The chickens are finally out again now that there are a few bare patches of grass in the yard.  They're walking around with big mud shoes but don't seem to mind.  They've been "cooped" up for too long.... having a baby this winter, I understand the true meaning of that term now.  I've gotten crazy for the idea of getting out- a trip to the grocery is exciting to me!  The chickens have continued laying regardless of the weather, but they seem to lay more when they are happy because they've been out in the yard.  Cruel fate has struck as we've determined that Aidan is allergic to eggs and even more surprising seems to also be sensitive to poultry....  it's like some sort of sick joke of Mother Nature that I was planning to raise our chickens and eggs for our family's primary meat source!  Oh my....

It's been a week or so since we visited Harmony Farm and had a couples massage, but I just had to share finally!  What a great place!  The family that owns and runs Harmony have put all their healing intent and energy into everything they do.  Our massages took place in a room with one wall made up entirely of floor to ceiling windows.  The building sits at the top of a hill and the rest of the property drops away down the slope away into the woods and finally to the Miami River.  What an amazing view- no sterile spa with canned music here!  They have amazing healers and artists coming from all over the world to add their energies to the Farm and they have an amazing vision of what more they can do in the future.  I had felt for some time that I was "blocked"... I had been experiencing a lot of anxiety and was stuck in a lot of my projects.  Shortly after my massage began, I started to feel the energy flowing freely through my body again.  My brain clicked back into a creative place and I began to explore new ideas for Mockingbird.  I have to recommend a couples massage if you've never done one.  Right after our massage I was able to talk to Carson while we were still in that space.  He marveled at what I was telling him about my experience.  He also enjoyed his massage, but his experience was to have his mind go blank!!!  =)  This is an utterly foreign concept to me.  We are such different people and I've never understood his insistence that he is able to "not think at all".  I can't imagine it... it makes me wonder if this is a male/female thing, or just a difference in temperaments.  Body work is so interesting and individual- too many people believe it is an unnecessary luxury!  It is part of our personal health plan to go quarterly and untie the knots!!

Today I finally met with our local chamber of commerce!  Seems pretty silly that we've been noticed nationwide and we have a local following in another city, but we've never let our local community know we're here!  Anyone out there getting a business started- I highly recommend you do this earlier than I am.  I guess in a way it makes sense that it's taken this long.... the farmer's markets that we've done have been in other communities and we have just built our farm store this fall.... but still... crazy!  The folks I met there were really helpful and had loads of ideas on how we can network and work with other businesses to get our name out there.  They were really excited about our honey's and had a few opportunities for us to take part in local agritourism.  Agritourism is definitely an area we want to develop as we put in more and more of our public gardens.  I feel like taking this winter off is really paying off.  When spring comes we'll finally be able to hit the ground running and perhaps.... just perhaps we can be ahead of the game.

    In the time since my last post it seems as though it's done nothing but snow!  We've shoveled our way out of the house and out of the driveway more this winter than all the winters combined out here to date!  It's so nice to see the snow blanketing all my plants.  I know this insulation will protect them and give us a good start in spring.  The unfortunate thing is in the fact that as we get rain on top of all this today we are seeing the ground get more and more saturated.  I expect this to be a year that we can't get into the ground until late- which is not good as this is the year we're putting in all the major gardens.  We're breaking ground on the following: Labyrinth, Medicine Wheel, Kitchen Herb Garden, Moon Garden, Children's Garden and Goat Garden.  I have all the plants lined up, we'll just need to get them in the ground!!  All of these gardens will house harvestable as well as specimen herb plants.  We are looking forward to being both a destination and a plant preserve.  The application for becoming a United Plant Savers Botanical Sanctuary went in last week and is being considered currently.  Cross your fingers!  This will be a great opportunity for us to spread the word on native medicinal preservation.

This has been a very busy week!  We had a visit from our new friends at Harmony Farms.  We had a really nice afternoon walking the property.  Sounds like they are planning to build their herb drying and plant starting structures and were hoping for some ideas.  Often when you've started a business based on alternative health and natural lifestyles you can feel very alone.  Every time I start to get discouraged something comes along to encourage me.... Barbara at Harmony Farms says she calls these people angels.  Well, she and her family have been that for me.  Her daughter Cheri and I met when she and her husband came to our farm for a farm tour last July.  We were destined to be good friends!  What a blessing to find other folks who are trying to impact the community around them in the same way that you are!  Recently, Cheri suggested I read a book called Anastasia that is part of the Ringing Cedars series out of Russia.  I finished this book this week and really enjoyed it!  I have a mind to try some of the planting directions.

Greetings!

First things first- and update on Tucker.  In the end we had a snowstorm which persuaded me against taking him to the vet for stitches.  I hung in there and kept nursing him myself.  I continued to use the Universal Salve, but wound up taking off my brilliant sock bandage in favor of getting some air to the wound.  We are about a week into things now and he's got a nice healthy scab that has closed over where he had all the missing skin.  Here is a picture:


So on to how things are going at the farm.  The outdoor animals are doing well- the sheep especially.  They seem to have put on a foot of wool and look like giant, teetering, off balance wads of cotton candy with tiny little stick legs.  We watch them playing in the snow from the warmth of our living room.  The chickens are still laying!!  We got some new varieties this past summer (Buff Orpingtons and Brahmas) which were rumored to be winter layers.... I believe it now!  We're actually just now getting a few eggs from the Auracanas as well!  We have a whole mess of bunnies which play all around the house at night.  In the morning there are huge patches of ground that have been cleared of snow by all their games and digging. 

We are taking a much needed break this winter from Farmer's Markets.  We are open during the week here at the farm store, but without the weekly call for making product, packing up the van and driving, we are FINALLY getting some time to think things through and get organized.  This might include a lot more than what someone might expect because our farm is not only our business, but our way of life.  Over the past couple years, the business has taken over our house to the point that there is no personal space left.  We have been so much on the go that things are disorganized and we have had to react rather than think ahead.  To that end, we've been going room to room and finishing all the little jobs that have not been done for so long.  We're removing the clutter and doing things to make our lives more comfortable.  This year it is my goal to work our farm/business from a place of peace and contentment.  I actually was finally able to pour a jar of honey for my very own use for the first time in memory!!!  What a luxury!  To make our farm more sustainable I am teaching myself to cook this winter by going through all my cookbooks.  I am committed to buying only ingredients- not food... I'm making all our bread, pasta and crackers and am finding ways to be more proactive in my meal preparation.  Very soon I will report on my very first experiments with our new grain grinder.  Last year my watch word was to "simplify", but I wasn't as successful with it as I'd hoped.  A big lesson to learn is that simplifying your life can be done.... but it actually takes a lot of planning and there are skills which must be learned first.  You must have/make the time to do this..... simplification in the end just isn't very, well.... simple.  =) 

Part of the responsibility of having animals on a farm where you keep everything natural is doctoring the occasional boo-boo.  It seems that Tucker, our large salt and pepper cat has tangled with some animal larger than himself... with big teeth and/or claws.  It's clear that he was facing it and fighting it off because the damage is inside one ear and in what appears to be a corresponding bite pattern on the back of his head.  He must have got the better of what we're guessing is the fox we saw a few weeks ago- since this is the only damage.... and he's still here.  I almost wish that he was a little bit more of a sissy, but then maybe all that would mean is a bite in the rear instead of the head! =) 

For the past two days I've been treating the back of his head with our universal salve (twice a day) and it appears to be keeping away infection.  Tonight we've decided that perhaps we're going to have to go get some stitches due to where the wound is located.  When he turns his head the wound gapes open, so I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to get the skin to heal otherwise.  In what I believe is a stroke of genius, I have found a new use for old socks that no longer have a mate.  I cut off the ankle portion of the sock, cut in two ear holes and have the perfect bandage for a cat head. 


As you can see, Tucker is less impressed with my brilliance, but what can you do?  I'll keep everyone updated here on his progress.

Happy New Year!

We're taking a step back this winter to refocus, relax and enjoy our new baby.  One of the things we're trying out is this new blog.  I'll be journaling here about some of our day to day trials and triumphs.  I'm historically REALLY bad about doing a journal, so this should be very interesting.

Today is always mainly about football and the noon meal.  In my family our good luck tradition is to eat pork and saurkraut.  This year our saurkraut came from a family friend who makes his own and it was really awesome, though a bit saltier than I'd like.  Fermentation, of food and beverage, is a talent I'd definitely like to pick up this year!!!  I hope to have good things to report on my dandelion wine and saurkraut experiments later on. 

After eating, it was time to settle in and watch the game.  Of course, first we had to do a little business with our bees.  It's decided to get cold here in earnest and it's time to put all the winter insulation on the hives.  We put in the wind break fencing some time ago, but today it was time for the winter coats!  Everyone seemed to be tucked in tightly, but at my parent's property Carson found that the entrance reducers that we use to keep the mice out had been moved.  This most likely means we're hosting a mouse or mouse family in these hives- good for them, but bad for the bees.  They will most surely be snacking on honey that is meant to get our bees through the winter, so the first nice weather break we're going to have to chase them outta there!  Other than that we're tucked in nicely, making our goals and plans for the year.  I wonder how many people take resolutions seriously anymore?  We generally make a point of discussing our goals for the year around winter solstice but we're a little late this time.  Either way, this is the magic of the New Year.... that feeling that anything is possible, the feeling of a clean slate and a new mountain to climb. 

Here's hoping all your resolutions/goals for the year are successful and we're all able to tackle the ups and downs of the new year with grace, adaptability and good humor!

-Dawn