July 8, 2010

The Absent Minded Mommy...

Some days can be so slow. Waiting on the weather to get warm, waiting for it to stop snowing (remember those days!?), waiting for the garden to get big enough to pick...

And some days, you wish would SLOW DOWN!!! We are super busy around here this week, and I feel like the absent minded mommy! I keep hoping I don't forget anything important!

Besides playing "catch-up" in our barn and garden, we have been preparing to start small groups at our church, and hubby and I are directors of that. I actually can't wait for that, it will give us a chance to stop and enjoy other people's company, and learn some good stuff too!

We are getting ready for the 4H fair. This is our first year, and it all seems so laid back that I am a little nervous! The due dates on things don't really matter, they send you things you don't really have to fill out.... AHH!!!

We gave Max (Deklyn's goat wether) a "hair cut" yesterday. SO besides it being in the 90's, we were covered in goat hair. Nice. AT least the little goat sat still while I trimmed him up. He's a good little fella!

Then I went and worked in the garden a bit (yeah, still 90 degree weather). I love the cucumbers that have been coming on! We have harvested 5 so far and they have went great in a homemade pasta salad! Salad is still going, but I think I am going to replant that after fair is over. I have corn coming on, green beans, tomatoes, LOTS more cucumbers, squash of all sorts, and some tiny little watermelons! I am excited to see my potato plants are starting to yellow a bit, meaning harvest is drawing closer! I definitely need to increase the size of my garden next year. This year we doubled it from last year, next year I think we may need to double it again. More work? Not really... I want to make the rows WIDER so hubby can till in between them. Right now, most rows I have to pull the weeds by hand or hoe them. And I will be planting more too!!! I think what we have this year will get us some yummy food, but I want enough to last all year, and maybe some to give away!

With Swagbucks, I have got a 14 piece set of stainless steel pots and pans (FREE!!!), and most recently I got some organic lotion and a book by Joel Salatin, "You Can Farm". ( All of these things after spending my Swagbucks on Amazon.com e- gift cards!). If you don't have swagbucks, I would recommend checking it out. You can earn "swag" from doing searches on the Internet. And for those of you who have used Swagbucks but have forgotten about it, we keep using it! I never paid a penny for any of those things I mentioned above!

Anyways, I wanted to tell you about the book, "You Can Farm". I got it in the mail about 2- 3 weeks ago, and I just finished it. It is over 400 pages of great info on everything to do with making a living with farming, but could also apply to not LOSING money on your mini farm. You know with all of those "pets" that eat feed and don't produce anything? :) He does a GREAT job of walking you through ideas, helping you discover what is important to spend money on, etc. Looking for a good book, check it out. Joel Salatin is a WEALTH of information, you can check out his farm, Polyface Farm, on my "Blogs I Follow" on the left side of the screen. He is also on Facebook, under PolyFace Farm.

Speaking of Absent minded, how many different types of info can I put into one blog entry! As we are getting down to the wire on 4H, and during the fair next week, I will try to keep up on posting! Hopefully things will slow down after that!

Hope you are all keeping cool, and enjoying your summer!!! Back to work on my chores!

2 comments:

Becky Jane said...

You are a busy girl! Hope after the fair you can kick back under a shade tree and drink in the relaxation!

Dionne said...

I have to tell you of my cheap and no so attractive way of not having to weed between garden rows. I get free cardboard and place it between my rows. I just told my husband tonight that next year the whole garden will be cardboard it makes my life so much easier.