Last weekend was Dad's memorial service. It was a brief but intense trip with warm memories and hot weather, short on sleep and high in stress, something to get through and yet treasure forever. In the middle of it, I lost my travel spindle. I've never lost a spindle before, so that was bad enough, but to lose one made from Bubinga that my birth dad gave me while traveling for my step-dad's memorial makes this loss sting:
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| on the flight to TX; sadly missing by the time we flew home |
But life goes on – and I'm doing my best to catch up. Our atypically cool, wet spring is both blessing and curse. I love this weather, as does all the burgeoning flora. Weeds, grass, weeds, flowers, weeds, trees; you get the picture. Our 'hay guy' called this week to say there will be no first cutting because he hasn't had a dry stretch to put it up and now it's all seed heads and stems, and his second cutting is pretty much all spoken for (so much for thinking we were at the top of his buyers list!). Out on vet calls Rick has heard that the cost of hay – IF you can find it – has skyrocketed. Thankfully, we still have hay left over from last year, and I'm trying to make it stretch as long as possible. The horses are mostly on pasture now, and I plan to invest some of this year's fleece income in some ElectroNet fencing so the sheep can continue to graze the lush verges of our driveway without accessing the yard's toxic plants.
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| last four bales of third cutting in foreground, with first cutting beyond |
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| Bling is still my shadow |
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| the two other lambs and their dams |
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| yearling Berlin |
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| this plastic netting did NOT contain them, hence the need for ElectroNet |
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| and no, Bridget hasn't lambed yet |
I did meet my self-imposed deadline of having all the fleeces harvested by the end of May, and am now skirting and invoicing the reserved fleeces. Usually all my fleeces are reserved before shearing, but with this year's events I dropped that ball (along with a lot of others, like gardening and weeding).
Rick has been mowing regularly, but beyond the lawn everything is looking shaggy and neglected. I offered to pay Brian what the neighbors' sometime-gardener charges and he said he's interested, but so far the interest hasn't translated to action; no surprise there. I'm resigned to not having a garden this year, but am not totally giving in to the weeds. I've pulled quite a bit of tansy in the pastures, but need to do another sweep for more, plus thistles. This week I have spent a good number of hours pulling and poking out bushels of weeds around the front of the house, and it's looking better.
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| tidied entry |
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| The weeds were hiding the mess here; maybe I should have left them! |
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| one of many loads |
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| progress is seeing dirt and gravel |
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| got the calibrachoa gifted by our church family potted, too |
6 comments:
Seems like everybody is in the same jam this year. I've been so up to my 'whatzit' in life that I've not had time nor energy to post a Farm Report. Mama Pea says she needs a break and... Oh well!
A garden should be a source of joy and pleasure - not a worrisome obligation. Nothing wrong with picking up something from a farmer's market or even the store. Soldier on! I say. And just for the record, no matter how many times I see it, sheep wearing dinner jackets just cracks me up.
Cheers
I can't say that my vegetable gardens have been sources of joy and pleasure over the years, but oh, the satisfaction of growing our own clean food! And with prices of everything jumping, it seems more important than ever to be able to do so. I'm eyeing an empty pot on my deck for at least a patio tomato....
You can only do what you can do. Letting go of some things this year is healthy. What you need more of right now is healing time.
Thanks, Michelle, for doing this post. I assume that is your mother in the first photo. I continue to pray for her, you, and all of your family. You've been through a really tough time.
I'm sorry about the loss of your lovely spindle. I know it was a special gift.
The pictures of your sheep are so sweet. May I ask what the cost is, for one of those nice coats you put on the sheep? It seems like they would be expensive. I think they are a great idea, too protect the fleece. Berlin is looking great.
Hang in there dear friend, and know that God is with you at all times.
Sometimes life happens. Hopefully, things will settle into a more comfortable routine for you. Sorry to hear about your spindle!
I'm with Elaine. You are one human and one human can only do so much - particularly as you are processing life-altering loss. I'm so sorry about your spindle and am hoping that somehow it turns up somewhere and makes its way home to you. Hang in, my friend - it won't always be this chaotic.
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