Thing One on the walk, ruffed by the wind.
Tulips.
Mia and two Murphys. It is going to be a short year for pasture, we are still recovering from two dry years. And to be truly sustainable I can only run a very small flock of sheep. After that the land suffers. So the lambs will be leaving the farm after a few weeks on the good pasture. I am sorry to say that I have decided that Mia will leave too. This was a hard decision. But the right one.
She was my first hand reared sheep but the agony she goes through every year, when I have to go in and pull out all those dead lambs one after the other is just beyond cruel. Awful. This has happened twice now and she has only just survived each time. And she is still lacking vigor. I have only a few paddocks and it is impossible to keep her away from the ram in the fall. It would be evil of me to allow her to get pregnant and then lose all her lambs in the most terrible way year after year. She cannot breed. Sad, but one of the things we have to deal with as organic/sustainable farmers is taking out the ones who get infections or cannot breed. I am sorry.
Lets think about something else for a minute. The walls have been clad, and the men come back today to tape and mud the cracks. Suddenly the room looks small and echoey. However we are moving forward at a rapid rate now.
Apple blossom. This is where we stand under the apple trees and inhale…
then exhale. There are some beautiful moments on the little farm that allow us breathing space to deal with the difficult ones. There breathe in…
then breathe out. Cherry blossom.
The grapes are leafing out..
And the peaches are setting.
New trees in the daily view. Mr M’s on the far right (North), by the yellow fire hydrant, once the leaves come out you will see the trees better.
And a roof for the Coupe. A great accomplishment. The black on the side of the old house is builders paper, once the roof is finished they will start that side.
Good morning my darling friends. I hope you do not feel too bad about Mia. But my promise at the beginning of this blog is that I will tell you the truth of things. You all know about life and its ups and downs. No need to go into it. Every life is like this. We just see it more clearly and simply on a farm.
Author was collected into a cage last night in case she needs an operation today. I will take her in to the vet shortly. She has become more and more lethargic in the last 24 hours. For two days she has slept in the empty indoor pig pen. Both her kittens were lost. She was too young being only a kitten herself.
This is not a happy clappy post is it. Let’s go back to the apple blossom and stand under there for a while, listen to the bees and breathe in that heady scent. It will be better soon.
Have a lovely day.
your quiet friend, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
64 responses to “The scents of spring help soften the hard decisions.”
Sorry to hear about Mia. Any chance you could put her on birth control? I hear they do that at the zoo, but I guess that’s for other animals. Sounds like you’re making the right call.
i am sure it was a really hard decision…about mia. but you are right that it would be very cruel to make her go through that again. just not fair. it will all be good in the end. for sure.
Mia can retire here if you’d like.
Goodness, what an extraordinarily kind offer, I shall send you an email and see what we can work out.. thank you! Fingers crossed we can find a way. c
Oh, I DO hope that works out! I was thinking it would be lovely to have a wee retirement farmyard, where the elderly critters we all love could live out their days in peace.
Poor little Author. You know I am a cat-lady, so I will be thinking of her all day.
XO
Oh, c…even though I knew it would come to this, it’s still hard. Let’s cross our fingers that Mama’s latest little girl inherited her strong womb.
Our apple trees are on the brink of bursting, so I’ll just enjoy yours for now. Any morning now, that heavenly scent will be here 🙂
I’m sorry about Mia, and know it’s a necessary and humane decision. Lately, I’ve been standing under the apple blossoms, breathing in and breathing out. It’s a calming exercise. 🙂
So many beautiful blossoms in your photos today, Miss C. And it looks like someone is offering Mia a home. You are wonderful at facing your life and the decisions it entails.
Those sound like sensible decisions. You are running a farm and the animals are not really pets. Sheep are raised for meat and wool. They will all have had good lives with far more love than affection than on a lot of other farms 🙂
This is hard. I know it’s utterly silly, but in the blogosphere one makes weird connections. Lives strange parallel lives. Loves beings one has never met. I have an affinity as you know for pregnant Charlotte, because we share a name. But I also have a daughter named Mia. So I have had a special place in my heart for her as well. She will still occupy it. I guess that’s the good thing about love. It stays.
I do remember that your daughter is Mia but hopefully we can place Mia on another farm. I have been making calls and now we have had an offer from a reader.. fingers crossed.. c
Ah!! That is great…i was reading doom between the lines.
Beautiful tulips! The sheep look good too 🙂
As wonderful and magical as farm life can be, it’s also filled with very hard decisions that have to be made. You know that yours are made with the best interests of your animals in your heart and mind.
Very good read telling it like it is. I’d be hopeless at decisions like that, which would make me cruel rather than kind. Great to see everything budding and the Coupe moving forward.
I am sure you would not be knowingly cruel, hard decisions are often very obvious ones, that hurt to make.. c
Good morning Celi life goes on it will indeed be better tomorrow have a blessed day mike
I would be absolutely no good at making those hard decisions that you have had to make lately. The beauty of your pictures shines through and makes me feel that spring may finally be here. I am sure that you are making the right decisions—–you are an amazing woman and I feel like I “know” you through your writing and wonderful pictures. Put the kettle on and have a cup of tea for me this morning when you get a break from your chores, please. And know that all your bloggy friends are feeling the sadness that you must feel when you have to make the tough decisions. 🙂
I shall Beth Ann, on my break you and I will have a cuppa on the verandah..thank you c
That sounds wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. Thanks!
such a tough decision but i know you think long and hard about these things. will she go off to live somewhere else or will she go the way of the murphy’s?
Good morning my heavy-hearted girl. Let’s just assume there is no other place I would rather be but here supporting you with your difficult decisions and lets say, just for the record, that there is a reason you don’t live in Chicago in a condo. My heart is with you. ❤