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And somehow I spent all week BOTH watching snow melt and paint dry LOL Planning with and around the weather can be a dicey affair. It is rarely all sunshine and roses (even on a flower farm) and you need to work in whatever weather there is even if it is uncomfortable, but when your workplace is frozen and then covered in snow, even the hardiest of us must retreat and wait. Frozen soil can be harder than some rocks (I used to study permafrost) and plants don't appreciate being planted into it. So for now I get work done inside cleaning and tidying (after a growing season of no cleaning it was nice to get it done) and working on organizing and painting projects that I've been dreaming about since I first moved in three years ago! Last winter I painted the interior living room wall a gentle pale blue (with some whimsical mountains as decoration behind the wood stove complete with Kitty Cloud shelves). This year I'm going big time by painting my bedroom, a complete bathroom paint and wallpaper makeover to cover the dingy cat pee pee (not my cat) stained walls, and repairing and painting the walls and drywall ceiling of the attic office so that I won't always use my couch as my office. Plus hopefully painting a few inherited furniture pieces that have seen the ravages of time! So much painting! So little time! But this weather gave me a head start and kept me from fretting about not having the bulbs in yet too much! And, of course, the microgreens are safe under their attic lights so they will be in full supply this week. The eggs are in shorter supply as this cold didn't help their recovery after their molt but it has pushed me to move up the winterizing dates for their huts and the extra warmth and light that affords really gets them to get their butts in gear, so there should be more golden yolk goodness to go around in a few weeks!  Deep powder is so lovely, but since it's a little early and I still have some fall bulbs to get in the ground I am happy it will melt away but I hope it returns for the rest of winter. ☃️⛷□⛸ I didn't even bother clearing all the paths as I really enjoyed trudging through it! □  While it was -10F outside Hella found the best place to curl up for nap in front of the wood stove! With that kinda cold, even the ducks were reluctant to venture forth, but a little sun helps warm it all up so all get a chance for a snack! (a little corn scratch helps too!)  With the outdoor work put on hold until the soil is free and unfrozen, I had time to get some inside painting and tidying jobs done! A fresh coat of a soothing pale lavender in my room helps me relax and since it covers the yellow knotty pine that was added probably in the early 90's, the 100 year old cabin logs get to take center stage! My reading nook got rearranged so I can start tackling the piles of books that I hope to get through at some point but only after I fold the pile of laundry on my chair! And I was able to install some new shelves just for Leo's final resting place so that every morning when I get ready I can remember all the joy he brought to my life and how grateful I am that I got as many years as I did with him! (I adopted him as a senior doggie when he was 8 and he passed away in summer 2019 from the dreaded kidney failure at 15)  Once it warmed up a little and the snow began to give way, the barn hens revolted and all jumped out the coop (their run was filled with snow so it was closed off) and through the barn door! So I let them pace the edges of grass that poked through as the sun worked its melting magic!  Sunny days and frigid nights make for the best icicles! I would be lying if I said I didn't carry it around for a good while imagining it was a lightsaber, or a sword, or a magical wand and maybe try to challenge a few hens to a duel, but I had no takers. In an effort to speed along the snow melting process, I sprinkled some old wood ash onto the beds and much like dust on a glacier it absorbs more of the sun's heat and thus melts the snow faster! Which is bad news for a glacier but good news for the garlic and tulip bulbs that still need to be planted. Plus, I emptied an ash bin so I have space to empty the ash from my overflowing wood stove! Plus plus, ash is a good soil amendment, just don't put a lot on. There is sometimes a method to the madness!  Hella hopes to find the mice and rats that lurk around the old structures and she sometimes finds a perfect kitty cat sized space to sit!  Preparation and planning are keys to success and even if I didn't prepare and plan enough to get the garlic in before this snow arrived, I sure am ready to go once it leaves! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm!
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A spat of snow arrived to light a fire under me to get all things in and under the soil before winter arrives in force and the pouring rain gave me a good chance to clean and tidy inside both cabin and barn. All the fall cleanup like draining hoses, tidying planting beds, and prepping for fall bulbs gets to happen on the sunny, dry days when my clay soil isn't so heavy and the hens get a chance to stretch and flap and get a move on with finishing replacing their feathers (most hens are looking good but some are late molters so they can be a raggedy band this time of year!) This week is the first Friday Pop Up/Drop off at 12pm in Libby and 1pm in Troy. You can prepay and order using my online store or email/message so I can set items aside. Look for my black pickup full of dried flowers, micros, and (a little) eggs in the parking lots for each market!  The snow came...and then went, but it was a wet, mushy joy to behold of, hopefully, future tidings!  The tomatoes in the Dragon Dome have been stripped of all fruits larger than a marble, whether ripe or not! There is single digits temps on the way and it's pretty hard to heat it enough to keep em going through that. I'll have some boxes of green tomatoes ready for a weekend fry up! The micros have all been migrated inside to their winter home in the seed starting area where they get to enjoy the good life under the lights and in the warmth of the cabin!  The few flats of perennial flowers that I still need to get in their permanent beds before the real snows come also get to come inside to pass the deep freeze. This Delphinium flat has a cute little Liverwort friend (upper left) that has grown up among the mosses. I'll put her in a nice little pot that can stay damp in the windowsill until spring so I can return her to the woods!  I finally got some fall cleanup done! The before pic would show a 5-6' sunflower stalk the size of a broomstick in each hole. They either got pulled out or cut off at the base so the soil macro and micro organisms can have some winter food! I couldn't bring myself to pull the pansies yet, but winter will come for them too. After days spent hiding in their huts from the pouring rain and the snow, the hens are happy to get out and play! Hella too even if the hens don't wanna play her games! The currently available wreaths and other dried flowers have all been added to the online store so you can reserve one for you or yours!  And Hella surveys her domain! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! This Friday is the last full setup market of the season for me and my far goodies! It's the Fall Bounty Market of the Troy Farmers Market and will be at the normal place at the normal time (330-630pm outside the Museum)! I'll be there no matter the weather, besides winter is coming so you better get ready! The Dome is still producing tomatoes so you can pick up some along with the micros for an extra healthy fall salad. And there are wreaths and dried flower bunches aplenty so you can get gifts for all those friends and loved ones to show how much you appreciate them and they help show how much you appreciate your local farmers markets and farmers!  Ducks love water! And when rain and dirt mix, they make mud and spend the whole day happily splashing and flinging it around! They somehow stay clean but everything else is not!  The hens don't like it so much, but on the wet, wet days I put their food bowls inside so they can nibble and munch without so much as a drop or a dribble! Also Bae, having spent much time recovering is a perfect hut mate for Iris!  The guineas get let out rain or shine (but not snow, these are African savannah creatures after all) and always choose to hang by the red hut as they grew up in here with these chickens and only moved out when they proved too wild to be contained! The old Ranunculus beds are cleared out and ready for the tulips to arrive any day now! One bed (back left) still has the Anemones in but the remaining three should be enough. The hardware mesh will protect the bulbs from the hungry gophers while allowing their roots to push down through! Just like an underground fence!  The shed is done and dusted, er painted. Now I get to nest and organize all the goodies inside, what you see is just the beginning! mwahahaha  The Dragon Dome is keeping the tomatoes nice and toasty, even if they try to escape! There was a good amount to pick this afternoon so expect to see some baskets at the Fall Bounty Market!  The wreaths will be out in force this Friday as well! After this they go up online and I may bring a few each Friday Pop Up / Drop Off through the holiday season.  Molting season brings new fashions for the hens! Here, Josie is modeling the latest trend in wattlewear, a fluffy feather!  And Hella shows that she is the majestic queen of all that she sees! What's available this week?
It's the last week of The Farmers Market at Libby, but don't fret as I'll be in Troy on the 16th for the Fall Bounty Market and my Pop Up / Drop Off will start the Friday after that so you can enjoy fresh microgreens and eggs all year long! This time of year the Dragon Dome greenhouse starts to work extra hard and it got a few upgrades just in time for the chilly weather to arrive! The hens are still busy jumping from here to there while chasing those tricky grasshoppers! And a few boxes of dried flowers were discovered so there is yet more to enjoy! Once the markets are over the remaining wreaths and dried bouquets will all be added to the online store and they will be available for as long as they remain! With the end of the regular market season, I now have time to prep some beds for the fall plantings of garlic, tulips, and peonies! Time to start getting my hands dirty, again!!!  The microgreens get to keep going and going, all winter long, a new form of 'ever' green! They are still enjoying the Dragon Dome greenhouse but their indoor space will be ready for them soon!  And the microgreens get to live in style as the Dome got a newly (and quite artistically) reinforced upper dome, so I don't need to rush to clear deep snow, and the inner layer of plastic covers it all so it can stay extra cozy for as long as possible, because the microgreens share their warm space with ...  ... the tomatoes! Which are still going and still ripening! A new, taller ladder helped to finish the work on the Dome and will help immensely with the long hours spent trellising the tomatoes all season long!  Plus!, the little lettuces that got tucked in amongst the tomato vines are perking up and growing fresh tasty leaves! Hopefully there will be a few salad mix harvest in a few weeks □□□□□□  Bae is finally free! A few weeks ago I noticed she was limping some and was being picked on by her hut mates, so I brought her inside to a nice warm towel and a pile of dried grubs to convalesce. As she got better she got a few outing to test herself but she is all healed and fancy free! I discovered an extra box of dried flowers that was tucked away safely earlier this summer, so there is still some to grab before they're gone!  We may not have the most fall colors here in Montana, but I'm quite happy with some glowing Golden Aspens under Very Big & Very Blue Skies! What's available this week?
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AuthorI'm Farmer Megan with a life full of cackles, clucks, quacks, weeds, crazy kitten, and one tiny, senior, blind dog. Archives
April 2023
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