The Surly Farmer

I apologize for the long absence, I simply had zero enthusiasm for the project. I’m going to give it another go now and we’ll see how it goes.

First things first: was it just me, or did the time between November 3rd and January 20th seem to last forever? I thought last April, as the pandemic settled down upon us like a lead blanket, was a long month, but damn, those 78 days were really something. Trump carried our tiny county 77% to 22% with a 71% voter turnout. Fortunately, we do most of our business (such as it is these days) in the neighboring county (you know, the one with a university in it), so that saves me from glaring at everyone I encounter out in the world.

My folks have received both of their covid vaccines, and Dr. Evil’s folks received their first dose. The eldest kid actually caught the bug a couple weeks ago, but she seems to be quite on the mend. *whew** We have no idea when we might be able to get our shots, but I don’t think it’ll be for a while. I’m not complaining, though, I mean who saw a vaccine appearing so quickly?

We got a week or so of stupid cold temperatures and a mess of snow and ice this month (February, am I right?). Know what’s great? Shoveling snow and ice from the chicken run before a) the sun has risen, and b) you’ve had your first cup of coffee. By the end of the snow, the three corners of the run looked like a shopping center parking lot with mountains of snow piled up. One bright side: it’s hilarious watching chickens slip and slide on ice.

On the topic of chickens, most of our girls are winter layers, but production slowed down dramatically around the end of December . . . BECAUSE THE HENS WERE EATING THE EGGS!! Nasty little birdies. I’ve found a solution, but it came with a price tag. Sure, we’re getting “free” eggs, but at what cost? Heh.

The garden continues to produce! We’re down to a little clump of kale, some Brussels sprouts which are no long producing sprouts, but whose leaves are still tasty treats for the hens, and a solid bed of upland greens. We’re planning for this year’s garden with some big changes; last year’s garden was a pandemic garden, as in, what if the stores have no food?!? But this year will be less doomsdayish.

That’s it for now. Next time, we’ll talk solar.