Things Wool Get Better

Ewe are doing just great

You bring me sunshine when times are grey. [Also, you bring hay. And I love hay.]

— Juliet

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Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm

• It’s seasonal affective disorder season on the farm! This week has been so grim with freezing rain, regular rain, snow, soupy fog, and now we’re headed into a deep freeze.

  

  On about the third day of doing chores in ankle-deep mud with frigid fingers and alfalfa bits forever lodged in my bra, I realized my mental health was spiraling towards The Bad Place. I’m going to try and make it a priority to do *something* fun this weekend—and, if these grey days go on, you may just find me napping underneath the grow lights!

• Keeping me going are these little green seedlings. Every time I tend them, I’m reminded that someday I’ll be back to spending warm afternoons in the garden.

• Little Brown Chicken continues to survive—and, I think, heal. She is starting to get her legs back underneath her and no longer uses her wings for stabilization as she toddles along. This morning, I caught her perched up on top of a dog crate I’d given her to sleep in. Seeing her strong enough to fly seems like a good sign. I think I’ll give her a few more days isolated in my lambing stall before putting her back with the flock, but I am encouraged by her progress.

  

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Here’s What I Loved This Week

The instant mood-lift of having fresh flowers inside when everything outside is shades of brown and grey. These beauties have been brightening my dining room table all week, and I am so grateful for them!

Housekeeping Note!

I guess Substack introduced a “pledge” option last week. (I had no idea this was a thing until I saw that many of you so generously pledged to support this newsletter.)

I’ve always wanted to keep Affirmation Chickens free, because I think everyone should have access to sweet farm critters and positive affirmations. That being said, I am also entering a totally new chapter of my life with a lot of financial uncertainty as I take over the farm as a single woman. (More on this in a coming newsletter, I’m not quite ready to delve into what’s happening quite yet.) As a writer, I have always had a “never work for free’ philosophy, but Affirmation Chickens is truly a labor of love.

If you made a pledge: Thank you so much. It was so lovely to see how many of you value my work. I’m going to think a bit about whether offering a paid option is the right fit for me. I love sharing this place with you all, and I love the notes of encouragement and support I get from this community. Knowing there are people rooting for me feels like reward enough. And please know: I’ll always, always, always have a free version that anyone can access because life is hard, and we all need more animal photos and encouragement in our lives.