February 28, 2014

This has been a great week!  While it has been cooler in the mornings, it has warmed up in the afternoons (when I am available to do farm work after my other job).  This week has been all about "a little from here makes a little for there" per one of my favorite books to read my kids, Hiram's Red Shirt.  My favorite literature to read about small farms is from about the late 1800's to around 1980.  This is the time when they not only thought it was doable, but they did it and made a living from it.  This is before the times when large industrial farmers started poisoning the waters with "get big or get out".  I think for a small farm, it's all about diversity, finding out which things make a profit and doing more of them, and having a can-do attitude.  We are not looking to get rich, just making money doing something we love.  This morning I asked my husband, "If money were no object and you could do anything you wanted to do today, what would you do?"  After taking some time to think about it while we drank our coffee, he said he would do something on the farm.  I felt the same way.  Isn't it great when you are able to do something you love?  Of course, then he left for his other job, and I started anticipating mine.  We are planning to change that and are working on it. 

This week, I have been transporting our new plants from the house to the greenhouse (unheated) for their daily sun.  In addition, I am working on digging a frog pond and using the dirt to shore up other areas (A little from here makes a little for there).  As the snow made the ground compact around the septic tank, multiple wheelbarrows full went there, and the new greenhouse needs lots of dirt around the foundation to keep the heat in, so many wheelbarrow loads are going there.  We are watching the temperature differential between the outside temperature and the greenhouse, and so far even though the outside temperature has gone as low as 19, the greenhouse is remaining above freezing.  I still have the south and east sides of the greenhouse to put earth around (right now rocks are holding the plastic in place, but doesn't hold the plastic tight against the greenhouse frame.)  We think the temperature differential is owed to the rock foundation which provided our thermal mass.  We are still not sure enough to leave the plants out at night.  Hopefully that will change.  Wow, I just realized that all of this is being accomplished during the time I used to spend commuting.  It's amazing what having a home office can do.