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Hi Everyone,
Spring is just around the corner—I promise! The lambs are still multiplying in the fields. It is amazing how some days none are born, other days one or two or born—but then there are those days where about six mama’s all give birth and there are little lambs everywhere. It is so cute to see them gang up together and run all around the fields. Right now all the sheep are being renegades—they finish eating one field (or get tired of it) and help themselves to another field. One white mama sheep has been travelling all over with her little black lamb—she is teaching it young to dodge through hot-wire and go wherever they please.
Simple and Easy
Life last week started out with time to smell the roses—well, maybe we didn’t exactly smell them, but we were spending a lot of close up time with them. On Monday we finished pruning the roses in the garden and got all of them weeded. Now we just need to feed them and mulch them. I promise that we could use a volunteer crowd of about 25 people to help do everything that needs to be done. Garden beds need prepped for the spring garden, other beds need weeded and mulched, trees need pruned, chicken hoop houses need mended, fencing needs mended, equipment needs fixed, and so on. I have to admit though that the weather has been gorgeous, and all we want to do is work in the garden—and on Monday’s that is all we do (after we milk the cows).
Tuesday we were blessed with garden help! Our friends Sue and Leo showed up and we were able to work on getting a section of the garden ready to plant carrots and white potatoes. I will either plant them this Thursday or the following Thursday—depending on when the beds gets all weeded. Somehow I have got to figure out how to have a weed free garden—others do, so why cannot I? We worked in the garden until around 2:00 and then it was time for Leo and Sue to go home. Then we ate lunch, made yogurt, and packaged eggs. I took a break for 30 minutes and taught piano lessons. We finished up with the eggs around 4:30, and then I headed to the garden to harvest the greens for the Jacksonville delivery. While I was harvesting I heard a strange motor sound. I stepped outside of the caterpillar tunnel and saw my brother-in-law Gary riding up on the scooter with my niece, Makenna and nephew, Josiah. Makenna was more than eager to help me harvest—especially the little broccoli florets. Josiah on the other hand didn’t want to miss out on anything, and I was just certain that I could watch a 2 year old in the garden. I watched him alright! I watched him step off of a lettuce plant, I watched a strawberry disappear into his mouth, I watched him walk through the plants instead of on the walkways, and I watched him climb off of the metal cages that were protecting the strawberry plants. Yes, I was always a second too late—but I did get to watch him have the joy of his life romping in the garden. At one point I tried to tell him to “walk on the leaves” and then I realized that the ground was covered in cabbage leaves that were still attached to cabbage plants—so I rephrased it to “walk on the brown leaves” that every walkway was covered with. Once we had harvested all the customers veggies, then I harvested some veggies for our dinner and Gary’s dinner. Makenna wanted to make sure that she had carrots. So I pulled her a red carrot, a yellow carrot, and a few orange carrots. We also had some spinach and cabbage to add to the pile. Last but not least—we had to fill our hands with flowers.
A Crane’s Eye View
On the front of our house is a sidewalk that connects our driveway to our porch. On either side is grass—was grass. A Meyer’s lemon tree is on the house side of the sidewalk, and two large red rose bushes are on the other side. Last year Mom started adding some more roses, irises, lilies, and other flowers to different sections. We want to turn the whole courtyard into a cottage garden, but we do not know exactly how to do it. Mapping it out on paper seems like the most logical way to design it—but I didn’t want to have to draw it all out by hand. So I called and asked Samuel Crane if he would bring his drone so that we could take an aerial picture of the courtyard and then we could print it out and design on paper. So Wednesday, when the Crane’s came over to help out on the farm, Samuel brought his drone. Samuel loves photography, and has enjoyed getting involved in not only a camera, but also the drone and Go Pro Action Camera. That has led him to start his own YouTube channel. So if you are wondering just who those Crane boys are that always come and help us on the farm, this is your chance to meet them and see what they are up to on their farm. You can find them on YouTube at Crane Family Farm Make their day and subscribe to their channel. We are hoping that come spring he can come here and do a tour of the farm for his vlog—then you all can see the farm too. Last year he flew his drone over the garden, and he followed the sheep as they left the barn and headed for green pastures.
He Once was Lost, but Now is Found
Last September my brother Charles headed west. One week after he left, we lost all contact with him. Since he was on an adventure, his boss had her phone hooked up to his GPS so that she could track him. His destination had been Washington, but the last place that she tracked his phone was Anchorage, Alaska. When she texted him to find out why he was there—he gave no response. No one heard from him again for months. We filed a missing person report, and found that useless. We called everyone we could think of—but we never did call any of the homeless shelters, for I guess it looked a little daunting when we saw that there was like 20 of them. All we could do was pray, for no one could figure anything out. Then last Wednesday my sister Samantha called and said that Charles had contacted her. We were a little skeptical at first. Charles had contacted her from a new Facebook account and there were no pictures of him on the account. It was about 9:45 that night when my brother-in-law called and said that Charles had made contact and that now there were pictures on his Facebook page. Mom got his phone number and gave him a call. Charles had planned on going to Alaska all along, but his first day there he stayed at a homeless shelter and decided to go for a walk—but left all his belongings at the shelter. When he got back he found that all his belongings had been stolen—no phone, no survival gear, no clothes, no money. He didn’t stay at the homeless shelter very long, because it was a very unsafe one. He then moved to a Mission homeless shelter. He was attending chapel one day when someone came in and asked if anyone needed a job—Charles was more than eager to get work. Moms—don’t be afraid to teach your sons to clean house, cook, or do yard work. Most importantly—TEACH THEM TO WORK! Thankfully my brother sees no job as too low, and he will gladly do any job that he is offered. So for the last so many months he has been cleaning houses. It took him until last week to finally save up enough money to buy a phone. Then he was able to get back on Facebook and make contact with his friends and family. He is really enjoying himself, and is just starting to get used to the negative temperatures—he says it is COLD!!! He plans on spending his summer on a fishing boat. So we rejoice that he has been found, and our prayers have been answered.
Empty Handed
Thursday was so windy that we hunkered down inside most of the day. The wind gusts got as high as 33 mph, and we were thankful that the garden tunnel and the greenhouse didn’t blow away. The day was spent doing odds and ends—but the best part was spent in the kitchen making a Lemon Meringue Pie so that I could take pictures and put it on my recipe blog. I wanted to post the recipe last Wednesday, but I had no pictures. Now I have pictures, but have to find time to blog.
Friday I found myself a little stressed with priorities. We had gotten over an inch of rain in the night, and we now had a little pond where our cows stand and wait to come in to be milked. We had to re-wire the area to keep the cows out of the water. That took time, and then we had to spend even more time coaxing the cows to come in the new way. Cows hate change—even if the change is yesterday the poop bucket was white and today it is orange. Most of the cows were afraid of the new entrance. Those delays caused us to get done milking around noon. I wanted to plant more flowers in the garden—but I had to weed the bed first. I needed to go grocery shopping, and I wanted to get some seed potatoes to plant. I also wanted to go to a garden store in Gainesville and buy some organic herb plants. Mom wanted to take me to the Bass Pro Shop to get me a new pair of winter boots—mine were not keeping my feet warm, and her new ones were doing an excellent job. I didn’t know how to do everything. I decided to head to the garden at 12:50—but Mom reeled me in and said that it was time to fix lunch. While we ate lunch we discussed all the things that we need on the farm, and we decided to head down to Ocala to the used Restaurant supply store to see if they had any tables and/or sinks that we could use in our Poultry kitchen for processing chickens. We still have to rob the table from the milk house—and we have no sinks (although we have plenty of running water and sprayers). We drove all the way to Ocala (90 minutes), and walked all through the store—but we came out empty handed. We only paid $100 for the table we have now, but the cheapest ones they had there were $400. We need a four compartment sink with drain boards on each side, a table for cutting up chickens, and a long table with edges and holes in it for eviscerating the chickens. Plus we need a few wash sinks. Some people have great success using eBay or Craigslist, but we never do. So we wait, and just maybe we can find something online. The first batch of baby chicks arrived Thursday, so we will be processing chickens in eight weeks. We didn’t make it all the way home empty handed though—for we stopped at the Bass Pro Shop in Gainesville on our way home and got me a pair of boots. They work real nice!
Lotion Bar Fun
Saturday was my Lotion Bar Workshop. Thankfully we didn’t have a lot to do to get ready for it—just vacuum, cut up recipe cards, put dinner in the crock-pot, set out all the supplies and equipment, and take care of the dining room table. Of all days, Saturday was not the day to spill my glass of water at breakfast making a mess of the table décor. Thankfully we were able to take everything apart, wash it, iron it, and get it all put back together before everyone arrived. The workshop started at 2:00 and we had an enjoyable time measuring ingredients and melting all the oils, butters and wax. Then I had lots of molds to choose from and everyone got to pick the shape and design of their own lotion bar. The class was over by 4:00, and after everyone left I had to go to the “grocery store” to get some salad ingredients. I already had some White Bean Chicken Chili in the crock-pot, and now I just had to make a salad—but I had no lettuce in the house. The “grocery store” was not very far away, and I didn’t even have to drive to get there. I just grabbed a basket and took a leisurely stroll to the garden where I picked some green Winter Density lettuce, and some Yugoslavian red butterhead lettuce. Then I picked a Kyoto red carrot, and Amarillo Yellow carrot, and an orange Imperator carrot. I also harvested a young Vidalia onion, and I had a stash of Cherry Belle radishes in the fridge that we had grown in the fall. I have to say—that was one good tasting salad.
We had a lovely week, and I am looking forward to the beautiful 80 degree weather this week. I do not like cold weather, and so I am glad that I live in Florida—where spring starts February 1st.
Serving you with Gladness,
Tiare