Hey There Hen-Some

You have so much to be proud of. Hold your head high. Strut your stuff. Live your truth. Today and every day, celebrate what a magnificent beast you are. — Octavia Clucker

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Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm

*Please excuse typos, I’m typing this with a baby who must be constantly bounced strapped to my chest.*

A few weeks ago, a little white cat started prowling around the barns. We kept catching little glimpses of it in the late evening and pre-dawn light—just a white streak darting between shadows. Is that a possum? A cat? A really big rat? Finally, one morning, it was lounging in the sun on a fence post and we confirmed our suspicions.

There are plenty of mice around, so we decided that if we could catch and neuter the cat, it could stay (with the addition of one of these BirdBeSafe collars, since cats do mega damage to local bird populations). So out went the Havaheart trap, with a plate of tinned fish in it.

And the next morning, we caught something!

So far, a chicken and a possum have been our only catches. The cat is apparently smarter than we are!

As of last week, Veli has a new, bionic leg. She tore her ACL a few months ago, and it turned out surgery was our only option. It’s a fascinating procedure, they basically screw two plates into the bone to give her a whole new knee. It’s also absurdly expensive and has an 8 week, minimal movement recovery time. She’s cooped up in our laundry room, which she hates (and requires a light dose of sedatives to keep us all sane). The good news is that each day, she seems to walk with a little less of a limp. The cone, however, remains humiliating.

Last night was our first hard freeze. It’s almost a month later than it should be, which seems not great—even if it does mean we have tomatoes in November.

With the first hard freeze comes a rush to get out and pick whatever is still out in the garden. This chore almost always ends up happening by headlamp, and with frozen fingers fumbling to separate fiddly cherry tomatoes and tiny Tabasco peppers from the vines.

Today, between diaper changes and feeding sessions, I’ll work on washing the bok choy and turnip greens and making a batch or two of chimichurri. So long, garden 2024!

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Here’s What I Loved This Week

I know that many of us originally connected on Twitter, but my time there has come to an end. I feel a surprising amount of sadness walking away from that platform. Rural living can be so lonely, and Twitter connected me to so many wonderful people. You all supported me through my separation and divorce, and cheered me on as I took on farming alone. You embraced Todd when I introduced him, and shared my joy when I announced Farm Baby’s pending arrival. Twitter was the community that I wish I had locally. But it’s time to move on. You can find me on BlueSky or over on Instagram. And, of course, I’ll always be here.