So ends the trial farm

It was about 4 years ago that I decided to see what sort of agricultural things I could do with a ¼ acre of steep lakeside land. Was it my consideration of a possible career change or the fond childhood memories of my grandparent’s farm that compelled me to play farmer for a time? I’m sure it was both as well as other reasons; but it was definitely fun and educational. It was a pleasure to feed and water all the critters every day as they were always so happy to see me. Although for the most part it was the food that they looked forward to I do think at least for the goats they did enjoy my company. The gregarious goats always wanted me sit and stay with them awhile; be part of the herd so to speak. To enjoy the company of all species, so long as they are benevolent, is a goats attitude. And never be in a hurry either, well unless there is food at the table. One of the side benefits of animal husbandry was the abundant supply of composted manure for my organic garden. Gardening was easy the last few years and I will miss that. I will miss my bees too. The bees changed my view of entomology forever. No longer do I view insects as simply pest, but see them in an entirely different light. The biggest thing I learned was that it is very hard to get away. You have to have a lot of respect for farmers working 7 days a week. Animals never take Saturday and Sunday off nor go on vacation. Well it’s good bye to Whitney and Winona. I am confident the girls got a good home and will keep in touch with their new owner.

I haven’t posted here in awhile but it feels good to do so. Finishing the house details and liquidating our stuff is a big job requiring all my free time. Next month we will moving the motorhome to Sylvan Lake Beach Park in Hopewell Junction, NY. More on this next time.

"Hey, wait a minute, I don't do planks". The chocolate goat, Whitney awaits her turn behind the gate.

"It's not so bad up here. There's no place like home!"

New owner, Ken, keeps the goats inside while someone gets a screw gun. The girls were surprisingly calm throughout the whole ordeal. 'hope they enjoy the ride to their new diggs.

Reindeer Left Behind?

Merry Christmas everyone! This morning when we awoke the milk and cookies on the hearth were all gone and our stockings were full. While this was certainly a nice surprise the biggest surprise we got were the two miniature reindeer we found in the back yard. Hey Donner, Yo Blitzen, Come Rudolf, Here Dasher, we have called out; but they don't seem to answer to any of the names in Santa's team. Perhaps they are strays. We have given them hay, oats and a place in the barn to sleep.

Having both Greg and Zach home made this a very special Christmas. Zach traveled from Korea to be home for 2 1/2 weeks. Greg came up from Philadelphia.

Greg's gfriend, Jenny, has many talents and we were delighted she brought these wonderful homemade cookies. Though they were almost too beautiful to eat they were delicious! The pirate gingerbread man was for Zach.

We showed Zach the "rig" while he was here. I don't think he was expecting something this size.

Slammed by a Second Snow Storm

Well I guess Sunday's storm was just a warm up for the main event. This morning we woke up to 6" of fresh snow and it is still coming down. Actually it is changing over to freezing rain now. That will make it worse when the temperature drops this evening.
I don't think I would buy a snowblower ever again. They only work about half the time. Mine started right up after sitting for 8 months but could not handle the wet heavy snow. With the machine running the snow just piled up in front of it until it was so compacted the machine would stop dead in its tracks. I ran it up and down the driveway repeatedly only to end up with a job poorly done. We will have to finish with shovels.

2:00 PM Update

Apparently our road, which is a dead end, has been blocked for several hours. A 53' tractor trailer tried to drive on our narrow steep lake roads and got stuck. The driver then tried to back out only to jack knife the trailer and make things worse. I realized something was going on when I saw a humongous wrecker drive by and then saw the State Trooper up at the corner. Who needs to watch the news?

First Storm of the Season

This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland. Last night as the temperature dropped the wet half rain, half snow precipitation changed to all snow and stuck to just about everything, especially the trees. Snow storms have to be one of my favorite things about life in New England. In no time at all the bleak, gray woodland is transformed magically into a fantasy land of cotton candy and ice castles.

The higher elevation of the hilltops is where the "winter wonderland" effect is strongest.




Martha's gourd feeder attracts a variety of wild birds, especially when it snows.




It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

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