This week at the farm

Busy days at the farm

Sunshine, birthdays and time at the farm

Spring time is so much fun, and one of my favorite seasons. I just have to learn to ignore the fifty mile an hour wind gusts and get on with the day. I've decided that the nice days tend to have the most wind, but if we stayed inside, nothing would ever get done. Learn to live with it, brace yourself and remember it'll probably get worse as global warming continues.

Today we built a trellis in the lower garden and planted some sweet peas.
 

pea trellis, lower garden

Our pallet fence has been improved with electric tape that rises to about eight feet...high enough to keep the deer out. Bambi and his relatives have been nibbling at my lilies and irises directly in front of the house, so Richard has put up make shift fences here and there to keep them out. I'm thinking of getting a big dog to scare them off--one that won't be carried off by a hawk like my chihuahuas. Been researching the giant guardian breeds like the Great Pyrenees. Might as well have a dog that will protect the livestock instead of hunt it.

Richard planted some spinach in the greenhouse and in his new cold frames. The planting has begun. There has been a lot of interest in tomato and pepper starts this year. It looks like more people are gardening this season. That's great! Good for them. We all have to be backyard farmers if we want clean, healthy and reasonably priced produce.

Free Birds

 

The fence in the upper garden is finished too, which means, the guineas are finally free. And what did they do but head straight for the llama pen, which they couldn't get into, so they opted for the goat pen. I chased them out and Richard stapled up some netting over the gate they walked through. Good thinking, because the goat kids would've walked through that gate too.

With the warm air today, I let the baby goats out to frolic in the yard, but Amelia's little ones decided to stay in the shade of the barn instead.

 

Ginger

 

All the goats are doing well. The babies are all healthy and active and looking pretty darn cute.They jump and play and butt heads. I could watch them for hours.

The llamas were gelded this past Friday. They don't seem to be mad anymore and are just trying to figure out who or what their new neighbors are. They stood and stared over the fence as long as the goat babies were out playing today. They are such inquisitive creatures.

Our son had a birthday this weekend too, so we took the kids to the Pueblo Zoo, which was great fun. We bought a season pass so we can drop by any time we are in town. Handy, and cheaper in the long run than even two trips to the zoo with two adults and two kids. 

We tried the cloth gift wrapping idea. and it worked really well, but I would advise everyone to have plenty of ribbons on hand to tie up the gifts. I was not prepared and had to rummage through my sewing boxes to find something suitable.

Festive cloth wrapping

The material to wrap the gifts cost less than wrapping paper would have, was a lot more fun and we can use it again for wrapping, or use it to make something else, like a birthday quilt at the end of so many years. Great idea put into practice. So, save a tree and dig out that old material you've been holding onto.Wrap some gifts. If I were the recipient of such interesting and thoughtful gift wrap, I would be thrilled. Think of the things you could make if all of your gifts came wrapped in material! A crafter's dream come true.

I also found an antique treadle Singer locally

Sewing, off the grid!

for less than I anticipated.

I am so excited. I'm still trying to find extra accessories for it, and I have yet to learn how to use it, but I can't wait to make those birthhday quilts without electricity. Can you imagine? What a wonderful thing.

Makes me wonder if the modern conveniences are really such a great thing? This machine is about 100 years old and still going strong because it was made to last.

Also this past Sunday, one of the guys from our local feed store came out to help Richard work on the Earthbag barn. Progress is being made. We picked up the cutest miniature scaffold in Pueblo, and it seems to work just perfect for hoisting those buckets of dirt up to the top of the Earthbag wall. Before you know it it will be time to put the roof on. Can't wait. Unfortunately, the tamper broke, so it's going back to the store we purchased it from less than two months ago. Apparently it was not built to last.

Building barns and community

Things are snowballing now! Richard's Biointensive gardening class for the  Canon Food Co-op was a big success, and then his local radio spot with Helene from the Co-op was also a hit, and now we are going to be featured in the local paper for the Earthbag building blitz that will take place the weekend of my birthday. What a wonderful opportunity to teach people about alternative building techniques!

I put an add out on Freecycle, looking for feed bags to be donated for the event, and got the press. Hmmm... Good. Good. We are hoping to get people in the community involved with their donations and help, kind of like an old style barn raising, but this one will be built out of Earthbags and eventually stuccoed to create a llama shelter for my boys in the new pasture. We need to move them so the goats can have the barn to birth the Spring babies.

Pregnant goat or fat goat?

Recycling the used woven polypropelene feed bags into building materials is just one example of how we can all look around and see things we might be able to use again. It will be an exciting event. Can we get a barn up in two days? Will anyone show up to help? Can we get enough feed bags, dirt, gravel and lumber for a roof? What will happen? Anticipation....

And, I've been in my crazy creative world, painting for days, working on some vision of a future utopia while thoughts float in and out of my head.

Our cats have been getting sick from the commercial cat food we bought them. This is the second time. Different food. Same manufacturer. Last time, we called the food maker and they sent us coupons for one free bag and a few bucks off two more bags. Great. We bought a different kind, choosing to stick with this brand because this is the only manufacturer whose food has not been recalled yet. But my cats are still getting sick. What's up with that? I would love to buy them organic food, but with the expense of the chicken and goat food, I can't justify buying the cats organic food too. So, what can I do? I could make food, which I may try if time allows. But this got me thinking....

As our planet evolves into a new way of living, we are going to have to rethink everything, including the food we eat and the food we feed our pets. If we can't trust the food for people to be chemical free, how can we expect our pet food to be safe? Wouldn't it be nice if someone local was making and selling an organic and safe cat food? Or dog food? Or bird food for my parrot?

I think perhaps we should all give up our fears about what the economy will look like as it all falls apart and start to think about what each of us individually can contribute. We need to relearn the old skills and discard the thinking that has gotten us into this mess...like how to extend the shelf life of foods.

I don't really have the time or interest to make cat food, but what if someone else does? There is a need for locally produced pet food, and a business waiting to be born. Other things too: a local mill where I can take my organic grains to be milled into flour. An electric car dealership and mechanic. A homestead supply store. A natural soap, shampoo and lotion maker. A candle maker. Like in the old times, pre-industrial revolution. If we are heading back into the dark ages, shouldn't we be preparing for the inevitable loss of products produced by oil? Isn't that just about everything? If my toothbrush is made from petroleum, how am I going to brush my teeth when I can't get that familiar product?

There is a whole new world waiting to be born and so many opportunities for people to contribute and be successful through clean, green, "cottage" industries. We are going to need these services as our economy continues to collapse. If we work together, we can think our way out of this mess, and maybe by not supporting the corporatocracy we can reverse the damage to our planet. What a wonderful vision.

For now, today, I'm going back to my painting...my utopia.

Don't forget the Earthbag building blitz February 19th. For more info see Green Desert Eco Farm. We need the polypropylene bags, fill dirt, gravel, lumber, shovels and extra hands. I'd love to meet my neighbors!

And the Xmas Boycott of 2011 is still on! Don't forget to boycott the shopping madness.