After trying out the milking experiment and proving the theory (manually inducing lactation), Nancy and I made the decision that the 1/4 cup a day over four milkings I had worked up to was simply not enough for it to be worth her scheduling around and attempting to maintain while I am away for the summer, especially while first learning to milk - so until next spring when we have real live baby goats, we are weaning off on the milking. We look forward to spring when (hopefully) both Petunia and Esther will be producing much more milk than that with much less effort from me. Through milking, Petunia has become more gentle and sweet, so that is a plus we can hang on to for the summer.
On the Canine Good Citizen test:
Tilly passed! We are now a fully qualified search and rescue team with Whidbey Search Dogs, with voting rights and everything. Amazingly, over only a few weeks, Tilly has gotten her bouncy paws attached to the floor even when being given attention by a stranger or stopping near another dog. Hurrah! She did great during her test, though I was fairly nervous and worked up. I would have benefited from spending our time before the test laying down and snuggling with her in the grass like normal instead of practicing the test items over and over again.
On my teacher test:
Actually the "WEST-E" which is the Washington exam for "highly qualified" teachers and to be certified as a teacher in Washington, I must first be "highly qualified" in at least one subject - and art is the subject the Department of Education instructed me to test in. Though an art exam may sound easy, in reality it is 47,000 years of history from cave paintings to the modern day across all the major cultures around the world; quite a lot to cram for a test on! In addition to all that history and culture, the test also covered printmaking terms and techniques, sculpture, glazing chemistry, and kiln firing temperatures, hazardous materials handling, weaving, carving, musical theater, digital file formats, principles of movie making and editing, art theories and principles of design... you get the idea. In Alaska, I had to take the "Praxis" version of the same test twice before barely squeaking by on passing. Today, however, the test went smoothly and I was immediately told I passed despite not a lot of studying and even less sleep.
What was I doing not sleeping before a big test if not studying you ask? The advantage of taking a big test on the way to the airport for two months commercial fishing in the Bearing Sea, leaving my puppy and farm behind, is there is little time or energy left for worrying about the test. The disadvantage is there is so much else to do!
With short breaks to run errands around town, I spent nearly the whole day from sun up to sun down out in my garden. The center garden circle in the driveway has long been a problem area. Being the first thing people see, I want it to be beautiful, and being a confined and defined area that seems possible. When we first moved in, the area had been tilled over and piled high with fresh dirt - I don't know what it looked like for the previous owners but I'm beginning to have a suspicion. After a year of trying to garden this area, planting veggies and succeeding with growing garlic, I let the area be enveloped by the pushy horse tails. Last summer Mum and I went about trying to tame the wildlands again by mowing down the weeds and covering the area in thick ground cover and many many many bags of bark chips. Even after all those efforts, the horse tails were determined to come back. In early spring, we did a little weeding and I planted five asparagus plants, two mint plants, and an old lavender plant rescued from Greenbank Farm. Other than that, I left the planting up to the wind. Beautiful flowers have begun springing up and filling in around the edges. A poppy is in full bloom on the downhill side, columbine border the rocks, and other beautiful plants form little groups around the area. After taking out another 10 wheelbarrows of weeds this week and adding a few more bags of bark, the wanted plants are well framed and its beginning to look pretty nice. When I come home in the fall I hope to plant more lavender and mint (deer deterrent) in a border starting with our neighbors side, maybe a lilac bush too, then more asparagus ferns in the middle each year. I hope when I come home the horse tails and quack grass haven't gotten too out of hand.
Remember how just a week or so ago it seems I was showing off my nicely cleaned up compost area? Well now the mound is higher than ever with a freshly cleaned goat and chicken barn and those 10 wheelbarrows of weeds. I also cleaned out the far bin of finished-ish compost mounding up the potatoes again. I skimped on rotating the rest of the piles before heading out. Always more to do!
The potato bins are finally full to the top and have been well watered in. It is best to water deeply and thoroughly or not at all. The dirt was mounded up higher than the sides before I added the water to help the bins settle. I look forward to opening those big wooden boxes in the fall and seeing how many potatoes are inside.
While we are gone, the chicken coop is all set up for "U-Pick" eggs with a big box of recycled egg cartons and directions on the door. Hopefully our neighbors will keep picking up eggs and the system will work for the summer. I wouldn't want Nancy to get flooded with over a dozen eggs a day!
I also included some egg "safety" and handling information for those a little nervous about eating something that is so farm fresh and not from the familiar supermarket. (click below to expand and read)
The goats are all set up for while we're away with their feeder finally reattached securely to a new section of wall and a salt block to supplement their mineral needs. So far they still seem to prefer the familiar lose minerals. One thing I forgot to do is add a few new staples in the corner of the chicken run fence where the goats managed to push a hole straight through to the great outside world. I used bailing wire to lash the chicken wire fence back together around the corner post, but a few staples too would have really sealed the deal.
The sun set around 10:30pm last night, so that's when I finally headed in to start laundry, dishes, packing, and cleaning. I know I should have been on this a lot earlier, but I got it all done! I even cleaned and organized my ever messy "farm room", cleaned off my desk, and swept all the floors! I think I am ready to go!
This morning, just as I was putting the finishing touches on cleaning and worrying how I would take care of Tilly before I left and how she would do home alone after getting all wound up watching me pack, Nancy showed up. She thought I wasn't leaving until later and was coming by to practice the morning routine before I left but it turned out to be the most perfect timing. Nancy took Tilly to the beach with her dog for a long run while I headed out the door and then brought her back to spend the day with Grandpa and her new toys after I had left. Thank goodness! Also Tilly gave me a very nice hug before I left, managing to calm her crazy wiggles long enough for a goodbye snuggle.
I know my farm is in good hands while we dip our nets in the far North!
