Yesterday morning I was boiling water to do the dishes. I had the hot water in the kitchen turned off so I could try to replace a hose under the dishwasher that became rat food or something, maybe they used it to sharpen the teeth of their young. All I know is water comes spewing out the bottom and it’s a huge mess to clean up.

It’s been one thing after another and you know I don’t dare ask what’s next because as we all know there is a next. Yesterday was a fix it day, but now yesterday is a didn’t get it fixed day. Well let me back up. Didn’t get everything fixed day. But the most important item on the list was the water well and that dear friend is fixed! Thanks to Linda and Ed. It took most of the day but we have water! But yesterday being it was a Sunday and the closest hardware store closed, if we needed anything were talking a three hour tour. Yes a three hour tour! (Actually just two) But, sit right back and yu’ll hear a tail, a tail of a fix it day, that started with broken pipe and a sheep that ran away. A sheeeeeep that ran awayyyyyy. (you’re singing along aren’t you?). The mate was a mighty Nubian, the skipper brave and sure………..The woolies ate the chicken scratch and we pulled out our hair! OK I know that didn’t fit in but it was true, really!

I let the new Katahdens out of the isolation pen last night and they flocked right away (unlike the woolies) Received 4 more ewes two with lambs hanging off their utters. So that reaches my quota of 20 ewes. Well actually I’ve surpassed that number and have 26 ewes, three lamb ewes, 1 Dorper Ram, 8 woolies and 1 wither (spot, who is just like one of the girls). I stop now. Really!
I’m back in Oklahoma city this week catering my little heart out.(to pay for my sheep habit) I’ll have Thursday off, maybe to work on fences and get ready for my trip to Seattle. Trying not to feel overwhelmed.

What was really great about yesterday though was breakfast! Eggs Benedict of sorts with seared eggplant, a bunch of our fresh picked greens, a poached egg topped with homemade hollandaise. We fried us up some nice taters to go with it and I’m telling you that is the way to start off the day for sure!

Well, We're still with out water. The plumber came yesterday and fixed the broken pipes but no water is yet to flow through our faucets. Possible that it is a frozen well pump. I put a small heater in there last night and this morning still no water. Back to the drawing board.
yesterday it just barely got above freezing so harvesting for the CSA was almost impossible. Kasey was able to harvest a big bag of lettuce for everyone but kale, chard etc was frozen.
Generally these things can freeze and be fine once the temp comes up they just cannot be harvested frozen or they turn to mush.
I'm catering in Oklahoma City for the next two days. There is so much work I have to do here so I'm feeling pretty frustrated but the money is one of those things I really need more than almost anything else right now.
The woollies are still getting out but now there coming back so that's a bright light.
I'm talking to a lady about buying her brown swiss milk cow. Yea like I really need a milk cow right now.
do I?

It's freezing!

OK is 12 degrees. Yesterday the kitchen sink was frozen and finally thawed out in the afternoon. I had left the facet open so when I came in from doing chores there was three inches of water on the kitchen floor (the drain was plugged). I was happy the sink was working again. So I cleaned up the water and admired my clean floor, then I heard it, the water fall under the house from the busted pipe. Yep. Called the plumber and he was 8 deep with folks having the same problem. But I got someone coming out this morning.

I had to turn the water off so we filled up several pails and were fine. This morning when I went to check on the chickens I noticed the river of water coming out of the well house. yea. Last night I turned the water off at the well house, but didn't turn the pump off. I didn't think it would matter, There is a ton of insulation in the well house I thought it would be fine. Thank god the plumbers coming out this morning.

So when they say it can always get worse. I always believe them.

The temp will come up enough harvest for the CSA delivery and hopefully the plumber will be able to get us all patched up. Lessons learned.
So far I'm keeping a good attitude about it all but I'm definatly a woman on the verge.

Welcoming the light

I’ve been trying to find a way to find comfort in this month. I’ve been trying hard to find my place in it, one where I too can feel the warmth of the sacred fire amongst my friends and family. But sadly this month has brought out the opposite in me for many years. It’s a time of year that I haven’t always felt connected with my family, and I would worry about my defects and my imperfections, and until the death of my sister there was a wedge between myself and my kin folk due to my emotional response to what I perceived their response and their judgment to my life path was. Until recently I guarded myself from the judgment I expected to receive, the teasing and what I felt was their emotional paralysis.

I dreaded Christmas not just because I felt it was based on lies and deception but because I felt it was when I was most exposed. Really what I was trying to protect myself from was seeing and celebrating my own imperfections and flounders and just dealing with it. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve made poor choices. I’ve also done some things and have experienced peace, joy and beauty of epic measures. Something shifted in me once my sister became ill. I didn’t care what my family thought of me. It just happened, I didn’t even try. It just fell off my experience just like that. Somehow through my sisters illness and death I accepted myself good, bad, ugly and beautiful and not only my family but everyone I come across, suddenly I had this great sense of what they see is what they get and if they don’t like it too bad! but not in an arrogant way in a truthful with myself way. It was a profound shift in the way I saw myself and my worthiness of love and respect.

I think many people go through this and I guess it’s just a coming of age thing where one day we wake up and are introduced to ourselves. Hi this is who I am, this is what I’ve done, this is what I want to do and I hope we can fine some peace with each other. I know we’ll have some rough times ahead and some joyful ones too but I’m gonna stop treating you like shit and calling you names and telling you that everyone thinks you’re a firkin loser cause I know now you’re not. And I know I’ve told you over and over again you’re as ugly as sin but when I look at you in the mirror right now with your new eye wrinkles and the wrinkles around your mouth from all that smiling and laughing you like to do, I see now that you are really beautiful, and I’m glad you made those choices you did that got us into trouble cause we’re better because of them.

When I was reading this morning about Winter Solstice I had to admit December is a dark time. Scientifically speaking that is. Ancient farmers knew it, animals knew it, trees and flower know it. So why shouldn’t it be the same with the world with-in us. One page I was reading this morning said “This is a natural time for letting go and saying farewell. Release your resentments and regrets into the darkness, knowing they will be transformed.” After December 21st the light comes, and with it a new season of opportunity, growth and love.

OK, so I am truly excited about fiber sheep. My small flock of Southdown seem like the perfect starter herd to explore this with but dang they are worse than goats when it comes to floating through fences. I’m telling you it’s crazy. Luckily there is no danger nor are they a danger to others (except if they manage to find the garden) but they are breaking out of my grazing routine and its really making me mad. I NEED CONTROL!! AH, HA, HA,HA!

They don’t seem to even care about the other animals they just do their own thing and wonder away from the herd. They do come back, right around dinner time to grub on alfalfa so at least I know their number. I just expect this kind of behavior from the goats not from the sheep. So they really have me confused. Now I’ve got a new flock of Katahden that are waiting to go in with the other hair sheep and they seem to be interested in the other hair sheep, but not the woolies or the goats. Is it possible they recognize each other to be the cut from the same pie? Pascal the Llama definitely has been keeping a curious eye on them and has shown no interest what so ever in the woolies.

About the fence. OK not many will disagree that woven wire field fence with a strand of barbed wire at the top is the way to go with goats. From my experience sheep can do fine on barbed wire fences and be pretty content to roam in side of said fence. Why don’t I have the woven wire fence? Only because a fence of 6 strings is already in place. If I add another strand I’ll be fine. Let me also say that the goats have been fine, and they up until now have been my fence testers. Let me also mention that the area I’m trying to keep everyone in is a beautiful 10 acre holler, a gorgeous valley between a fenced 85 acres and 230 acres. It has tones of good forage and grasses, lots of good things to eat and a nice clean pond to drink from. The goats have figured out that this is a pretty great place and I’m sorry but if the woolies think they can do better well, they’re in for a big surprise.

A reader commented on the last post that fences were her life. Yea I’m getting the feeling I’ll be spending a lot more time this winter stringing wire and pulling woven wire fences. I have looked into electric but another friend told me that woolies are insulated and can withstand the shock. I’m gonna have to do more investigating on the subject. Any insight would be helpful out there.

Oh I forgot one of the new sheep lambed. Just before they arrived to me, a beautiful baby girl, solid black except for a little white tip on her tail. All the new Katahden’s are bred and of course I have no idea when so I am hoping they either lamb now or wait till spring. But either way it’s exciting. I haven’t taken any pictures of the little one yet but will have a chance probably tomorrow.

I’m so busy right now with catering and working at wellness center and just keeping things together at the farm. December is like this but I will be traveling to Seattle to spend Christmas with my family. I’m trying to plan some fun things to do like visit a few dairies and maybe travel to the San Juan islands for the day or maybe cross country skiing, anything that will take me out of the house waiting for my sister to join me for a cup of coffee. This will be my second Christmas without her. I wonder if I’ll ever stop counting.

Off to the milk barn.

Yurt Raising

Just before the cold weather hit last week we managed to wrangle up a bunch of very generous and curious friends to help raise the yurt. This will be Kasey’s home. Yurts are fabulous! When I first moved to Oklahoma I lived in this yurt for one year before moving to the farm in Bristow. There is something about the curves and the light fabric walls, the wood beams that make up the ceiling and the lattice walls. It’s heated with a wood stove so in the winter as long as you keep up on loading the fire it’s the coziest place in the world. The summers are another story so placement is important. You want to make sure you get the winter sun and avoid the summer sun so lots of shade trees on the west are a good thing.

Kasey has chosen to place the yurt just north of the first pond. It’s a beautiful view and he gets plenty of southern exposure. I’m a little jealous to be honest. I absolutely loved living in the yurt. It does change your priorities, he is learning that gathering wood is one of his most important chores. It helps to have an efficient stove one that will burn 8 hours plus and will take full logs. This helps get ya through the night without feeling a bitter cold poking your nose. He’ll be working on making it home by putting in a small kitchen and bathroom and making it comfortable. I’ll keep ya updated with photos.

On the garden front: In spite of the dang cold weather we’ve been having things are still looking good. We put plastic over our fabric crop covers for some additional protection and to try to coax the broccoli and cauliflower to grow a little more. If we can keep them around 50⁰ we should have harvestable heads the end of next week. If we could have just got them in two weeks earlier than we did we’d be in business. But next year right? It’s hard to forget how traumatic last September was with trying to get moved, it’s really amazing we have a garden at all.
I’m off to Oklahoma City to help a friend with some catering jobs. Feeling very grateful for the income!

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Time to catch up a little

Life on the farm has been very busy lately. Twelve new beautiful Kathaden ewes arrived last Thursday and between getting the Southdowns introduced into the old flock of St Croix, covering up and protecting our winter crops, fence mending and all the other daily chores, there has not been much time at all to breath. Not only that but the “holiday” season means I work like a fool to make enough money to pay the farm bill when no farm income is coming in.

For me, December is not the warm fuzzy time to spend with friends or family, it’s a time when I cook for people who are doing just that. From thanksgiving to Christmas I am working my buns off catering making it possible for folks to engage in holiday cheer without the messy clean up. Just yesterday I helped cater two parties one for 100 people and the second for 175 people. Yes, yesterday I helped feed 275 people. Until I leave for Seattle on the 21st I’ll be doing much of the same.

No matter how bad I want to be a full time farmer and make all of my living off the farm I just can’t yet. Luckily for me I have a skill that can help me when times are tight and I can’t squeak a living out of the soil or an utter. Cooking is in my DNA and I can’t avoid it so I might as well use it! But the consequence to that is I’m pretty much bah hum bug when it comes to the holiday season and remain so until my favorite holiday, New Year comes ( the day when I pledge every year I won’t cater anymore)But, now that I don’t work in a restaurant, my new years eve is free to contemplate and enjoy. New Year ’s Day is spent enjoying life and its bounty instead of sleeping through the whole day in recuperation for a hard night at the restaurant. So really I haven’t much to complain about.

I could go on some serious rants about the toils of catering, about the price bickering about rude guests and degrading comments and such. But I’ll just keep that smile on my face and try to pretend I’m as excited about their party or event as they are.

I’ve been cooking professionally (getting paid) since I was 14.5 years old. I’m 43 now. I do love it, always have and until now have never wanted to do anything else. But now I want to grow food instead of cook it, I want to make cheese instead of serve it and I want to feel the cool and warm air of the field and gardens instead of particles of smoke, steam and stifling heat of the kitchen. I want cooking to be a part of a grand experience that I’m not left out of. I want to share the wonders of a broccoli and the smooth creamy texture of freshly made chevre. But until then I’ll chop, dice, puree, bake, fry, sear, slice, dish up, tray up, wrap up transport and serve.

I've got today off so its back out to the fences.

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