Garlic Dewormer

We're figuring out this life in the country. Most months, we've had to drive an hour away to get the non-genetically modified ("organic") feed for our animals. I would try to calculate what the animals would need, because during the last week of the month, a truck delivers to drop points in the area, but I never calculated enough. Argh!

But this month, now that the voracious pigs are feeding us, I timed the order just right, and Phil simply drove the 4.2 miles to the top of our road and met the delivery man. So easy!

Michelle Bessette wondered if our animals with skin problems might have parasites of some sort. Most farms use chemical dewormers regularly, which we'd prefer not to do, so Phil used his shepherd's crook and caught eight sheep (the two lambs were too small and speedy) and I drenched them with garlic juice. That's smelly stuff! (Oh, and "drench" doesn't mean that I sprayed them all over, but that I stuck 10 mL into a syringe-type "drench" and forced it down their throats.) The whole process only too about 15 minutes. If we had hundreds of sheep, though, that would sure be an unpleasant chore. A benefit of starting out small.

We spent the morning laying out a few more rows of apple trees. It's been a mind-bender trying to calculate best tree spacing, and where to put specific trees for maximum productivity and ease of mobility. But in the end, we managed to find a spot for every one of the 300 apple trees, something I had despaired of even yesterday.

With Jadon and Isaiah's (begrudging) help, we almost finished our seventh row of trees, bringing the total in the ground to 172, or 43%. So exciting! As the ground greens over, and the cut-to-nothing kale resprouts as fast as I can cut it down, I'm enjoying the spring immensely. I like being outside most of the day without a sunburn; I like hearing the little cock-a-doodle-doo from our little rooster (roosters?). I like the cloud formations overhead and the yellow dandelions smiling from the orchard floor.

What a great season!

And after a full day of planting, our house might not look orderly, and the baby might be missing his pants, but we're well fed and happy, and just a bit dirty.



What a great life!