From my little farm to you, no matter who or where you are, I wish to extend the hopes of the New Year, and the wishes for good health and joy and growth all the year long. May you and yours find happiness and success in this year. And may its seasons offer you the beauty and change that brings opportunity and variety to keep it interesting and beneficial.
We are in a state of flux right now, and while we sort some health issues, we are in limbo. But when we get through and the doctor’s visits are done and the thing is settled, we plan on coming back, because coming back is all there is to do, isn’t it? Onward, always onward. We both will have to work, and hope to have jobs soon, and then once the bills are covered, come back to the businesses that we hope to lift us out of this low point once and for all.
The farm is a little weird this winter, and for reasons I am sure you have noticed where you are if things are the same there. This winter is exceptionally warm. We do not have snow on the ground here. Usually by now the snow that has fallen has begun to stick and will stay till April at least. But it’s not yet. And the forecasts on the ten day show it getting to warm for snow to stay. Today’s Wednesday, and we are expecting 40 for the high on Friday. After that, the highs will skirt highs around freezing, landing each day plus or minus say three four degrees. Will what snow that does fall stick? Or will it be too little? Will it melt in the sunlight?
I have said in past years that this place would have alright winters if they were like Denver was when I was growing up and living there. I’d say that this year, that’s about how we appear to be, though I think I remember some winter days got warmer than this in Denver. But snow definitely melted off and then came back with new storms. Here, we traditionally get snow in the autumn, or by the start of winter that sticks and stays, and we don’t see color till come mid or late April, even May. This year it’s brown outside all the way into the first of January. We are meant to get two inches of snow tonight, but with the high temp set for Friday, I am sure that two inches will be gone by then. So that is what I mean by the place being more like Denver.
What are the consequences of such a change? I have heard people tell me the river is high. I cross the river every school day, and I have not seen it. To me, there seems to be a foot or so between the water level and the top of the mudline along the side. The river runs low, as far as I can see. What’s more, I have places on the farm that always show the level of the water table, and they are showing nothing at the moment. More so, the swale at the bottom of the pasture shows itself several inches lower than I have ever seen it. There is a place where the bottom is showing, and while that is in part due to me putting some sand there a while back, that little pile has never been visible before. So, our water table is down, for sure. I don’t know why someone has given me the anecdote that it is high. But I just don’t see it at all. I watch these water levels because they are indicators to me of what to expect of the year. Last summer was hot and dry. It was very dry. It was dust bowl dry. I could not drive the tractor along slowly without kicking up a tremendous cloud of dust. It didn’t take doing much work before I could not see fifteen feet from the cab. And growing plants in such is just about comedic. The grass around the house did not thrive at all.
When the weather is behaving so, I am not fond of trying to do more than I should with growing. That is one of the reasons we grow our pretty and useful plants in buckets and the like. There is no point putting plants into the ground and trying to make them go where we have to pour massive amounts of water over them to do it, and most of it just runs into the earth and vanishes. Last year we put in a good long row of Lavendar plants, in the hopes of expanding them out over the next few years and making a profit off them. Obviously, they first have to survive the winter, which I think is more likely since we are unusually warm. So, we might get lucky there. Shall we hope? Do, let’s.
We are feeling more inclined than ever to sell out of animals now. The work and the expense for them is not worth it to us. I can see one or two goats staying if we can rehouse them. Their current home stands where the future Lavendar plants are intended to go. We would also like to keep some llamas. Maybe not as many, but some. If I had to choose between the llamas and the goat, though, give me the llamas. Two, at least. But we need to see how we turn up after paying some medical bills. That’s where we really stand to lose the most.
I’d like to put my little display at the Farmer’s Markets up as furnishings and household items from locally grown and harvested wood, then hand made. That is my dream, especially since it would allow me to invest in the ability to make whatever items I want for my house. Imagine a home with custom made furniture, where everything fits where it is. That really appeals to me. I know, that is supposed to be the lifestyle of the uber rich only, but I think that where you create ability, you create possibility. I have tried the local furniture stores, and even when a person spends money, they can only get so much. Now, Maybe I will have a bench too occupied with things that need to sell, but with any luck, I will be able to fit in a few things for us, or even start things off for us before turning them loose for sale. But my skills will improve, and I will get to the point of making faster, and if I am fortunate, I will fit in more than just the quest for cash. I’d like that.
I want to blast through the firewood business, too, since it is a decent byproduct of the process I use to get wood for the shop, and since it also is an effective method of heating our house, too. It’s sensible. Or so it seems. I think I need to list down what I can make right now, then make it and put it up for sale. I will need to caliber for speed for certain tasks in the shop. Accuracy is a given.
So, that’s where we are, and the point from which we begin this year. Let’s carry on!
Will any of it come onto YouTube? I keep trying to do that. I film things, I practice talking to the camera. But the settling down to edit and the idea of making things public just is not settling well with me. But desperate times do call for desperate measures. Should something like that come down to desperation though? Is it even worth it? Will I be able to reap more than I put into it, time being a consideration? I am just not sure of it at all. I am also very unhappy with how my place looks on camera. So, I need to sort that out. Maybe streamlining what we do will make things outside better organized.
So, with all this, Happy New Year to you and yours. I hope the year coming is good, and it is profitable and most of all it brings you good health and happiness.