carrying too much

if i were holding a limb in a take down at ash, i'd be saying "i'm losing it, i'm losing it"

i'm not really losing it, but there is so much going on, so much to track.

i am trying to track how much the chickens eat, trying to decide if i need to raise the price of eggs. i think my customers would be happy to pay what ever is fair, and i think "fair" has more to do with what it costs to get the eggs than what iowa and elsewhere eggs are selling for at a local retailer. i need to note how often i buy feed for the hens. i bought 150 lbs of pellets and 100 pounds of scratch on march 2nd.

now i don't have to try to keep track of that anymore.

one dark cornish hen did not come home to roost last night. 3/13. there has been no evidence of foul play by the pups, i wonder if she has a nest somewhere. if she is setting somewhere, i hope she has chosen wisely, and i need to be on the look out for her in exactly three weeks, keep track of the pups so that when she does bring her fluffy chickies out, they won't get scattered and lost. my hope is to guide them into the coop for safety from my predators and wild ones.

what else.

i will be included in an article in next friday's paper. people will have my canyonwrenfarm.org web address and by the time next friday rolls around, i need to have posted a weekly schedule of deliveries and pick up locations, and a system by which i will accept advance orders.

i need to call the lady who is knowledgeable about and interested in cottage law and the legislative process.

these are the kinds of bits which i am losing, and now have written down.

i am also tracking the progress of "second hand crane days"

http://www.eckertcranedays.com/

the sand hill cranes migrate through, in a very predictable way, giving an experience i am curious about. they are present by the hundreds and/or thousands depending on the day. they are late this year. they arrive at sundown or there abouts and take off in the early morning. it is said the song is distinctive, and my guess is it might also be deafening in volume if one is there on a day when there are thousands. they stay for one night only, then depart, and a new wave comes in at dusk. i want to go. after i've been, i want to write about it and add it to a list of posts about possible day trips from my place.

wwoofers.

it's been pretty exciting. i posted as a host farm about mid february. people are inquiring and i've accepted a few, and am in conversation with others. the earliest pair had wanted to come now and stay til may, and i said yes. and made a list. i sent them photos so they would know exactly what they would be doing, and they said "we'll take it" but a few days later said they had to change their plans. great people it seemed, and i would have loved to have them. now i'm left with my list. things i had been able to pass by without worrying too much about came to the fore of my attention, and now i have to let them fade away again, so they do not distract me from the things i need to do now, that are dictated by the changing of the season, from frozen winter to muddy spring. it's good to have the list started though, it is ready for the next inquirer. as i said to the folks who had to cancel: "something good will come, and best wishes to you". i still harbor hopes they might change their minds. i got a great list out of it.

the lawn is greening, and i need to get photos for the woman who will design a logo for me. i want the silhouette of the cliffs above in three tones of black grey white. who knows what all i could do with it, business cards, a sign out front, gosh, letterhead, batiked on silk or rayon pre-shibori-ed in tones of sandstone? i want to go try that, not do these record keeping things.

i'm resolved to being unemployed. or is that self employed? these lists of things that are not my favorites are what has had me working for others rather than diving into making the small farm dream bear fruit, but as my job prospects have not worked out, i've had to get focused on making my dream generate income. it is a delicate balance to ask a dream to pay for itself, without losing the qualities of dream. sometimes the details just seem overwhelming to me, and i'd rather go play in my garden and with my pups. i still do a lot of that, but these other things are important for the success of my undertaking.

ever since my years spent at pacifica in the company of others who seek this balance of waking dream, i've been calling it the bi pedal gait of humanity, one foot in the physical world, one in the numinous.

i've had an offer to have my modification of sally vedder's cosy shawls in a local main street vendor.

i need to get onions in the ground, and more ordered. i have a farming friend who has no soil, and he ahs said he may be able to hep with the onions on wednesday.

though it seems odd to think of tomatoes in grey weather, now is the time to get seeds started, and soil prep for their place out doors. and i do so want to get the public entry way not just pretty, but rebuild the steps up from the driveway. not to mention (wink) the entrance i use. it is time to clean the chicken house, and the dog's pen, and the water will be here in less than a month.

so, anyway, i've got some important dates written down, and some reminders, which is what brought me here to the blog.... something i don't lose or throw away, though i do need to get some ease built into it by friday, when there may be an increased volume of web visitors, which may get an increased volume of visitors to those steps i need to rebuild......

there is a yoga teacher who would like to hold classes here when the weather is right for outdoor yoga. i've been wanting a laugh yoga class, so maybe she will have that here as well.


so, that's's a snap shot of my life.

on my niece's wedding day. i love you jamie. i bet you are a beautiful bride. i hope to see pictures.