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.

rim rock marathon

saturday there will be a marathon, over the monument, one of the most scenic marathons anywhere. this will be the first year it is a full marathon. for years it has been rim rock run, and was only 22 miles long. either way, i won't be running.

it is also a great time of year to view the big horn sheep.. they square off about 20 feet apart, or more, and running forward to crash their heads together..... it makes a great booming, that echos of the canyon walls. november and december are prime time for head banging, and a herd of them live up the canyon. lucky me, just a half hours walk....

mid october

it is just plain old breathtaking around here.


roses are blooming, grass hoppers are rare (at last!)


strawberries are few, eggs almost a dozen a day. tomatoes are still ripening slowly, a few zuchini left.

cilantro sprouted a few weeks ago, but is not plentiful, the parsley is abundant, arugula is everywhere, the spinach germinated, as did the peas and fava beans, but will not likely bear unless the fall is long and mild. no sign of the kale i planted with the arugula. some germination on the lettuce.

raspberries are abundant,

the dogs are attentive to when i pick raspberries, and come pick them with me. i've picked 2 quarts in the last 2 weeks, and there are plenty left. i should say, i've brought two quarts inside. (kombucha, vinegar, and freezer), and fed the dogs while i picked, and the dogs picked their own too. that's mopsie in the photo.

various photos

two views of dramatic fall light.



september 2009's biggest project: new lawn, east side, i love it


rags on independent patrol this misty morning. (foreground, tomatoes with their frost protection) we had our first frost even earlier this year than last year's october 10.






prototype paddle boat, for craft shows this fall. i've been planning to make these for years.
i tested this one in last night, one more slight modification needed.
really a very fun toy.

puppies then and now

august 20, 2009

september 18, 2009

since the first week in august, they've eaten almost 100 ponds of puppy chow, and 7 1/2 gallons of goats milk, countless grass hoppers, jalapenos, sweet bell peppers, strawberries and raspberries, tomaotes, pounds of 16 % lay pellets, and what ever else takes their interest. my favorite pair of prescription glasses, various gloves, doormats, the odd sandal, all in the name of research: is it food?

so far, it looks like their life here agrees with them.

they sit, come when called, get back when told, lie down and let the chickens run past them, but not always. sometimes they bounce up and scare the birds at inopportune times. but, for not quite 4 months, these are very well behaved puppies.

Poults!

after waiting 25 days, then waiting 3 more days, after checking on the web i don't know how many times, and making myself keep my hands out of the nest, the hen brought her babies out yesterday. two little fluffies. tan with black speckles...... see photo.

work day 9/13/9

yesterday was the second work day with jerry. to start things off, i was making lavender infused honey before he arrived, went out to check on something, got distracted, he arrived, and we took a look at the days projects. i hadn't had breakfast, so we went inside, to discover i had managed to boil the honey. it smelled great, and nothing was burned, but there was a lake of almost 2 quarts of honey beneath the pot. that took a while to clean up. then i had breakfast, then we went to work.

basically my new helper worked me into the ground..... not something that happens often. i guess i can develop a new skill, letting someone work without me, while i do other things, or take a break. we got a lot done, and i am down loading pictures from the camera, in hopes i can post one or two.

last time worked, we had built a bed with south sloping soil for warmer soil in early spring and late fall. then, in delivering rock for an adjacent project, i backed the tractor into the retaining wall, and the whole thing came apart... the wall is made of logs. after the tractor bumped it, it looked like pick up sticks. now it looks good again, and is planted with peas, lettuce, spinach, arugula and parsley. tomorrow i think i will plant a few fava beans too.

the other project we started is laying out the future vegetable garden. i usually grow things all tucked in together, primroses and strawberries in with peppers, roses, lilies, salad burnet, peonies, parsley and kale, and like that fine, but the last two years it has been difficult to do the tomatoes, with their particular water needs. i've had a problem with squash bugs on the winter swuash too. I've decided that though i will continue the all tucked together style everywhere else, that i should have an organized seasonal vegetable production area, where things don't get all tangled up. the location is north of the garage, next to the orchard and grapes. i stacked leaves there a year ago. yesterday, we brought water to the area, and dug the supply ditch, and several row ditches, and let the water soak in.

it doesn't sound like much, but it is a lot.

tomorrow i will seed it with fava beans and alfalfa, and white clover and flax. i'm thinking letting them grow in with the vegetables doesn't count as all tucked together...that's just soil cover and weed preventer .....

right this minute i'm having technical difficulties with the camera, so i will post the photos later.