Soil Report Comes: So Pleased!

Father-in-law Ken drove Phil to the airport at 4am Tuesday morning. (I'm glad it wasn't me!) They were a mile down the road when Phil realized he didn't have his wallet. What a relief that they didn't get any further. Once again, God took care of us.

We keep watching the cows. I'm driving myself a bit crazy watching swelling on their backends, wondering if it has increased. Really, there's not much change.

Joe's potty training continues in fits and starts. He has finally wet or messed through all his undies, and all his brothers', so I did laundry today in my handwasher. I hadn't used it before. The actual washing took only several minutes, but the double rinse, and subsequent hanging up of a couple dozen undies (and shorts and shirts) ended up taking an hour total. Less time than I feared, but a good chunk of time nonetheless.

I didn't do any sheets or jeans. Those would be heavy and tiring, I suspect.

Some weeks are filled with blessings. For us, this week is one.

When Phil reached my sister's house, he found a check with part of payment that's been due since May 2008. Wonderful!

We are thinking about increasing pig production right now. If we bought feeders, they would just about be ready for the holiday market, since a pig takes about 4 1/2 months to raise (any weanling we bought would already be 1 1/2 months old). There are't many piglets for sale on craigslist; we'll see what we can find.

It's been so nice that, while I've been looking into pig rearing, Phil's parents are here to take care of the boys.

Our guinea eggs finally hatched. I understand why guineas are said to be bad parents: they hustled their keets away, over rough terrain. I'm not sure where they've hidden their few survivors. There was one tiny, chilled keet that couldn't keep up with the incredible pace the parent guineas set. I held it, and put it into a warming box. It did die after a few hours, but I am thankful it died in comfort.

Even as I write, another little keet is still breaking out of its shell. One wing is free. Sadly, I suspect it won't live long, even if it does hatch all the way, but who knows?

At most, of the 21 eggs the guinea sat on, she has seven live babies. We'll see if any of them survive.

For me, perhaps the best part of these last two days was the soil sample report.

As you may remember, last year's soil report was abysmal: we had 13% of the calcium we should have, for example. Our composite score was 3. Out of 100. It could hardly be worse.

So we spread minerals, and ran animals, planted an orchard, and hoped that all the expensive minerals didn't wash down slope in the rain.

I have heard that it takes organic farms about 7 years to get their soils fully ready. I hoped for progress, maybe even triple the number we had before.

So I opened the email with excitement and trepidation, to find this comment:

I know this program is expensive but you are building a foundation for a high yielding top quality orchard. By next year the quantities needed in the Broadcast will begin to reduce. You have made some good progress.

And our composite score was 38! Almost 13 times better than last year!

Our calcium is at 25% of where it needs to be. Still not good, but just about double a year ago. And other numbers are not great, but are getting better.

Even the hope that this might be the last year of 3000 pounds of minerals to broadcast per acre gives me good hope.

The land is healing! Praise the Lord!