Shearing Continues

As Phil continues to shear sheep (two today!), he’s begun to enjoy it. (Note how bare Eve looks, above. The blades leave more wool than clippers would, but that's okay. It offers the sheep a little extra protection from the sun.) The blades are not so scary, and the technique not so impossible. We have a book titled Shearing Day, all about how to shear with blades. It didn’t make a lot of sense to read before attempting to shear, but now that he’s done seven sheep, he can read with insight. That’s good! Below, you can see Ewok. She hasn't been shorn yet.

I pulled out the remaining kale in my garden, and planted the bed to peanuts today. The peanuts have a 130 day growing requirement, so they’ll probably not quite make it before the frost comes (probably sometime in October). But they just might, in the end, and I’m excited to try.

A few cabbage seedlings poked through the soil in the cold frames. It’s only been four days since planting! Great! I’ve been thinking that, now that Butch has moved all the manure out of the winter paddock, I should turn that paddock into my fall and winter garden: grow massive quantities of garlic, onions, and cabbage. I will need to start making raised beds now, then, in faith that I will plant in a few months.

Butch came today and used his tractor bucket to move a large pile of wood chips from the parking area at the top of the driveway down to cover the composting windrow. Compost piles should, ideally, have a skin on them, so they stay moist and protected as they work. The wood chip covering is their protection.

He’s about to have knee-replacement surgery, and we are thankful he could help us with his equipment before he’s laid up for a short while.

I stripped the seed pods off all the kale I pulled. My single bed, grown from a single packet, yielded over a cup of seeds. The generosity of nature!

Jadon finished his first semester of math. It took him the last week. I love the “Better Late Than Early” philosophy of school. No tears, no trauma, almost 100%, and just a few hours of instruction.

As Phil learns more about rotational grazing, he’s moved the cows into smaller paddocks. The five cows are in an area about 24’ x 24’, and I don’t think we can go much lower. They all have horns, and they don’t always get along in perfect peace.

The chickens did a great job spreading the cows' manure. They scratched the cowpies flat.

I spent a little time working in my “kitchen” barn. I know the techniques of proper organization: is there a better place for this item? Does it need to take up the most “prime real estate” in my kitchen? Do I use this? Do I like this? It can be hard to implement, despite the head knowledge!

The small section I did, though, feels much more restful than it did.

Overall, much good.

(And much kombucha. I’m up to four gallons brewing, or will be, once I get enough water through the Berkey filter. When it’s available, we drink it down, from Phil to Joe. It's supposed to be very cleansing, which I suppose it is; we've had the physical effects to prove it.)