Monday, March 16
I have to be honest with y’all – I really don’t know what to write tonight.
The work day went by quick enough. Came home, threw the cabin sheets and towels in the wash, ate, then wrote a review for our last guests. I’ve attached three hexagons together and now I’m wondering what in the world to write for my journal entry.
It seems life is in limbo at the moment. We are all wondering about the effects of the Coronavirus; wondering how many more events are going to be cancelled; wondering if there will be a mandatory quarantine; wondering how all this combined is going to affect so many people and businesses. Just wondering. Waiting. My favorite annual event, the Mountain Mushroom Festival, was cancelled today. It’s six weeks away and it’s cancelled. sigh. This will surely hurt our local economy as people come from all over to attend.
I told CountryBoy at supper this evening that I have mixed feelings on this whole Coronavirus thing. At home where the air is fresh and the people are few I feel as though there is a lot of overreacting going on. But, when I’m in town where there are people constantly coming and going I feel as though there may be something to it and maybe we do need to take more serious precautions.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind being quarantined. It would be a good excuse to get so many things done that seem to always be on the back burner due to lack of time. And, of course, I love being at home. Also, our pantry is full so we would be OK. When we first started gardening on such a large scale several people asked me what we would do with all that food we put up. Well, many times we barter with it; we’ve swapped home canned goods with others; we’ve given some away; and, we eat it all winter long. Those home canned goods will also come in handy in the event we are quarantined or if the store shelves remain empty for any length of time.
Speaking of garden, I’ve already mentioned we’ve enlarged that garden space a bit. I’m excited to say that we are also going to try a different way (for us at least) of gardening – companion planting. CountryBoy is planning what vegetables and flowers to plant together for maximum benefit for each plant and for natural pest control. It’s truly fascinating stuff and I can’t wait to see how it goes!
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Farm news: 36 eggs. That’s THREE dozen eggs in one day!
Sadly, we lost one of the young blue egg layers yesterday to what we don’t know. All we saw were feathers in the paddock. CountryBoy does not think it was a hawk because of the feathers found in several places and no body. He’s thinking something managed to get through the fence and drag it off. Sadly, beefing up the fence was on the to-do list. I guess it is now a priority and may have to be done in all the rain. And yes, it’s raining again. It started this evening and they’re calling for rain the rest of the week.
Tuesday, March 17
I was awakened in the wee hours of the morning by rain on the porch roof. It was coming down hard and steady which put me right back to sleep. By the time I got out of bed it was only sprinkling. It continued to sprinkle for a good part of the morning and then it stopped. Yay. I don’t think we are supposed to get any more until tomorrow afternoon.
It was a struggle to make myself go to work. I don’t know why one day is harder than another. It just is. It ended up being rightfully so. My co-worker was out today and I had to wear many hats. At one point I simply stopped for a minute to gather my thoughts and regroup. I needed to wrap my head around what I was doing, what had I done, and what needed to be done. Sometimes putting two papers together with a minimal staff gets a little crazy especially when one of us is not there. I managed to get it together and both papers were sent to the printer at the same time.
Speaking of getting it together – I really need to get it together. I’m not a fan of who I’ve become later in life. Let’s just suffice it to say that I am discovering more areas every day that need a ton of work. I long to be the quiet, easy-going, flexible person I used to be. Something else to work on.
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I stopped at Save-a-Lot on my way home for some bread, cheese & milk. I got the bread and cheese but there was no milk. There was also no potatoes, eggs, and of course, no toilet paper (for whatever reason) and those were just the items I noticed as I skirted the perimeter of the store. There were lots of stockers doing their best to fill the shelves with whatever they had in the stockroom. Of course we have potatoes and eggs but my self-sufficient mindset immediately said we needed to get a dairy cow or dairy goat! These are some of the craziest times I’ve ever lived through.
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I’m psyching myself up to start a small quilt. I’ve chosen a pattern that is suitable for the fabric that I have on hand now I just have to muster up the courage to start cutting out the necessary pieces.
Measure 30 times and cut once. I get nervous starting a sewing project because fabric is SO expensive so it usually takes me awhile to make that first cut.
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Farm news: 26 eggs
Wednesday, March 18
This morning I made myself sleep in until 7:00. Once up, I got the coffee brewing on the stovetop, fed and watered all the cats and LizzieBelle then headed out to the barn to feed Mabel and to feed the chickens and let them out of the coop. As I walked toward the barn I heard some turkeys gobbling in the direction of the cabin and I was surrounded by bird songs. There was even one perched on the peak of the barn just a-singin’ away like he was welcoming me to the barn. I was reminded that no matter what is going on in the world that nature goes on. Birds sing; flowers bloom; gardens grow all without a care in the world. I know that being out in nature is a soothing balm to the mind and soul. I think I need to emulate the ways of nature on a daily basis and have more faith that all is as it should be.
It was a relaxed morning before going to work. I didn’t have to be in quite as early so I decided to plant some Wisteria by the arbor. First, I needed to move the Clematis. It didn’t do well there – barely getting a foot tall and definitely not climbing the arbor. After pulling and digging out some weeds I discovered the Clematis was starting to show some life. I decided to wait on digging them up until I figured out where I wanted to move them. Somewhere with more sun. After that I walked over to the chicken’s paddock where CountryBoy was adding some metal stakes to the fence. His new metal post driver made quick work of the task. He found two spots where something small could have gotten through the fence so he repaired them. The fence is standing up straighter and looking much better. Fingers crossed there won’t be anymore mishaps with the hens.
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After work I stitched a couple hexagons together then went and gathered the eggs and fed Mabel. It started raining, yet again, right when I got back to the house. After supper I went upstairs and started cutting the pieces for the quilt top…
I started with some precut fabric called a charm pack – 42 5″ squares of coordinating fabrics. I had two charm packs of the same fabric which is exactly what I needed for the pattern. The name of the charm pack is Bee Kind. How appropriate for the times.
I need to do a little more cutting of the strips before I can start sewing them together…
Once I make the first cut I’m usually OK. I still read the instructions 50 times, measure 30 times and hopefully cut it right the first time! Thankfully it didn’t take me too long to muster up the courage to make that first cut!
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Farm news: 29 eggs
Dream Valley Farmstead 