Completely and Utterly Worthless

Me, that is. I’m bored and restless, critical and difficult to live with. I can’t find any satisfaction in anything. I am enough of a grown-up to know that these times occur every so often in any life, and fret all you want against your becalmed state, it’ll end when it ends. But still.

We have sort of blown off our beach vacation this year, mostly because we were so late in getting it together that I just couldn’t face the details of arranging a vacation while at the same time arranging the farm to be ok while we are gone. I’m useless, I tell you! We’ll probably take a little trip to the coast later in the fall—maybe Okracoke. If I can get it together.

I wish you all would tell me what it is you do to refill your reservoirs of inspiration when you find yourself in this state.

Gourds and Pumpkins

Red Kuri Squash

Do not be small minded. Do not pray for gourds and pumpkins from God, when you should be asking for pure love and pure knowledge to dawn within every heart.
—Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Scaling Down for Winter

We have been focusing lately on gearing down for the winter. Last winter was so hard and stressful, that we’ve been making some tough decisions about animals for this year. Right now our livestock list goeas something like this:

  • 3 horses: Shine, Marlene and Winter
  • 3 cows: Maude, Pearl and Maeby
  • 3 pigs: Bill, Dixie and Beowulf
  • 12 sheep: 9 ewes and 3 wethers
  • 4 geese
  • 4 dogs: Split, Ben, Joon, and Ralfy the Ancient Beagle
  • Chickens: 7 laying hens, and a rooster (in a chicken tractor) and 3 bantams running free
  • 4 cats

So the plan is to reduce the number of big hay-eaters, and anybody else who might be a source of stress this winter.

Maude is going to live with our friends in Damascus, Va, where she will be a pampered only cow. Shine is going to live with her former owner in Boone, NC, where she will be giving rides to disadvantaged kids, which is perfect for her. Bill the pig and the 3 wethers are all going in the freezer, along with the chickens in the chicken tractor, who have frustratingly been eating their eggs.

This is sounding much more do-able!