Ewe-Le Tide Greetings!

You bring comfort and joy wherever you go. Your presence on this planet is a gift to us all. Merry Christmas from everyone at Good Spirits Farm, but especially Puck and Titania, who were singing “Fa-la-la-la-la” when this pic was snapped.

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Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm

This was one of those weeks where on Wednesday I was ready to move to a condo and on Thursday I was feeling like a badass farming bitch who could take on anything. (In other words, it was a typical week on a farm.)

Wednesday started with Veli realizing that she can slip through the barbed wire fencing between me and the neighbor’s home. We spent a huge amount of money putting woven wire fencing along our road line last year, but upgrading the fencing between us and the neighbors had to wait. Now, that she’s figured out she can roam wherever she wants to, I’ve got to figure out some sort of stopgap until I can replace all that fencing.

Then: Around mid-morning I walked out to check the chickens and interrupted a hawk attack in progress. Alas, I was too late to save the mama hen who raised five chicks this fall. She was still warm when I found her, but too far gone to be saved. She took her last breaths in my arms.

Later that day, my dad and I tried to take the tractor bucket off and replace it with the hay spear in preparation for staging round bales out in the field before the impending winter storm. I got the bucket off, but the hay spear was simply too heavy for the two of us to lift. I would need to call in a friend to help—pushing back my preparation plans by a day.

On Thursday, the tractor outfitted with the hay fork (thanks, friend!), I faced my biggest fear of running this place alone: Moving round bales on the big tractor. Not only am I unable to finesse the large tractor’s clutch with grace, but adding 1200 pounds of hay to the front makes the whole rig seem off balance. Plus: put the bales down wrong and they’ll start rolling—and then you have 1200 pounds heading straight for that fence you just spent $15,000 building.

One herky-jerk gear shift at a time, I got the bales out of the barn, speared onto the fork, and rolled into place. It was painstakingly slow, but by the afternoon, I had bales staged where they needed to be. Before leaving the field, I filled two giant troughs, since my water lines may be frozen for a few days, then turned the water off at the road, so I won’t have to worry about a busted line resulting in a $500 water bill.

Next on the chore list was putting bee cozies on the hives. When it gets cold, bees form a ball around their queen. Workers take turns on the outside, beating their wings to provide warmth. The colder it is, though, the more stored honey they’ll consume and the more bees will die in the process of protecting their queen. These sleeves add one extra layer of insulation, hopefully saving honey reserves and lives.

Last night, the storm blew in with just as much menace as forecasters were predicting. Around 11, as the rain started and I watched the forecast go from bad to worse, I fired up my old truck (which, miraculously started on only the fourth try), and hauled a few extra bales of alfalfa to the far field. High in protein, alfalfa is like cow candy. It’s $9 a bale, and they hoover it up, so I usually only feed it to lactating mamas. But the vicious wet and wind of this cold front seemed like a reason to rethink that rule. Headlamp on, wind and rain cutting through even my best Carhartt coat, I hauled the bales out to the far field, feeding one before bed and staging two more for the morning.

I have learned in farming that being lazy now is almost always a regrettable act later. This morning, with a layer of snow and ice on everything, I was so grateful I didn’t take the lazy route last night. Busting ice off of troughs and hauling hay through the snow took nearly two hours. But it was far too icy to have gotten my truck out (and it wouldn’t have started anyway). So: Those staged alfalfa bales hauled out late last night were a lifesaver.

It’s a terrible day out there: Windy and cold with snow swirling around and ice reforming minutes after I’ve shocked the tanks with buckets of hot water hauled from the house. But so far we are all fine. The chickens have gone full potato mode, refusing to come out of their house.

The cows and horses have their butts to the wind. The sheep and Veli seem more or less unfazed by this weather. And the farmer? She’s making a second pot of coffee while the power is still on.

May you and your family feel nothing but love and warmth this holiday. I am so grateful to be able to share this funny little patch of land and the wild ride of farming with all of you.

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Here’s What I Loved This Week

Two things! What a week!

First, two of my childhood best friends offered to buy my next load of hay, which is truly so generous and made me so thankful I cried when they told me. The way friends near and far have lifted me up these past six months has been so astounding. I will never forget how so many people have been so incredibly kind, and have refused to let me completely fall apart.

Second: This chocolate shortbread recipe is a winner. I added orange zest, mini chocolate chips, and a teaspoon of orange extract, and they were truly incredible.