It's a little late for spring cleaning. But that's what I feel like doing now. Cleaning. Donating clothes and stuff I've accumulated over the years with that "maybe I'll use this one day" mentality. If I haven't used it, it's going. One garbage bag full of donations already.
It always amazes me how much can collect in one house. I only use 1/10th of it in a year. Old art supplies, movies I watched and hated, records with no record player....
I think I'll feel better once I get rid of most of my stuff. Kinda like how happy I was without a backseat to collect junk when I moved from a car to a truck. No backseat equals no carrying around 10 extra shirts and 5 extra pairs of shoes and boots where I would lose one of them (I swear my dog hides all my left shoes so I can't leave her) or other books and magazines I collected with the lofty dream of having enough time to one day having a minute to sit down and actually read them.
Each donations bag is cathartic. I like the question -what do I need? Like trimming the fat off a pork chop. Not that I live an extravagant lifestyle or am tied to a lot of things. Just thinking about spring cleaning.
Also cleaning out the barn of the sheep that don't obey the fence. Anyone want lamb, just let me know.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
I think my eyeballs are sweating
Oh July, you are cruel sometimes.
I know it's only been a few weeks of 90 degree heat, but I'm already considering moving more up north. I'm not sure where, just a little more north. Somewhere colder. Somewhere cloudier.
I guess I should just remind myself that this is sweet corn, tomato, and melon growing weather. I'm pretty sure my eyeballs are sweating though.
I'm at an odd spot in the gardens. The early crops have kicked off and now I'm just waiting for the "45 days" the backs of the seed packets promised me for the next wave of harvest. Come on little veggies. You can do it! Grow grow grow!
I think the heat might have taken the wind out of my sails, or I'm just a bit exhausted, but my brain is in slow motion now. I'm just going to call it a heat haze. My dog is asleep, my sheep are being baaaad, my goats are constantly complaining, and as soon as I get out of the water, I want to jump back in and go swimming again.
This is the point in the season, middle of planting, where I just need to re-focus and get back on track. Concentrate. I still need to plant shelling beans, second round of lettuce, kale, beets, broccoli, kohlrabi, onions, get all the rest of the tomatoes in the ground and peppers and herbs... and here's where I lose focus again. It must be the heat. Concentrate, janeé.
Ah, concentrate. Good thinking. I'm finishing up my last round of meat birds and probably going to stop doing them. I need to focus and I can't charge people what it actually costs to raise them... especially with my losses to predators this year. Dang dog found out she's rather sleep inside than guard the birds, and I can't blame her for that. So no more meat birds.
I also lost an insane amount of baby turkeys this year. I hope to have just enough for my returning orders and my family, but it's been a rough year. Boo raccoons.
I have to admit though, I loved the burgers I just cooked up from my beef. The roasts are amazing and I think that might be the one meat that I'm going to keep on the menu. I'm still toying with the idea of pigs, but not this year. Chickens are too much work. Turkeys think dying is a sport. Sheep are a pain to fence. But man, grass fed beef is delicious.
My sister took some down to my aunt, who bought the biggest hand made buns from the bakery ever. So my sister, not knowing the fat content of my beef, made massive pattys... but the actual fat content was so low that they didn't shrink at all, but were massive, medium well, and delicious. I just had Monday night taco night and holy cow, that was good.
So, CSA, beef, and maybe turkeys. And maybe a new -not so lazy- dog. Sorry Pepper. You're retiring at the ripe old age of.... 3?
Oh, and CSA members, I'm starting to post the newsletter and recipe on the CSA blog if you happen to miss it or if it rains to the point of non-readability. Email recipe ideas or anything that you'd like to plant for this year still. There's still time, I've just got to get out there and keep planting!
I know it's only been a few weeks of 90 degree heat, but I'm already considering moving more up north. I'm not sure where, just a little more north. Somewhere colder. Somewhere cloudier.
I guess I should just remind myself that this is sweet corn, tomato, and melon growing weather. I'm pretty sure my eyeballs are sweating though.
I'm at an odd spot in the gardens. The early crops have kicked off and now I'm just waiting for the "45 days" the backs of the seed packets promised me for the next wave of harvest. Come on little veggies. You can do it! Grow grow grow!
I think the heat might have taken the wind out of my sails, or I'm just a bit exhausted, but my brain is in slow motion now. I'm just going to call it a heat haze. My dog is asleep, my sheep are being baaaad, my goats are constantly complaining, and as soon as I get out of the water, I want to jump back in and go swimming again.
This is the point in the season, middle of planting, where I just need to re-focus and get back on track. Concentrate. I still need to plant shelling beans, second round of lettuce, kale, beets, broccoli, kohlrabi, onions, get all the rest of the tomatoes in the ground and peppers and herbs... and here's where I lose focus again. It must be the heat. Concentrate, janeé.
Ah, concentrate. Good thinking. I'm finishing up my last round of meat birds and probably going to stop doing them. I need to focus and I can't charge people what it actually costs to raise them... especially with my losses to predators this year. Dang dog found out she's rather sleep inside than guard the birds, and I can't blame her for that. So no more meat birds.
I also lost an insane amount of baby turkeys this year. I hope to have just enough for my returning orders and my family, but it's been a rough year. Boo raccoons.
I have to admit though, I loved the burgers I just cooked up from my beef. The roasts are amazing and I think that might be the one meat that I'm going to keep on the menu. I'm still toying with the idea of pigs, but not this year. Chickens are too much work. Turkeys think dying is a sport. Sheep are a pain to fence. But man, grass fed beef is delicious.
My sister took some down to my aunt, who bought the biggest hand made buns from the bakery ever. So my sister, not knowing the fat content of my beef, made massive pattys... but the actual fat content was so low that they didn't shrink at all, but were massive, medium well, and delicious. I just had Monday night taco night and holy cow, that was good.
So, CSA, beef, and maybe turkeys. And maybe a new -not so lazy- dog. Sorry Pepper. You're retiring at the ripe old age of.... 3?
Oh, and CSA members, I'm starting to post the newsletter and recipe on the CSA blog if you happen to miss it or if it rains to the point of non-readability. Email recipe ideas or anything that you'd like to plant for this year still. There's still time, I've just got to get out there and keep planting!
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