Enjoying autumn

The BEST time of year

Well I know I've been delinquent with updating the blog.  It's been a busy few months, some bad, some good, some amazing.  Fall is the best time of year here.  The colours are beautiful, the air is crisp and feels like it heals your skin and lungs and eyes after a long hot summer.  Even G keeps commenting on how good it feels, and he enjoys the heat more than I do.  

It's a real relief to see the animals acting like themselves again.  The hens sprint out of the coop in the morning, the equivalent of a dog bounding out in a field of rabbits. The horses are relaxed, having slept well and kept watch overnight, with no mosquitoes to torment them.  

We harvested 25-30 of these monsters. Plus about 30 butternut.

Fruit flies in my wine

Doesn't that sound like a good title for a country song?? It's that time of year too. Lazy late days spent harvesting raspberries, drinking wine while listening to farming podcasts. It's too bad that G misses out on this more often than not. Weekends are much too short. I'm alone far too much. He was in northern MN last week, and he left again early this morning and won't be back until Friday.

Part of the reason I haven't been writing is that I've been taking the time at night to spin wool. After night lockup, I come in and help G in the kitchen for a bit, then he makes dinner while I spin.  I'm very grateful for the time. Hopefully I will have something to show for it soon.

In the last few months we've had the siding replaced on the house, had rotten logs repaired and the entire house painted. G tore down our deck, and we are hoping to have one rebuilt this winter but the house repairs were several thousand dollars more than we had budgeted. 

I hurt my back very badly, and spent several weeks in the worst pain of my life other than my pancreatitis incident almost ten years ago. G was away while this was going on, and it was so hard for me to take care of the farm in that state. If that happens in the winter, I will really be in trouble.  I have no one to help me.

I did end up going to the Farmscale Permaculture course in Iowa earlier this month.  I will devote another post to that when I have time.

We decided not to have the field hayed a second time.  It pretty much shut down and got too weedy in late summer, but now it's providing some much needed grazing space for the horses.

I love looking out there and seeing them grazing up on the hill.  Sometimes after they're full, they just stand there swishing tails and observing everything, likely getting olfactory information from miles away. 

We had 225 bales delivered, and this weekend we will get another 200.  Who knows what crazy weather El Nino will lead to this winter?!

Surprise gift!!!

October second marked our five year wedding anniversary! Where has the time gone??  G bought me this beautiful hand made walnut handle Damascus knife. I'll have to learn how to sharpen it and keep the blade looking great for many years to come.

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Bees, or not to BEE

I've started treating both hives for Varroa mites. I didn't do the test beforehand....but they most certainly had some level of infestation, since now I'm seeing dead mites all over the bottom boards. Not sure if hive one has enough honey to get them through the winter. 

Aqua and Panda on the edible pond edge. Once the buckwheat and sunflowers were eaten, the kale, turnips and radish tops have all made for amazing forage.  There is plenty for me to harvest and bring to our young guineas every day too. 

We need rain again, the pond level has dropped, but the ducks still spend many hours in it every day.

Loving the steel blue fall skies!