Yesterday. Yesterday the shift into a lower cruisier gentler quieter gear finally happened.
It was not warm, but the produce came up in baskets from the gardens. The rhythm of movement without jerks and pulls and pounces. A good calm successful day.
Boo spend the afternoon lying under a hydrangea bush. When I picked him up from the vets he was howling like a wolf at the moon.
But still everything slid like a gently launched dingy onto a still dawn pond. And we settled.
Today the farmy is having visitors from the city. Children. They are going to help me shift the fat baby chicks into their intermediate house. The Stock Trailer is being turned into a temporary shelter until they are big enough for their Ark on the grass. It will be ready in a week or so when they are big enough to go out onto the grass. But until then they can stretch out and grow in the big covered trailer. We will still run a heating lamp until they have acclimated.
Then the children are going to forage in the gardens and find some lunch. I will make pizza bases and we will see what they come up with.
So I had better get a wriggle on and get busy with chores.The dehydrator needs loading and another load of apples into the pot not to mention my animals. It is so cold this morning. I huddled in bed last night refusing to get up for another blanket. I was just to far gone into sleep. Held in place by sleeps gravity. It is Summer! I shoould not need blankets.
OK, hitting the ground running well loping actually. A gentle lope.
Have a lovely day
your friend, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
48 responses to “The Shift into a lower summer gear”
Good morning Celi you are going to have a great tiring but great day i know you love the city kids all kids for that matter; i’m sure poor boo will be sore and not flashing anywhere but on a slow lope if i am right . i’d be still whimpering. 🙂 be a blessing mike
He just stole one of the pigs corn cobs and ran off with it, i think he is back on track already.. c
Cecilia–I have been reading and “lurking” for months now…what a wonderful commentary you write each day on your farm and all that happens there…I especially like the idea of raising all of your foods yourself. Thank you for sharing with all of us…
You are most welcome and thank you so much for popping in and introducing yourself. i love to know who is reading! Even raising a little bit of the food you eat is deeply satisfying.. I hope you are able to have a wee garden .. c
i can’t wait to see what the kids do! poor boo!
Blanket weather here, too, and I truly love it. Remind me of this come a Minnesota winter, alright.
Your winters are so tough, i hope we get a good long gypsy summer, you never know! c
The weather in Northern Iowa has been absolutely beautiful the last few days—-cool wonderful sleeping weather at night with the windows open always makes me happy. The down side is knowing that the freezing chill of winter is approaching. I am determined to enjoy what is left of summer—blankets or no!
It’s way too soon for blankets, isn’t it! We have a cool front now too, and it’s lovely. I must begin drying veggies too. I have been freezing tomatoes and made your summer sauce. We have about 11 Gala apples ripening on our tree, which is very exciting. Not enough to do anything with but go and pick one anytime we want a snack. That’s big fun! Next year we should get lots more!
What I wouldn’t give for a day like that! We’re still struggling to find a rhythm here, and it’s wearing on me…Reading about yours gives me a measure of peace, though 🙂
Have a great time with your company!
C, do you dehydrate Capsicums? E
I will be, there are piles of them this year. and piles of our old fav’s – aubergine! Which i will not be dehydrating as i eat them too fast! c
Wow – it’s been warm enough here for a very thin sheet only, for quite some time. I’m off to Spain tomorrow, for a couple of days and imagine I’ll want to sleep in a fridge 😉
a friend of mine slept with his feet in a fridge one year.. we were at a conference and it was terribly hot, and he was found literally asleep on the floor of his room with his feet in the open fridge.. tho if he had been a rock star he would have had his feet in wet cold fish.. who knows.. morning mad! c
ROFL
I just read something odd which might interest you – apparently pigeons produce milk – I was thinking of starting a dairy 😉
http://www.kentishtowner.co.uk/2013/08/07/urban-animal-of-the-week-4-pigeon/
oh my Gawd! Not only are you busy in all the hours that the Good Lord gives but also having city children to help…methinks that you are an Angel in disguise!!!!!
Baby had her piglets this evening. She had nine, one was born dead the others are well alive and wriggling. Nothing seems to be going to plan! The babies have been born about three hours and are suckling well. When Baby stood up to eat her afterbirth I put them in the creep when she was ready to go back down but it was hard to stop them running straight back under her. The 1st time she went down with them away from her, the second she went down with them all around her and I had to pull them out quick smart. There was none of Charlottes honking to stay away noises. They do not seem interested in the creep and its well prepared warmth and are bent on sleeping next to their mother except no one is sleeping, they are constantly changing places and arguing about teets. Baby is being very stoic and just lying there honking gently to them but she will have to get up at some point. I have decided to leave them to it as I am not being stoic and am stressing about the babies getting rolled on. So I am taking your pigs mans advice, I have done all I can and need to walk away and leave them be to work it out. I know this is a strange question but I was wondering if it was worth leaving the light on overnight just they can all see better? that said the piglets seem to rush in more on instinct than sight I think? Wow they are so robust for such wee newborns and also so tiny and vulnerable compared to their huge mother, what on earth was Mother Nature thinking when she designed it this way?
I did leave the lights on for about three or four days so Charlotte could see them. Don’t worry about putting them in the creep, they will go by themselves. And when they are alone they seem to sort it out. You can’t keep them safe now. It is all in the lap of the gods. You have done your best. In the first 24 hours Charlotte just lay there and slept it off, feeding. She did not even go to the toilet for a few days. She is still resting. And the babies will lie with her sleeping and getting strong. it is terrifying. I know. You remember the shot of the piglet asleep on Charlottes knife feet, BUT don’t worry. You and I are such terrible worriers. Everything is going according to plan. Eight is a lot. Is it cold? can you put a safe heating lamp in the creep to attract them to the warmth? In a few days they will move in there. but they are only hours old, for now they all need to sleep together, bond and drink. Now take the pig mans advice and go to bed. Make NO Noise if you have to check them and do NOT go into the pen for a good while. That was my mistake. Every time something went wrong I was there. So I was part of the problem. If I had not have been there she may have been more focussed on them and not stepped on them. Off to sleep now.. Bet they are sleeping too.. Youve done well.. in a few days it will have all sorted itself out.. Ni Ni.. c
Thanks Celi, this is good advice, I have been to check this AM, piglets are all good and sleeping behind mum, Baby does not want me in there so perhaps I too over egged the pudding last night. It is so hard when your experince is limited and I was advised by another friend with pigs to make the babies familier with the creep but I think it was a bad move and stressful for all concerned, ah well we live and learn. Baby got up for breakfast though (thats my girl) and seemed to be ok with me being there as long as I do not bother the piglets. I only stayed a few minutes I wanted to be out of earshot before she lays down again! There is really nothing I can do to make her careful with the piglets so she is best left alone in peace and quiet.
I learnt this too. Next time i will leave well alone. But the tension is awful!! You are doing just fine, and Baby is bouncing back fast.. good for her.. c
What a great day the kids will have with you – will be beautiful for them
“everything slid like a gently launched dingy onto a still dawn pond” That’s the perfect description of this time of year.
Blankets! We are expecting nighttime lows in mid 70’s (temporarily) this week…last night, low 90’s. Are we setting up for early fall? Guess I’d better go check with the caterpillars and critters outside.
Enjoy the kids
Oh! Pizza! Yuuum. Can you share your “base” recipe here? Thanks! Charlotte
when i am making a fast pizza base it is um.. let me think.. in a bowl 1 1/2 cups warm water, 2 tblsp dried yeast and 1 tablespoon honey – stir. Pour into 3 1/2 c flour, 2 tblsp olive oil, salt. Mix, lightly knead and leave to rise. it should be double its size in about 30 – 40 mns. I usually add flax seeds too, nothing fancy. My guests are late, i hope they are not lost! Your tree is going to be a black walnut.. would that be OK?.. c
It’s not unusual howl at the moon if the crown jewels are damaged….it’s a guy thing:)