How I blog and other answers
Well we have hit 2017 now. I wonder what 2017 has in store for us. For you and me and thekitchensgarden farm. Lots of hard work I think – which is good. I like hard work.
We are still not quite finished with 2016 though. Here is Part TWO of the answers to your 2016 questions.
Bakerpete
A mundane thing but important. A step by step of the process you go through when making the blog each day.
A Nice easy question! And not mundane at all. Fundamental I would say. Thank you. During the day I take photographs of whatever takes my fancy. It really is that random. Sometimes I jot down a few interesting lines into my Notes on the Iphone as I work. I almost never know what I am going to write about on any given day. In the evening after dinner, I upload the photographs, work on them, then load them onto that days page in some kind of thoughtful order. In the morning I awake between 5 and 5.30am then write the words . I read through carefully once to check for coherency. Then Publish.
To create a blog every day the process has to be simple and linear. Luckily farm business is simple and linear too. I bet it is similar to getting your dough ready for the mornings baking. I imagine there are clear stages and movements you go through the night before, then every day, resulting in great loaves of bread at about the same time every morning. It is the same kind of process. Just less clean up!
I make sure to keep everything transparent and achievable. This is the key I think.
heretherebespiders
A possibly silly question. Since pigs are omnivorous, is their poo really stinky like human poo? I know I know, I’m bringing down the discussion.
No question is silly! Pigs are omnivores but my pigs are vegetarians so though they do smell a bit it is not as bad as the meat eaters. In fact other pig growers are surprised at how nice my pigs smell. All manure smells – even human sewage, is influenced by what is being eaten.
Remember as I open the flood gates, that you are the one who asked for questions.
Do pigs tails curl permanently to the right or to the left, or are they interchangeable depending upon their mood?
Pigs tails curl every which way and sometimes hang straight down too. They will also wag their curly tails like dogs when they are having a good munch.
Whatever happened to the Turkey’s?
The turkeys went into the freezer as planned but were the toughest birds in the history of turkey roasts. My grand mother used to say cook the turkey with a boot for the whole day, strain, throw away the turkey and eat the boot. I should have listened to her!
Why did you decide to stop raising sheep?
Three of Mama’s daughters had vaginal prolapses. An awful condition that is inherited. So I quit. Anyway no sheep could take the place of Mama. So when she died I let them all go.
Have you ever thought about getting a horse to assist with travels between your two locations? Or would a horse be cost prohibitive and eat too much of your precious hay?
I would love a horse of course but I have enough trouble getting enough hay for the cows and horses are fussy and need their feet done and other things. But I do miss riding horses and the connection one develops with a horse.
Does the zip line still work, can you use it in the winter?
The zip line was never finished. And nothing I can do about it. And Not my department. Sadly.
What would be worse, Sheila thinking that she’s a calf, or calves dreaming of becoming pet pigs?
I am fairly sure that calves thinking they were pet pigs would be worse!
I found your observation (if I understand correctly) that it is necessary to breed Molly and Poppy continually, or if they missed an opportunity, they would not become pregnant again. Is this true of other animals too?
This is my understanding – yes. And it is true of cows also. They say that if a cow is left unbred she will get fatter and a fat animal will have trouble with getting pregnant and giving birth.
As always, I am in complete and bewildered awe in your strength, ingenuity and boundless energy. As well as your heart, wit, wisdom and confidence when facing defeat, to never give up, because tomorrow will be a better day. Where did this come from? Was it instilled by birth or by virtue of your NZ upbringing? Or is this something you have acquired over time, spirited and squirrelled away from many locations?
I am pretty sure I am just pretending to be all those things. One day someone is going to find me out and I will be labeled as the dangerously idle woman that I really am.
However I have not led a cloistered life and I am sure that helps.
Charlotte Dixon.
How did you learn how to farm?
Farming is a combination of common sense, Dr Google, a good vet, a few farming friends and time. Lots of leaning on fence posts watching and thinking. Lots and LOTS of leaning on fence posts and watching and thinking.
And the other one is, how do you keep your energy up all day?
I give myself very definite break times in the middle of the afternoon. Otherwise I find that if I don’t actually stop working during the day simple momentum keeps me rolling along.
Bakerpete
A mundane thing but important. A step by step of the process you go through when making the blog each day.
During the day I take photographs of whatever takes my fancy. It really is that random. Sometimes I jot down a few interesting lines into my Notes on the Iphone as I work. I almost never know what I am going to write about on any given day. In the evening after dinner, I upload the photographs, work on them, then load them onto that days page in some kind of thoughtful order. In the morning I awake between 5 and 5.30am then write the words . I read through carefully once to check for coherency. Then Publish.
To create a blog every day the process has to be simple and linear. Luckily farm business is simple and linear too.
The four middle sized pigs, (two Molly’s and two Tahiti’s) are having an interesting hiatus. They are eating very little. They stopped eating while I was away and are doing a little better now but still on the worry list. So we wormed them all. They are still big and shiny and wandering the fields. But just not eating very much. Not showing loud enthusiasm for food. I am mystified.
Tia is the calf in the header – she is still the gentlest people-loving creature- I try to spend some time with her daily so she continues to trust me.
I hope you have a lovely day and have been and continue laying the foundations for a lovely year. Don’t forget that you are in charge – dumb luck is for dumbies. Most luck comes from hard joyous work, good planning and keeping your eyes open for the luck that is coming your way. Good or bad. Catch or dodge. I wish you plenty of the good kind of luck for 2017. And piles of HAPPY.
Happy New Year
Love celi
80 Comments on “How I blog and other answers”
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thekitchensgarden 
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Mad. Hope you are having a delicious nosh somewhere. c
Happy New Year Celi! I’ve enjoyed reading your answers to all of the questions. Wishing you and all the farmy creatures and people a great year ahead.
I hope so – it certainly will be a different kind of year. Happy New Year to you! c
Happy New Year🎉🎉
Happy New Year to you too, Nadia.
Happy and Prosperous New Year Miss C…also healthy and happy…also profitable ( no harm in adding one extra)
Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2017 at 2:14 PM
Yes! No harm! Happy New Year Patrecia.. c
Happy New Year
Happy New year Victor – I hope the ice has given you a break! c
Happy New Year and all good wishes to you, your family and all the Farmy followers. And thanks for the timely reminder of work and planning!
I do believe in luck but I also think that we can create good fertile soil for our luck to grow – when and if it arrives. c
Happy New Year! Thanks for answering our questions. Your daily blog is something I look forward to and enjoy with my morning coffee. All the best for 2017.
Good morning Moon, I am drinking my coffee now too! c
Happy New Year! I hope it is a great one😀
I hope so too and it does not even have to be particularly great to be GREAT! I always think of geese when I see your name pop up. I have seen very few in the skies this year. They must be all at your place! c
Piles and piles of happy for 2017 – to all on the Farmy and The Fellowship.Laura
And with all of you to share it!! Happy is the best.. c
2017 must be better than the last. Happy New Year Miss C!
Though we all learned a lot in 2016 and I can name those lessons so that is the best thing of all.. c
Happy New Year. My first day without a Farmy calendar!
MISERY! I still have Lady watching me. c
Am I missing a calendar?
No. I never made one – lost the files. mea culpa.
That’s the phrase I’ll take away for 2017: Luck is a matter of hard work, good planning and keeping your eyes open. Too true, and well worth remembering every time I moan about bad luck and missed chances…
Wouldn’t it be terrible if we got a bit of good luck and thought it was our Due. Now that would be sad.
c
Too many people feel *entitled* to what I’d call good luck by your definition. And by your definition, Miss C, you should come in for a bit of good luck in 2017. Here’s hoping.
The leaning on the fence watching and thinking is probably the most critical component of what I do, too. Without becoming intimately familiar with what is normal, it is difficult to see what is “off” in an animal because they are designed to hide illness for as long as possible, often until it is too late. I have my own section at work, and I have become the expert on my animals. My boss, though he has years more experience, will defer to me when I say “Nah, that’s typical for them” or “Hey, this little guy is off. Can the vets look at him?”
Dr. Google is brilliant, as well. And I did not know that a pig’s tail was so expressive!
Happy New Year! I can’t wait to see what changes come to the farmy in 2017.
Yes that hiding illness is a toughie. Seeing something wrong is sometimes not much more than a double take and a quick furrow of the brow. Then you say to yourself – Hullo? What did I just see. Though try telling that to the vet. c
I know exactly what you mean, sometimes you don’t even realize you’ve done a double take. I am fortunate that I have two vets, one for the dogs and one for everybody else who know that I know my animals. Like you said, lots of leaning on the fence and watching.
Wishing you and yours piles of Happy and miles of Contentment.
Looking forward to the New Year, and just know it will be a great one!!! XOXOXO
http://apps.npr.org/best-books-2016/?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170101#/_
National Public Radio tweeted the link to their book list for 2016, link above.
Happy New Year!
Thanks for the link Kim – bet there are a few of ours on there? c
I think there are!
Happy New Year dearest. I’m so done with the shenanigans of the monkey year and truly believe the rooster, when he comes at the end of January, will be such a blessed relief. Everyone will recover and have a big sigh of happy. ❤
Hi Veronica! I hope you have sunshine today. I did not know about the monkey year however i live with roosters and giving them an ENTIRE year fills me with terror!! c
Ha ha, don’t worry, the Chinese zodiac is a little generic and rooster can be chicken. Anyway, it’s supposed to be a good year for patient and hardworking people and a damn sight better than trying to out-monkey the monkey at every corner.
Hey I am a Monkey … 🙂 Laura
Nice! So are my oldest and youngest…exactly 12 years apart. 😉
I always enjoy reading your blog! I love how you are so honest and open! 💖 From my homestead to yours, have a very Happy New Year! 🎉
I hope you have a lovely calm year on the way -I much prefer CALM on the farm – don’t you?
Yes, I do! CALM is good! 🙂
You make my day and keep it real. Thanks for all the wonderful information and inspiration you give. Wishing you all things wonderful in this new year. Giant squishy hugs. Marlene
Love your squishy hugs – take care Marlene! c
Thanks for answering my question. And you just gave me my new favorite quote, “Dumb luck is for dummies.” Brilliant!
Made me laugh too! Have a great News Year Day Charlotte! c
Happy New Year to you and the farmy!
Thank you Chris, Happy New Year to you and all your families too.. c
Happy New Year to you and yours, Cecilia!
Thank you Betsy! Hope Day One is treating you right! c
Apparently 2017 is a 1 year in a 9 year cycle, so we have the opportunity to make, and build on, what we want for a whole new cycle. Makes sense to me, 2016 felt like a culmination of sorts. Days, and years pass so quickly… stretching them out into 9 year cycles seems to bestow more scope & perspective.
A friend and I were just having this conversation about the 9 yr cycle………and if anything is left not sorted, it’ll carry over into the next 9 years. It’s good to have that broad perspective, aye?
Happy New Year! Let’s hope 2017 is a good one. 🙂
Yes! There will be lots of good I am sure! c
Happy New Year to you Cecilia and all your animals from a gloomy London. XXX
Gloomy london – I will be visiting dear old london in February – c
I learned more about farming reading this entry than I knew in my entire life.
I am a bit lost though – do you have goats?
No, I did have goats once for about two months – WAY too noisy!! I am happy with cows and pigs and chickens now. c
So here we are, ready as we can be for a new year, may we all be well, may we all be happy, may we all have ease.
Wonderful!! c
I went through my whole life feeling lucky. One day when I was about 27 a taxi driver in NY turned around, looked me in the eye and said “You are a lucky woman!” (we were still parked at the airport, thank goodness)…it was then that I realized that feeling lucky had made me see luck and opportunity around me my entire life. I still feel that way, even when things are, well, shitty. There’s luck to be had in there somewhere!
Yes! I agree. I have always been lucky too ! It is a gift! I am impressed that you feel the same! c
p.s. sorry I’m being piggy and taking up too much space in the comments lounge: once again, I love reading your answers!
I’m learning so many things about you and the farmy that I didn’t know! Like the fact that goats are way too noisy! But my favourite comment: “I am pretty sure I am just pretending to be all those things. One day someone is going to find me out and I will be labeled as the dangerously idle woman that I really am.” You are special, thank you Celi. Very best of the New Year to you! xx
Thank you Ardys. Have a lovely day. c
Happy New Year, Cecilia! And thank you for being you. Hugs and love!
We had a perfect day for Day One, didn’t we! The weather was stunning today.. c
Happy New Year to the Farmy and the Fellowship.
Inspired by Kim who posted a link for the NPR book list, I went looking for the CBC booklist, hope this link works. If not, just copy and paste.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/HolidayGiftGuide2016/
There is some wonderful stuff there!
Chris S in Canada
heck, that didn’t work when I tried it. try http://www.cbcbooks.ca and look for the Holiday Gift Guide 2016.
Sorry folks – I’m tech challenged.
Thank you!! c
Oh dear, I didn’t expect a mention for my poo-curiosity! Thank you 🙂
Such a good question though! c
Anyone with animals is very attuned to poo!
As I said in my New Year’s note: all I wish for anyone, at the beginning of what looks like being a tumultuous year, is that some of their own hopes and dreams come true – for each one of us that may be somewhat different. Happiness is the occasional result of being contented, being contented the outcome of the satisfaction we perceive in our life. Health: take care of that . . . it does not arrive automatically and is oft mind over matter . . . . the bestest to man and beast on the farmy and thanks . . .
Oh dear – I hope your year is not too tumultuous. Hopefully you will find plenty of calm too.. c
*smile* Was certainly not talking of my personal life, which is mostly private, but of the huge fears most of us have for the world: the tragedies and stupidities which have already happened and look like getting worse by the day . . . . you only have to read today’s news in your own country, don’t you . . .
Happy New Year, Celi! Keep up the good work. I really enjoy reading the blog each day, although I don’t usually have much time for comments. 🎉💕💕
You are inspirational. Every time I am in a funk, I think of the positivity you exude and it somewhat peps me up. It’s interesting that you have touched the life of someone who is in the opposite side of your world, with absolutely no interest or inclination to farming.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year to you too. I trust your trip to Alberta was good. It’s such fun reading the answers to the questions. Thanks for sharing them.
Loved this! Happy new year to you xx