I can't believe it's autumn already! Or it will be in a couple of days. We have had a very wet year, compared to the last decade or so. Everything is still green!
Quite a bit has happened since last writing. I now have 3 minature horses. I picked up 2 mares from the Spokane area the end of August. They are cute. Rascal is finally warming up to them. He's always been by himself up until now, so he had to get used to having other horse companions.
I've sold six goats now. All have gone, or are going, to good homes where they will be well taken care of, and spend the rest of their lives eating weeds and pasture. It's already quieter around here without Carmel complaining about everything. She was a noisy little kid. Always has to be in the middle of things. Yesterday when I was unloading stuff from the truck, she jumped in the front seat and walked all over the seat exploring things. I sold her, her mother, and two wethers to the same person. It sounds like they are going to have a perfect goat life from here on out. Lots to eat, and plenty of room to roam.
There are still 5 young turkeys. No one else hatched out. The 4 chicks are still around. They have formed their own little flock and live outside the chicken coop, roaming wherever they want. Most of the time they are in the garden eating bugs. They aren't doing too much damage, and it's nice to not have bugs in there, so they can stay. The young turkeys go in there, too. They are getting big enough that they are starting to trample things.
The garden is slow this year. It's been so cold and rainy that things are just not growing like they usually do. We planted pretty late, too. Next year....
We have disposed of 13 pack rats so far!! A new record for us. They are the most disgusting creatures, messy, and extremely stinky. I am getting so I absolutely hate that smell! I'm also catching a mouse in the trap in the milk parlor just about every morning. We must really be in for a nasty winter, if the amount of rodents moving in is any indication. Scary thought!
I haven't got in the winters' supply of hay yet. I'm still deciding if I want mostly little squares, or go with more big round bales this year. The round ones are much easier to handle. I don't have to load them, and to unload, I just hook on to them and drive out from underneath them. The downside of that is I don't have a tractor to move them, so where they fall is where they stay. I can only get around 5 of them in the hayshed at one time. So I'm thinking I'll get about 3/4 of the hay in little squares, and the rest in round bales. I'd better decide pretty soon, time is running out for hauling it all up here before the bad weather comes.
I'm almost done with the Farmers' Market for this year. I'll do this coming week, then see what the weather is like for the last three. I've had a pretty good season this year. The best yet! Lots and lots of people stopped by to watch me spinning. Most had never seen that done before. Others had relatives that did or do it, and a few actually spin themselves, or have at least tried it. I sold more cashmere product this year. Now that I've decided to quit making the soap, I will concentrate on the cashmere totally. Since the goats, spinning and crocheting are what I really love, it's not a hard thing to do. :-)
Well, that's it for now. I'll try to write in here more often.
