teaching piano lessons.
Thursday was the day I had been waiting for, spent much time planning for, and was our last chance to get the garden all planted. The first planting date was March 15—but we were so busy with the Poultry Kitchen, that we didn’t have time to get it all ready (so I focused on planting what really needed to be up and growing—and harvested before the summer heat). The next planting date was April 11th and 12th. Once again we had been so busy getting the Poultry Kitchen finished, and preparing for our first chicken processing and a farm tour—that we just didn’t get it all prepared. My friend Lydia and I planted what we could, and the rest just had to wait. Thankfully for the first time all planting season—the garden beds were all ready and all we had to do was drop the seeds in the ground. As soon as we milked the cows and got the milk bottled, we headed to the garden with all the seeds and plants in hand. I am always amazed at how long things take to do—always longer than you think it should. It was 11:00 when we headed to the garden, and I put a chicken in the oven before we headed out. We were scheduled to leave our house between 2:30 to 3:00 in order to take a meal to a friend who just had a baby. I still had the rice to cook, and the casserole to assemble. I thought that since the garden beds were all prepared, that it wouldn’t take too long to plant and that we should be back inside by 1:00, so that I would have time to cook the rice. Well, there were two missed beds left to prepare, and planting took a lot longer than I thought. I was finishing up the last item when Mom checked the time and it was……….1:45. HELP!!!!! There was no way to cook rice, eat lunch, and assemble the Chicken Hawaiian casserole in 45 minutes. For two months everything has gotten in the way of us planting the garden—this time, planting the garden got in the way of having everything under control and planned out perfectly. My Mom came to the rescue though, and was able to whip up some mashed potatoes topped with cheese, green beans and the chicken. We then grabbed a bite to eat, and headed out around 3:00. We got home around 7:00, and got a bite to eat and retired for the night—after we gave the lambs their night time bottle.
I ran out to the garden at 7:00 Friday morning to plant another bed of carrots. I do not know if they will grow since it is getting hotter—but it is worth the try. We got the cows all milked and a hole at the milking parlor filled with dirt just seconds before the rains arrived. We got almost a half an inch that day, but it came down heavy. I had made it inside the house—thankfully, because the rain was coming down so hard it was pouring in the front door. Mom and Moises made it inside the milk house—thankfully, for it was raining so hard that it was pouring in the door. Papa had just got Sheba and the chickens moved into a new field, when the rain let loose. Papa climbed into the dog house with Sheba, but after a little while she abandoned him and climbed under the chicken house. Papa said that rain falls from the sky, but that this water was coming down sideways. He was soaked when he made it to the house. Once the milk was filtered, then I bottled the kefir and Mom headed to the house for dry clothes. After that we ate lunch, and then I made the yogurt. Since it was a rainy day, it was a perfect time to make kombucha. By the time I finished the kombucha, the sun was shining, and I headed for a stroll through the garden, and to pick some cabbage for dinner. I enjoyed the garden and all of its flowers, and what joy to see that the vegetable seeds that Lydia and I had planted a week ago were sprouting. I finally made it to the tunnel to harvest the cabbage—just as the heavens let loose again. I was nice and dry in the tunnel, but the winds were so fierce that I was a little concerned for my safety. Last July 4th a little microburst had destroyed our caterpillar tunnel. Thankfully Papa was able to fix it. I survived the storm, and when I got back inside I practiced my piano for a little while before it was time to start dinner. After dinner I got the orders and receipts done for the Gainesville order on Saturday.
Saturday morning, while milking the cows, Mom asked me what was on the agenda for the day. I told her “watch a gardening video and get my ironing caught up.” I never can understand why I get so behind in my ironing. We only wear about 4 pieces a week, and it only takes 5 minutes a piece to iron them. Certainly I can find four, five minute slots in a week! Somehow I do not though—for I had about an hour and a half worth of ironing to do. So as soon as the milking was done, the orders all packed, and Papa on his way to Gainesville, we set up to enjoy our afternoon. I thought that I could iron while the video played—wrong! When watching a gardening video you cannot blink or you will miss some sort of beauty. Then a customer showed up wanting some elephant grass. So Mom headed to the garden with her while I ironed away. When Mom got back, I relaxed while the video played. Then I worked some more on my ironing. I almost finished, but time ran away. I headed to the garden to harvest some kale for dinner and collards for today’s dinner. Mom said that the skunk kept digging up our freshly planted tomato plants—because we put a bunch of food scraps in the bottom of the hole we planted them in. So I put some wire around them hoping to deter the skunks, and hopefully it works.
Well, that was last week, and it is now 9:47 and I must go to bed. By the way—as the saying goes, we got our last cold snap right at Easter. Thankfully it wasn’t cold enough to frost. Can we wash the winter coats now?
Serving you with Gladness,
Tiare