Starting tomorrow I will be completely alone again. School starts, folks will be at their jobs and the world turns, it seems, slowly, without me. There will be some great opportunities for reflection, for writing, for journaling, biking and yoga around my appointments, blog posts and duties here at the SemiFarm. I will miss my daughter and husband but it's been nearly a month now since I have had more than a passing few minutes completely to my self. I am both saddened and excited, but, either way, coffee and my back porch await me.
I've neglected, like every blogger does at some point I think, to keep pace with writing about our homestead. I've begun my writing life and quickly the had-to's took over the want-to's in my writing schedule and all but pushed out the writing for myself that I most enjoy. It's time to recapture the last few moments of summer here for an updaet for you all, and to re-establish, for myself, the craft and habit of slinging down the words I love so much to write, about my homestead and my family.
The chicken coop has made steady progress and, although we still aren't ready for hens, there are now windows that peer out over the weed patch that is my garden and the woods beyond. Some day some girl squeezing out an egg will be perched in a nest box and relaxed with that view. I know it helps me get through some tough days and remember what all the hard work is about.
The weed patch, or garden, dependent upon which angle you are looking from, has yielded us very little in this, its first year other than several cucumbers which I put up as kosher dills in another homey new pursuit, canning. I'm having an awesome time with putting lids on things as a blogging idol of mine, Ashley English, says. Her canning book was actually my first inspiration to try this rot-stalling, produce-keeping tactic I watched my mother use when I was growing up. Sadly, there aren't many recipes I could find for small batch canning so I have done way more math than I care to and have taken a break after 2 pints of tomatoes and about 6 pints of pickles. I also ran out of produce, other than the local peaches sitting on my counter.
Speaking of Ashley English, if you visit her blog, Small Measure, you might see a familiar sight there in the recipe for some amazing homemade laundry soap. If you remember when I made it, way back in May, you'll have to agree that it is a miracle with my kind-of farming family of 3 that I have not yet run out. This stuff is awesome! If you like those sorts of tips, Ash has tons more gorgeous ideas in her blog and her Homemade Living series of books. There's a book on canning (my favorite!), one on bees, one on chickens with amazing pictures and one on home dairy I can't wait to read. :)
Stay tuned for more updates and pictures as I find more time this week to blog for me. ;)
xoxoxo
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