Red Dirt Farm and Studio

It’s raining again,  which is better than snow, but still is it ever going to stop?  Mr. Cottage said it feels muted today.

 That grey cast has wrapped around our little house and it feels like no matter how many lights we turn on, we can’t overpower the gloom.

It’s a good day for snuggling in the old patchwork quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are cozy inside, and shouldn’t complain, but I think cabin fever may have a toehold on us that seems hard to shake today.  I’ve been pouring over seed catalogs, for weeks, making lists and plans of flowers to grow for the farm stand.  Dreams of colorful bouquets and butterflies and bees humming happily from flower to flower.

I usually have seeds started by this time of the year, so they will be ready for transplant as the weather warms up, but I’ve held off this year.  The record rainfall from last year continues into this year and quite frankly I don’t know when we will be able to work the soil.  I’m concerned about getting seeds planted in time for veggies and flowers to sell at the farm stand this year.

  I need to stop worrying so much about the things I can’t control.  But I do.

 

 Carrots, onions, celery, parsnips, and beets.  Sweet and white potatoes.  All these amazing colors.  The scrap bowl for the chickens even looked good to me.

They were most satisfied with their treats but didn’t care for the parsnips or the stems from the beets.  I had forgotten they didn’t like parsnips. My mistake.  They were quite vocal in letting me know the error of my ways.  Fortunately, my dinner guests were more gracious about the beef stew.

The egg drought that we endured for months is over and now I’m boxing up eggs and printing out labels left and right.  I’m able to keep the farm stand stocked and give eggs away to friends.

Do you remember the story of the Grumpy Old Man?  Well, he came up to the house recently for a visit.  I was completely caught off guard, pleasantly so.

A tree came down during the last snowstorm, barely missing the farm stand.  Mr. Cottage got out the chainsaw and had it all cut up and thrown down into the wooded area, in short order.

 

The second tile company that we hired started out pretty good but fizzled out and now we are left doing the remainder of the work ourselves.

  We stood side by side in the bathtub one day with those little foam craft brushes applying sealant to all the grout.  Since we didn’t have the proper tools, we used what we had.  There was a good time.

Meanwhile, Mr. Cottage has been working on grouting the floor in the master bathroom upstairs and putting the sealant on the flooring in the shower and the cubbies.  He never complains, just does the work.   I, on the other hand, had a personal meltdown the other week.  I’m so tired of living in a construction zone, so tired of everything revolving around making responsible decisions.  You know, spending money on fixing the house instead of sailing the seven seas.

 

Boo is lonely, since the passing of his sister Peanut.  I have found him just sitting beside her grave a few times.

Animals know.  I think more than we mere humans give them credit.

Snowball showed up the other day with her head covered in blood.  I brought her inside and cleaned her up, minor damage on her comb, which they tend to bleed like crazy for the smallest of wounds.  I’m not sure if she got into a squabble with one of the other girls, or if Wyatt got too rough with her.  Speaking of Wyatt, it’s heartbreaking to say this, but our new rooster is racist.  I tried discussing this with farm girl recently while we were out for lunch, but she shushed me – not want to discuss this topic in public.  It’s true though and we are at a loss for an explanation.  Wyatt viciously attacks our black girls – the Black Alstralourps. It is so puzzling, the Alstralourps are so sweet and quite beautiful, their black feathers shine with the most amazing green iridescent coloring when in the sunlight.  Yesterday I locked Wyatt up in the run while the girls had their scratch so he wouldn’t chase them.  We aren’t sure where this attitude comes and how we can undo it.  It’s most unpleasant.

We had a dry day on Saturday which we took advantage of.  Mr. Cottage did a thorough cleaning and dusting of all the coops and runs.    The day before I made a dry rub with brown sugar and lots of spices and let a pork butt marinade in that for 24 hours. Mr. Cottage put the pork on the smoker and let it smoke all day while he was out cleaning. I took Boo for a long walk in the woods, then I spent the day in the kitchen making baked beans, pickled beets and eggs, macaroni and cheese and bourbon barbecue sauce.  It was all delicious and we ate way more than we should have.

So what’s happening in your neck of the woods –  do you have rain or snow?  Have you started seeds or have flowers blooming?

 

That’s all the rambling for today.

xo kim