Long time, no post. Neglecting the blog.
Because it's summer and we're busy, that's why. In the last few weeks Aimee and I have:
*finished rebuilding and remodeling our porch
*finalized planting the garden, and then kept it up against repeated quack grass and potato bug onslaughts
*sheared the sheep
*replaced our septic system with a new one for less than $6,000 (thanks to Tim the "Tractor Artist")
*gutted, insulated and completely remodeled our bathroom (if we were going to have a new septic, no point keeping that old toilet!)
*repaired freeze-thaw damage to our old rubble-and-stone foundation
*replaced a portion of our sill damaged by carpenter ants
Still to come in the late summer and fall:
*adding R16 of cellulose insulation to the eastern, southern and western walls of the main part of the house, bringing them up to R30-40 all round
*cedar shingling the barn
*getting in another 4 cords of firewood (at minimum) for the winter
*replacing either the kitchen chimney or its liner, depending on prognosis
*bringing in and "putting up" the harvest, including around 500 lbs of potatoes, lots of tomatoes, and assorted beans and pickles
*purchasing 200-300 bales of hay "in the field," picking it and trucking it, and slinging said hay into barn attic
*slaughtering and butchering three lambs and two pigs
This heavy seasonal workload is one reason why family and friends from urban areas of the "lower 47" who come to see us in Maine in the summer are often disappointed by our lukewarm response.
You want to come see us at our leisure, come in January or February, not in June or July.
Come the rains and winds in late October, we may start to slow down a bit.
Now if you plan to show up with a tractor-trailer load of chainsaws and yard and farm equipment, or firewood, or hay, and are prepared to sling said equipment, wood, or hay thyself, with no supervision, and not much thanks, while we get on with our other chores and projects, then come on up!
Welcome, friend!
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Welcome to our Farm Blog.
The purpose of this blog is for Aimee and I to communicate with friends and family, with those of our students, and other folks in general who are interested in homesteading and farming activities.
The earliest posts, at the very end of the blog, tell the story of the Great Farm, our purchase of a fragment of that farm, the renovation of the homestead and its populating with people and animals. Go all the way to the last post in the archive and read backwards from there to get it in chronological order.
After getting tired of spam comments (up to a dozen or more per day), I required commentators to be Google "registered users". You can write me at mwomersley@unity.edu if you have a serious comment or question and are not a registered user.
Spammers -- don't bother writing -- there's no way I will post your spam to my blog. Just go away.