Farming in the shade

Typically we plant the garden in mid May, and sometimes as late as Memorial Day (the last Monday in May). But this spring has been unusually warm and dry, allowing us to till the low-lying garden plot early. Last week we planted onions (above), lettuce, spinach, carrots and sweet corn. We're gambling with the sweet corn, but it's a risk we're willing to take. The rhubarb looks wonderful. And the asparagus is coming along--we ate some a couple of nights ago. When do you plant your gardens? Anyone have a favorite gardening story to tell?

It's been a busy month (no relief in sight) and I've neglected my gratitude journal for too long. Here's the latest installment: 64. flowering trees 65. the smell of freshly-mown grass 67. the flood of sheep out to first pasture in the spring 67. wool, just picked up from the mill 68. our van, a hauling machine, still going strong at 170,000 miles What are the gifts you see around you? Feel free to practice noticing, by listing one or two in the comments section of this post. I'd love to read them! And if you are interested in what I'm doing, click on the graphic below for more information:

And may I suggest you consider hanging laundry on the line this summer? Helps the earth and the wash smells nice when you bring it in. If you hang your towels out on a very still day, they will be as stiff as boards (tee-hee) and you will get a free exfoliation spa treatment when you step out of the shower. If you must use your dryer, consider throwing in a few wool dryer balls to cut down on drying time.

The Farmer just called me from his tractor and told me there were people walking down our road with dogs. "And one is loose," he said. I dropped my vacuum, quickly put our dog in the house (she was enjoying the fresh spring air on a lead in the front of the house), and met them on the road. "Please," I said. "I'm worried about your dog and our sheep. We have lambs that have escaped the fence temporarily, and I'm concerned. Can I loan you a leash?" They kindly declined my offer of a leash and turned around. I hope they feel free to come back another time, with their dogs and enough leashes to go around. Yes, we're working on the lambs' escape route. But it's also planting time, and the men are very busy. I'm still shaking. ETA: Read a fact sheet published by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture on Family Dogs and Sheep.

We had about 3 weeks of solid lambing. During one particularly frenzied 8 day period, we had 45 mamas give birth to 80 lambs. We like to average 2 lambs per mama, but obviously haven't hit that number this year. But other than the low birth rate, things have been going very well. Birth rate isn't everything--this year we've lost only a few lambs. I have been busy with paperwork. I go to work and do paperwork; I come home and do paperwork. I get the mail and find paperwork; I sit at my desk surrounded by piles of paperwork. Is there such a thing as a paperwork maid? I would hire one if one existed.

This is the next step on our journey to organic certification. Honestly? It's not high on the list of "Things We Like To Do".

Recently I entered and won a group of prizes from some SHEteam Etsy shops. SHEteam stands for Schooling at Home Etsians, and is a group of etsy sellers who offer support, advice, and companionship to each other as they sell their handiwork on Etsy. All of the members of the SHEteam have homeschooling in common. In an effort to help promote their shops, I will be featuring some SHEteamers on my blog over the next few weeks. Next in line is Melissa from ElegantRoseBoutique . Melissa sent me some yummy Vanilla Coffee whipped Body Butter--just what my thirsty skin has been needing! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1) Tell me about yourself, your family and what your craft is. We live in the country on just over 6 acres overlooking a beautiful private lake. We have enjoyed raising all kinds of animals and showing our children God's beauty. 2) How long have you been crafting? How did you get started? Quite some time ago I purchased homemade soap from someone that was going o...

All year long we make compost. It cures or "finishes" on large piles on a gravel pad out back. Every spring and fall we ship it out so that other farmers (mostly sustainable-type farmers) can use it on their crop land. The Farmer rents an excavator for the day and gets to play with some really big Tonka toys. The drivers cover the loads (we ship out in double-bottomed semis) and head out. Another sure sign of spring.