Hello from the farm!
I'm sorry that is has been rather quiet here on the blog, but in the recent weeks I (Emily) have been expending all my creative writing energy on applying for a grant on behalf of the non-profit organization for which I work. What a process... I'll just say that grant writing is not for the faint of heart! Glad it's submitted and I can think about something else now- including life on the farm, here is what has been happening in the past couple weeks:
Mud- our snow has been gone since the middle of February, and although we have gotten a couple inches here and there it doesn't hang around long. Temps keep playing around and it will be warm and muddy one day, and then cold and stiff the next. There have been some chilling breezes lately, We are looking forward to a little nicer weather, I think. (Except for Matt, since his dog sledding season got cut short by the snow melting just when he had a longer trail and the dogs were running well.)
Maple Syrup: Not too much yet, but we are boiling down our second batch to syrup today. (For pictures of the whole process visit last March's posts.)
Shorter milking time: our cows get a 2 month break from milking before having their calves. Since we are expecting around 30 calves in May- that's about 30 less cows we are milking right now- makes chore times go quicker which everyone appreciates.
Nate sold his calves this week; and they (the calves) got to go on a road trip all the way to Sioux Falls SD. This is the first time Nate has sold calves there- but had a good experience. He coordinated with another nearby farmer and they sold calves at the same time so they could hire a trucker and have a whole semi-load of calves. And the auction was available to watch online, so Nate got to watch them sell from the comfort of our living room.
Spring break: Grace is enjoying a week with less schoolwork, from what I've seen of her she has been busy reading and researching other topics of interest and being quite productive in her "downtime".
Drive time: Laura is logging hours and completing her behind the wheel sessions in preparation for her driver's test which is coming up in a month or so.
Co-op annual meeting: Dad and Mom attended our Co-op's annual meeting this week- came back feeling like we are selling our milk to a good company. Thankful that we are able to ship organic grassmilk, even though we live in the sticks.
Remodel: Progress is being made on Nate's new living space slowly- but parts of it are starting to look pretty nice. Amazing what some paint and varnish does for a place! But still a ways to go before it's livable.
Music: Though bluegrass/folk is our favorite to play, some of us also branch out and play some classical music with a local community orchestra- Concert's are coming up next weekend in Rice Lake and Cumberland- find all the details here.
Other than that, it's mostly been daily life with all it's busyness and tasks. Enjoy a few pictures of Nate and his calves.
I'm sorry that is has been rather quiet here on the blog, but in the recent weeks I (Emily) have been expending all my creative writing energy on applying for a grant on behalf of the non-profit organization for which I work. What a process... I'll just say that grant writing is not for the faint of heart! Glad it's submitted and I can think about something else now- including life on the farm, here is what has been happening in the past couple weeks:
Mud- our snow has been gone since the middle of February, and although we have gotten a couple inches here and there it doesn't hang around long. Temps keep playing around and it will be warm and muddy one day, and then cold and stiff the next. There have been some chilling breezes lately, We are looking forward to a little nicer weather, I think. (Except for Matt, since his dog sledding season got cut short by the snow melting just when he had a longer trail and the dogs were running well.)
Maple Syrup: Not too much yet, but we are boiling down our second batch to syrup today. (For pictures of the whole process visit last March's posts.)
Shorter milking time: our cows get a 2 month break from milking before having their calves. Since we are expecting around 30 calves in May- that's about 30 less cows we are milking right now- makes chore times go quicker which everyone appreciates.
Nate sold his calves this week; and they (the calves) got to go on a road trip all the way to Sioux Falls SD. This is the first time Nate has sold calves there- but had a good experience. He coordinated with another nearby farmer and they sold calves at the same time so they could hire a trucker and have a whole semi-load of calves. And the auction was available to watch online, so Nate got to watch them sell from the comfort of our living room.
Spring break: Grace is enjoying a week with less schoolwork, from what I've seen of her she has been busy reading and researching other topics of interest and being quite productive in her "downtime".
Drive time: Laura is logging hours and completing her behind the wheel sessions in preparation for her driver's test which is coming up in a month or so.
Co-op annual meeting: Dad and Mom attended our Co-op's annual meeting this week- came back feeling like we are selling our milk to a good company. Thankful that we are able to ship organic grassmilk, even though we live in the sticks.
Remodel: Progress is being made on Nate's new living space slowly- but parts of it are starting to look pretty nice. Amazing what some paint and varnish does for a place! But still a ways to go before it's livable.
Music: Though bluegrass/folk is our favorite to play, some of us also branch out and play some classical music with a local community orchestra- Concert's are coming up next weekend in Rice Lake and Cumberland- find all the details here.
Other than that, it's mostly been daily life with all it's busyness and tasks. Enjoy a few pictures of Nate and his calves.
Sorting out the ones to keep.
The group to sell
Watching the auction.
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