Glimpses of Our Day and Week

Phil and Abraham headed down to the "lower pasture," as we call the unclaimed land down near Hog Creek, that bisects our land. Phil took his machete and a tape measure; he wanted to see if the fencing we have currently would be sufficient to enclose the four acres down there, so we can start the cows grazing in the woods and brush.

Abraham loved trying his hand with the machete, almost as tall as he is. He held the tape measure for Phil, and returned, dripping with sweat and thrilled to have helped.

Later in the day, Phil followed where the sheep had been and scythed down the lignified stems of the weeds the sheep ate.

He tries to do that regularly. He also cut a small patch of weeds, sprung up in the last few weeks since the sheep grazed, and found that, beneath the weeds, some good grass growing.

But what to do about the ridiculously tall weeds in the stone fruit orchard?

We think it might be time to get pigs again. Not today, not tomorrow, but soon. They could plow down the growth, and eat the spelt ready for harvest. And by the time they're ready to process, I'm pretty sure our freezer will be empty. Good!

And here are some recent photos.

First, the back side of our beautiful Bethany, the cow we think was born in 2003. She's flicking flies; note her beautifully shiny coat. Marvelous.


And here is our beautiful Fern, two years old and ready for breeding. You can pray with me that she will be successfully artificially inseminated on the first try, which should happen around July 8. We are a little concerned about how to pen her enough that she won't injure herself or the technician; there's plenty to consider around that event.


A week ago, this was what I saw right near the living area.

Now the cows are almost all the way down the slope again. With once or twice a day moves, they get through the area quickly.

Ten of my twelve heads of elephant garlic. Look how large they are! (Elephant garlic isn't actually garlic. It's related to leeks!)


My cold frame. When I watered my still-diminishing seedlings today, I noticed a grasshopper sitting very still inside. Hmm. I can guess where my seedlings are going.


Happy Full Moon!