The thing with disappointment is that you just have to swallow and deal with it. I think the actual swallow is pretty important to this process. Like a pause. A stand on the one foot. The stillness. The re-evaluation- once again- after all this time, seeing for sure that your plans were for naught. 
Poppy the young Hereford sow is in full blown heat. Not pregnant at all. I cannot ignore it. I am disappointed. Actually very disappointed – I really thought that getting a boar was a good idea. He bred her in three different cycles. I saw this. He was vigorous, she was willing. Then while I was away she must have cycled again. But no issue. And we all know that she is fertile. Lets hope that Manu is breeding the two gilts he has in there with him at the moment (which is why I cannot start Poppy all over again – there would be no room at the inn). 
I could just spit. I have so many people wanting to buy her piglets. And every one of these errors takes months to play out. But there you are. Re-balance Cecilia. Re-balance. Beware the dangers of smugness.
And the eggs we bought at the Bantam Swap are going rotten, one after the other we are removing rotten eggs from the incubator. The smell is evil.
Swallow. One foot up. Watch. Find your balance. Be still. Place the foot down and continue. Find the balance – even when you want to Spit with disappointment. 
But this is not what I want to focus on. Inaki left today. He has been a superb member of the farm , a stunning man and has achieved so much in his short four weeks here. I will miss him. He will leave a legacy of tremendous laughter and Basque food and chickens and a brilliant start on the gardens. And a real life Mountain of compost. And some really eloquent Spanish curse words as there are no swear words in Basque.
Occasionally I find real friends amongst my woofing guest workers. Inaki is such a friend.
Aren’t written words funny. How we collect and arrange and rearrange letters that look like sticks and dots and crosses and roundy things to imitate sounds transferred to a page and other people can make sense of those sticks and dots and crosses and roundy things and pronounce the sounds and understand. And we have to get the spelling right or the people will not understand what it is we mean to say. This code we use to communicate. These squiggles and crosses that we cannot do without. This strange thing called writing. As arrogant as it is humble. And so powerful. So lasting.
Talking of squiggles and crosses I must write up the board. After waving a miserable farewell to Inaki we are getting straight back to work. And Conor is roaring through his list of work. Starting with cookies. My breakfast coookies.
I hope you have a lovely day. Let’s not talk about Poppy and rotten eggs and waving goodbye to souls who matter. What are YOU up to today. Anything interesting?
Love celi
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
44 responses to “I don’t know the title today”
That’s the most amazing sky ever!
You may find these amusing:
http://www.thevisigoth.com/#!Glossary-of-Spanish-Perjorative-Terms/xozfu/56b2507b0cf2b4e0b61835f5
The gentle spring rain has come, all last night and over the morning, it came like a mist, and the world around me has turned green, the pasture is greening up, the moss on the old tree’s almost glows today.. the woolly sheep are tucked into the barn, as I plan to shear them this weekend and want dry wool.. the lambs are tucked in as well, because yesterday two wolves cross over the big field and I am always the careful one.. there is Banana Bread baking and cold rhubarb crisps to have a hot tea later in the day.. Hugs to you! I know we have not meet in person and we might or we might not.. but I call you friend none the less.
That sounds like such a disappointment, but I’m glad to hear it is ending with cookies. Cookies make everything better.
You reminded me of a Basque man I used to work with who was one of my favorites, and he loved to swear like a sailor in English.
I am at lunch while at my desk at my day job, Miss C. … wishing I were out with my animals. I would also like to be out planting in my garden and flowers, but it is way too wet for that, so, sigh, I may as well be at work, earning my paycheck. I intend to be outside LOTS tomorrow. 🙂 Have a good, re-balancing, weekend.
I am keeping an eye on my sheep. It is getting close to lambing day and my expectations and anxiety are rising, hoping all will go well. You know what that is all about Celi, watching and waiting and hoping for a good outcome. Sometimes it comes, and sometimes it doesn’t.
oh my let me think- I am waiting for the middle of May before I even dare plant my veggies- where we live the weather can be a pesky imp!
But there you have it- we could live elsewhere- but for now we’ll put up with the pesky impish climate because it is so gorgeous to live here.
A sky so spectacular squiggly lines and crosses cannot begin to describe.
A sky so spectacular no amount of squiggly lines and crosses can begin to describe.
Beautiful pics of the sky. I am unpacking and doing laundry. I find that therapeutic. Goes in dirty, comes out clean. Fresh start. A bit shocked at the change of temperature between La Peneta Jaltemba and Lockport, Manitoba, but I’ll get over it. Put on warm socks. Hope your plans sort themselves out. Cheers!
“But little Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Go often askew…”
So sayeth Robert Burns, at any rate.
I have spent a lovely morning searching out something online and now, just as “Just Another Day On The Farm” above, I will go and make a banana loaf. I have some walnuts this time and am looking forward to using them in the loaf — so, as you can see, nothing terribly earth-shaking going on here. Just checking my balance. Have a brighter day. ~ Mame 🙂
Oh Dear – let’s not dwell on negative as I have enough negative to sink me to the bottom of Lake Michigan I’m sure.
The sun is shining – it’s 80 degrees – there is LOVE in my life – and so many blessings to count.
From my office in South Fort Worth – I am watching a male turkey (wild) STRUT his STUFF over in the grass. A blue jay is tormenting a squirrel and a male cardinal is flitting between the trees with a female perched in the tree outside my window. MEN! All the active ones are MALES – Dancing a SPRING jig. While us females just look on with a grin. (I’m sure there is a hen turkey somewhere over in the shade watching that big boy)
In addition – there is a family of red tail hawks that nest in the top of the cell tower. So I watch them circle every so often. They must be nesting as one is always on the nest when I look up.
Who would think – here I am in a high tech job at a manufacturing company – and I am able to enjoy such nature. Were I on the other side of the building I could look at the river and all the river birds. See – there is one blessing for me to count.
HUGS!!!!!! and Love!!!!!!
I’m really sad for your (and Poppy’s) disappoitment. And it must add to the sadness to lose Inak. I hope you are cheered some by those magnificent skies.
The clever farmer across the way really knew his stuff: he made his hay in the one three-day sunny window, and it’s rained ever since his machines left the field. Now we’re surrounded by dense fog.
I hope the Farmy produces happier times from now on.
lots of love,
ViV xox
It is a quiet day here as the clouds and rain move back in after an odd April hot spell, however my plants will be happy. Breakfast cookies…what is in them besides oats I imagine? I would love a recipe that isn’t basically sugary sweet with the occasional nut and oat. I make breakfast muffins with almond flour – for the protein – and other healthful things, but no sugar at all. Sweetness comes from banana and a bit of dry fruit.
Here’s to brighter days ahead 🙂
I HAD TO cut the grass today. Son is here before he deploys overseas next week. Daughter and 2 grandkids come later today for a party.
I am wondering why I don’t stand outside more often and look at the sky. We don’t have a horizon such as yours; many trees color and then shade our days, so that to see the evening above I have to look almost straight up. That’s another reason why I am grateful for your photographs. They remind me to wonder. Last night I went out late with the trash and saw a moving sky: clouds that seemed grey in the center and lit up in bright neon around the edges,; a moon circle , bright as a train light, riding along behind the clouds. I should have stayed still a while and looked. I like it that you are so busy yet take time to look through your camera house window.