Teasing weather

The weather has been quite a tease these last couple of days. Cold overnight but in the mid 40's F during the day. Of course, that makes everything squishy.

I'm going thru the corn harvest quicker than I had planned to. Must be the minor increase in feed I dished out during the really nasty weather. I'm pretty sure I grew enough this past season to cover my needs until the grass starts growing again.

I'm sitting on go, just waiting, impatiently, to get some seeds started. I am really trying hard to resist the urge. I know if I start any now, they will either die from a cold, drafty snap or be way too spindly when it's time to plan outside. This is a very tough time of the year for me. Maybe this year i can grow some patience......

Just Another Day

Like this is a normal house for regular days! There he is, the happy goat, he finally figured out how to jump up on the couch! Didn't take long for him to figure out how to get on top of the couch either. Now he's making laps with the dog, using the couch like a corner burm at a nascar track! Hmmm, isn't he special?

Lucky got his first outdoor adventure today and joined us for morning chores. Lucky met the cow, she didn't like him much and sent him rolling across the stall. Just scared him and covered him in straw. Lucky doesn't like the cow much anymore. He did chase some chickens and ran back and forth thru the barn lot a few times, visited with the other goats too. Soon, he will be living with them so might as well get acquainted now.

Just 19 days until I can start some seeds, I'm ready now!

Looks like a long week

Oh yes, this is going to be a long week. With snow in the forecast every day until Friday, spring seems a lifetime away. With windchills below 0 every morning, it sure isn't any incentive to go out and get the farm chores done! But, the animals need attention or they won't make it thru such unpleasant weather so out into the deep freeze I go.

This is by far, the weirdest winter I have seen since I've been here. I'm dreaming of spring almost constantly now...

Snowing again

ARG, yep, the darn white stuff is coming down. This is the craziest winter in the 17 years I've lived here. All this cold and snow just makes me dream of spring all that much more. This morning I have been looking at trees to replace the orchard that was wiped out by the inland hurricane. This is one of the types of apple I would like to be growing. It is head and shoulders above the species that were planted here when I bought this land. I'd like to put a Granny Smith and a red Delicious in there along with a couple new peach trees, a Bartlett pear and a cherry or 2. Then, after I get those planted, I've got a whole new section of that catalog I'd like to work out of! hehehehe Some new blackberries, the mini citrus trees, a new banana to replace the ones the kittens killed and I'd love to try growing the olives.

I did make a little progress toward growing fruits here already, I picked up some seed stock thru a trade to grow pomegranate and kiwi. Supposedly, they both do well in containers and can be pruned to any size. We'll see about that! LOL

Alex Jones has an interesting article up over at Prison Planet called 12 Economic Collapse Scenarios That We could Potentially See in 2011. Sometimes it's just nice to see the things you've been thinking about written someplace. It makes me feel a little less crazy on subjects such as this one. Well, maybe crazy is the wrong word. how about "vindicated" or "secure in my lifestyle". Maybe, maybe not but either way, it makes me feel pretty good about the choices I've made for myself and my family (even if they don't appreciate it). Even if the whole world falls apart and it's the Great Depression times 2, I'm still going to have a meal. Yes, I'm going to miss some of the things this modern world has to offer like internet and DVD rentals but life will go on.

I don't normally talk about "prepping" or emergency preparedness on this blog but if you can't grow all your own food and have a bunch of critters running around, now is definitely the time to stock up your pantry, kitchen cabinets and maybe even store some canned goods under the bed and in the closet. Food insurance for a rough spot in life or a little insurance against price inflation. Just makes sense!