CALM DAY

I was about my handmaiden duties for The Matriarch yesterday (I was called the handmaiden way before the TV series) and for an hour I found myself sitting on a very comfy couch in a sun drenched waiting room. I had nothing at all to do so I went to sleep.

How about that for a perfect hour. After she had talked with all her people she came out to find her driver deeply relaxed, papers and plans and diary and phone and pens spread out on the couch and totally ignored.

My three injured ducks are all still alive – their heads are still very stiff and I am not sure if they are eating but so far they are still keeping up with the flock.

I got John to get the tractor out and dig their pond a bit deeper so they could swim and get clean. I filled it up for the first time this year and the able ducks were swimming gleefully but the three just watched. They stood in the shallows which was good but maybe they cannot float with stiff necks.

Last evening they all filed up their ramp and were locked into the stock trailer again for last night. All night Boo and I were on high alert. I had the window open beside my bed. We went hunting every few hours. Each time I took Boo back to the scene of the crime and he collected the scent and ran to the creek and back with his nose to the ground but we scared up nothing but starlight. It was a very bright night.

Today I am going to visit a town close-by where there is a company that sells prefabricated structures. I want to see if I can buy something. Do some kind of deal. This flock is valuable to the farm and it is only going to get bigger. I have a concrete pad which I can put a duck house on. So I will measure it and go talk to someone tomorrow.

Next week I will again be at The Mill at Janie’s Farm. The farmer – Harold who is farming The Swamp on the West Side for me, also has a mill where he stone grinds the grains he grows ( plus grains from other local farmers) into flours.

“THE MILL AT JANIE’S FARM IS A NATURAL EXTENSION OF JANIE’S FARM ORGANICS. WE HAVE BEEN GROWING CERTIFIED ORGANIC GRAINS FOR OVER 15 YEARS, AND ARE NOW MILLING THE GRAINS WE GROW, AS WELL AS THOSE GROWN BY OUR ORGANIC FARMER NEIGHBORS.”

Next week I will have more talks with Jill the Mill manager ( more on that next week)  at that time I will take Camera House and collect some images for you. But for the moment and most excitingly – The Mill is now selling their flours in small packaging for the home buyer – until now it has been big volumes for bakeries and restaurants, etc.  The concept is still in development but you can order these flours on the internet right now. After next week I will be able to tell you more about my involvement with this enterprise but until then if your pantry needs stocking follow this link and buy some flour.  Tell them Cecilia sent you. Freshly milled flour is a game changer for baking. Plus it is exactly this flour  – the purge flour from when they change grains – that I am feeding to the pigs. Rye this week. You can eat as well as Sheila!

And in years to come you will be able to buy flours from grains grown right here on my own land.

I think all went well in the latter half of the night but I am going to be holding my breath every time I check the ducks until I get them into a good lock-up house.

OK – off to work for me.

celi

WEATHER – 24F as I write.

Today – Mostly Sunny. High 52F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.