Have you had the chance lately to just take a break? To turn off your mind so to speak and quiet all that runs through it every day like…..To do lists, work, what’s for dinner, what did I forget, worries, workouts, kids, schedules, disappointments, just those things that’s cause us to stress and our foreheads to wrinkle. Some of which we share with people we trust and others we just give to God and try our best to leave it there.
Sadly, many of us don’t. We live a life full of chaos and never take a break or just a few minutes to breathe in the smells, listen to the sounds, and appreciate the few moments of quiet. To feel the warmth of the sun, listen to the birds, or even watch the clouds go by.
Personally, to say our lives are hectic is an understatement, but I’m so thankful for every single moment I have to decompress, to talk to God, and to just appreciate all that creation has to offer. The other day I took off my shoes and just walked through my grass. It was enlightening! Not that run outside and get something real quick with no shoes on, but an intentional walk to feel the grass under my feet. Have you tried it?
I love to find a quiet spot, pull up a chair, or pop a squat just to listen and watch. It brings me such joy! I think clearly, feel less stressed, I’m no longer irritated, and it allows me to give my mental a break. This is something I cherish because I promise that all that is running through my mind will literally be there right after, but I’m better equipped to handle it. So although this really has nothing to do with farming, I just want to give you a little reminder to take a break for you. Even if you’re not a nature person, put your phone down, turn off the tv, grab your favorite cup of whatever you enjoy drinking and give yourself a moment. Frustrations will come and go and life is truly crazy, but it’s ok to just give slow down and take a little break for you. .
Now that I got that all out, let’s talk about farming! Has anyone noticed how late everything is this Spring? Brandon and I were out the other day and the farmers were plowing their fields. All I could think about is how it’s almost May and wow it’s not just me in my organic farming world singing woe is me about the weather and how it’s affecting our ability to grow food. It was an Aha! moment because so far this season has really been a struggle. I say it all the time and I KNOW it’s true, but when you’ve planted and replanted, it’s easy to be discouraged…especially if you’ve had to plant again after that!
The truth is the weather trumps everything! Perfect schedules, excellent seed germination, no bugs……All of the farming conditions can be wonderful, but if the weather isn’t, it really doesn’t matter. It wasn’t until I came out of my own sad bubble and saw it for myself that I was able to relieve some of the frustration, pressure and stress I was feeling. Brandon felt it too and drove me to where he knew we would both find comfort. Hence the picture above.
Now don’t get me wrong, we don’t have perfect anything around here, but we work hard and truly love what we do. Each year we learn more, but the best thing for us about growing food is knowing where it came from! I mean groceries are sky high! Did you catch my little rant when we returned from our time off? For a family of 3 between two stores we spent $600. Like how? It literally blew my mind and that figure did not include household items because we have a separate budget for that. So Spring and Summer are the seasons when we try our best to grow an abundance and eat from the farm. We usually put up foods through canning, freezing, and this year through the offer of friends we hope to freeze dry some items as well. So if you have been thinking about starting a garden……do it! A pack of seeds could save you so much money in the long run, not to mention all the fun you could have while learning and growing.
So on the farm now everything is in bloom. From peas to peppers, and tomatoes. The gardens are in that beautiful stage. Everything is green and growing and although the bugs have started to emerge, they haven’t done too much damage yet. Actually with the colder temps staying around a lot longer than usual we were able to keep some greens longer than we normally would. This made for some beautiful deliveries for the members of Kith & Kin CSA.
That same cold weather also put us behind on plantings and was responsible for all those replantings we mentioned above, but now that the weather is evening out the crops are settling in and beginning to produce.
We should have squash and zucchini next week, and we’re now picking peas and my favorite, green beans. Banana peppers are the first peppers of the season and as you can see above and jalapeños are following behind them closely. With tomorrow being the start of May, we will begin our next round of succession plantings for Summer crops.
In family news our oldest daughter, Brooklynn will be graduating from college this month! I remember having the pleasure of carrying her in my stomach and now I get to watch her make milestones in life. She loves God, is an excellent mother, a beautiful wife, and now add to that a college graduate! She’s worked so hard, especially over this last year and a half and to see her success is my own!
Congratulations Poopie! This Mom will always be your biggest fan!
If that wasn’t enough news, Joshua is now driving! He got his permit a few months ago and his driving lessons have ensued. It’s so crazy that this is our youngest child and here he is trying to become a man. I did not approve of him growing up so fast, but I’m ready to embrace it.
Life is always interesting on the farm with our animals. Hazel Rae loves going into the new chicken house trying her best to get a “chicky” Most of which are just about as tall as her. She also loves feeding the pigs with her Pop Pop. We’ve broken Ezra in as well, but since he’s still so young he just looks for now.
The hens have been on a roll with their laying and for that we’ve been so grateful. We have a new set of hens that should be laying any minute now, but these girls have been putting in enough work for everyone. We hope to hatch out some new babies this year so we’re keeping our eyes out for broody hens who want to be mamas.
The meat birds will be harvested in the next two weeks for a Spring harvest and then our next one will be in September. If you’re in the market for chicken, be on the lookout for our next listing soon. Now that we’ve been in our space for almost two years, we also plan to run turkeys for those big Fall dinners. That listing is typically added in July, but we will keep you posted. Be sure to grab both birds quickly as they do sell out fast!
The piglets are fully weaned and enjoying their fill of all that they can munch on. It’s fun to watch them grow. We’ve gated off a new section where we’re going to separate the boys from the girls. We’ve already done that with our breeders and it’s now close to the time for this new batch as well. We don’t want any surprises and we also want to make sure to fatten them up for a Winter harvest.
If you haven’t checked out The Sweet Spot lately you’re missing out! Joshua has done so well with his cookies and they’re just so delicious!
As always, we want to thank you for being the best part of our farm. We appreciate you being here. Until next time…..