Sunny Sunday

Yesterday was the first day in ages that I have been home and able to get out in the garden on a sunny day. Doesn't the sun inspire you! Everything in the garden is moving; I have spinach, lettuce, leeks, rhubarb, silver beet and asparagus ready for the eating.

The muscles in my arms and chest are reminding me of the work we did. I can't believe how much we managed. I shovelled six barrows of manure to the potato patch. I'm a bit later than I'd like with the potatoes this year. Late August is a good time to get them in if I watch out for frost and cover them on the bad nights.

I manured two other veggie beds, fixed a hole in our little pond, clipped the wings of our young layers and put them back in the paddock, gave the pigs some wallowing water and belatedly mulched the asparagus. I've sown seeds for parsnips but I'm not holding out much hope. I don't seem to be home enough to constantly keep soil wet for veggies like asparagus and carrots.

Belle set up the monitor in the goat shed so we'll know if Argoo goes into labour during the night. We're both quite nervous about the event as it draws closer. She's such a sweet little goat and her tummy is huge!

I attended my first Landcare working bee yesterday but felt a smoodge guilty that I only stayed an hour due to my work screaming at me from home. I found out that the working bees are only every three months though, so next time I'll try to free the time. It's quite lovely hanging out in the bush pulling out weeds.

I hope to get back out in the garden today. Isn't it funny how achieving work in the garden always makes you see more, not less, jobs!

We have baby goats, geese and ducklings due in the next few weeks so there's no missing that Spring has sprung.

We think our first nest of goslings will hatch in the next week. It's made me realise we've come so far in our food journey with the children. Pumpkin was chattering to me as I worked and she commented that the goslings might be old enough to eat for Christmas lunch. "Oh, and we might have goat! Then we could kill a rooster too and it would be a real feast!"

I like how normal this lifestyle appears to my kids. There's such satisfaction in providing food that wasn't manufactured, bought from a multinational company, feed or sprayed with chemicals, transported for miles or packaged in wasteful packaging. Little bit by little bit we are becoming less dependent.

Pumpkin has been asking for days if we can make some pasta now that we have plenty of eggs again. I think I might do that with her today and enjoy pasta with asparagus for dinner. In fact, talking about asparagus has me craving some. I think I'll go and munch on a fresh spear for brekky!

Happy gardening and eating!

Building compost

I built a compost heap today.

We regularly leave our trailer at a stable.  They have many horses on the property and need to clear the waste.  We take down our empty trailer, they shovel manure and sawdust (which they use on the stable floors) into it, and a couple of days later I pick up my full load.  Sometimes I spread it on paddocks straight from the back of the trailer but other times, like today, I use it for a compost heap.

Our goats sleep in pens overnight and their bedding is straw or hay.  We don't clean it out but add fresh hay on the top.  It's a wonderful method because their beds become more comfortable as time goes and the hay begins to compost under them and creates warmth.  Nature's electric blanket!

Daisy's pen is becoming too high as the layers have built up.  She's almost able to step out of the pen!  It has happened before!  So using some of her bedding and the full load of manure, I've created a heap that will be ready in plenty of time for spring.

I shoveled out heaps of the manure, added a layer of soiled hay from Daisy's pen, watered it down until the hay was moist and then shoveled another thick layer of manure.  I like making compost at this time of year because the manure is moist and the hay is too in some places so I don't use as much water to create a pile as I would in summer.  I continued with my layers until there was no manure left in the trailer and then covered the whole pile with a generous layer of the bedding hay.  It serves to keep the rain from entering the pile and leaching the nutrients.

This pile will heat up over the next couple of days.  I'll be able to feel the heat if I put my hand on the hay.  Sometimes it has rising steam in the mornings.  I'll turn the pile in a few days after it starts to cool.  This starts the heating process again.  Then a final turning of the compost and I'll leave it to sit until I need to use it.  I like the look of the hay covered pile.  A bit like a little haystack hiding secret garden goodness.  However Buddy was helping today and insisted that we cover it with the old picnic blanket.  We use this to cover a pile if we're not working with hay.

When we don't have old bedding material available, I just create compost with two trailer loads of manure, make sure it's moist and cover with the picnic blanket or black plastic until it's ready for turning.  It makes good compost but I much prefer the result from the hay/manure mix.  Of course Buddy wanted to pose with his job-well-done!

My garden will be sooo happy with this brew in a few weeks!  Do you have compost on the go?

Conscious slowing

I'm often driven by a frantic feeling of rush and tear.  This is partly due to the fact that I'm so determined to live a low carbon life that I try to do it all NOW.  Grow our veggies, cook all our food, raise animals for milk and meat.  Mend, sew, build....  The feeling is compounded by the responsibility of teaching my children at home.

Lately I've been reflecting on our busy lives because I've been panicking somewhat about my children's education. Trying to squeeze in lessons and still get organised in the veggie garden and on the farm.  Life was feeling crazily out of control with me sitting at the pivotal centre point. Pressure!

My scrap paper with shorter lists - what I get done is good enough

However, thinking about my alternatives (school) quickly snapped me out of it. I don't want my children in school.  And I certainly don't want them there just because I'm bad at time management!  That would not be the right reason to make such a major life change for them and for me.

Tossing up all my options had me thinking about the upsides to the way we do things and one of the biggest advantages is that we are not tied to other people's schedules.  We are masters of our own time.  With this in mind, I decided to shrug off that feeling of being constantly on the run.  We can only do, in a day, what is possible.  Besides, all the panicking in the world doesn't help me achieve more. 

We live a beautiful life full of gentle chores like caring for the animals, gardening, preparing food etc.  We go about our days on a hill with views that I love, surrounded by bush, birds, kangaroos and the occasional echidna.  I need to maintain a wider view rather than shrinking it down to all the things I haven't accomplished right here in the house and yard.

With this in mind, instead of trying to do more to achieve the organised, perfect life I feel I should be living (you know, the one with no kid's toys dumped where they played, a tidy lounge and clean stove top) I have decided to enjoy our process.  Each day I have taken the time to make a family breakfast and eat together at the table in a leisurely fashion.  This starts us all off in the right frame of mind.  Life is good!  It's meant to be enjoyed.  

Before the children wake, I put the pot of porridge on the fire and set the table with bowls, glasses, water, honey, yoghurt, some fresh fruit or maybe leftover honey baked quinces...  whatever I can think of to make it an enjoyable meal.  No more letting them get their own puffed rice or simply plonking some porridge in front of them.  They're loving the new routine.  Within a week of 'proper' breakfasts, I've heard them discussing at night what they hope might be on the table the next morning.  How lovely that they go to bed anticipating the next day with pleasure!  The small sacrifice of a little time has completely changed the mood of the mornings.  My children feel cosy and nurtured.

And, as if aware of my internal angst, all three children have convinced me that they are learning well.  Pumpkin (8 yrs) has been ravenously devouring books from the library faster than I can borrow them,  Belle (12 yrs) pulls out the lap top in the evening, after milking, and continues research for her project on Peru with enthusiasm while Buddy (9 yrs) has mastered a new skill.  In the last week he has grasped the concept of addition while he works with an online program augmented with cuisenaire blocks.  He uses the blocks to represent the dots that flash up on the screen and then disappear.  He has to remember the dots, group the correct amount of blocks, then counts them up and uses terms like "two and three altogether is..." and "two and five makes...".  The use of the different phrases shows me he truly understands the concept now rather than just learning by rote.  He then enters his answer on the computer to see if he gets a tick.  He was even heard this week exclaiming, "I'm a genius!" as he received a tick.  Yes my boy, you truly are!  Thank you kids for proving, in such a timely manner, that you are indeed learning.

I look around the room at a bench that needs to be tidied, clothes that need to be folded, a floor that needs to be swept.  I know that I will bake today if we are to have snacks.  I will be going to town to the stock feed store.  All these tasks I will complete as I am able, after feeding the chooks, checking water and letting out the goats.  And if I don't get them done today I will do them tomorrow.  I am treating my chores as I would the children.  I'm putting my foot down and telling them not to scream at me.  "Chores, just speak to me quietly, say 'excuse me' and then wait nicely.  I will get to you when I can."

Now if you need me you'll find me outside doing my work whilst stopping to smell the roses.  Have a great weekend!

Projects

The weekend at last!  I longed to snuggle further down under the covers when Hubby left for work this morning.  So warm and cosy in my bed.  But there were projects floating in my head.  They called me loudly and insistently so I begrudgingly staggered out for a cup of coffee to get me moving.

There's a freezing chill in the air this morning but the cloudless sky carries a promise of a beautiful day to come.  I've had a very productive week and today will be no different.  Once the sun is shing and the sky is blue, I will have all the energy I need to get on with today's tasks.

The projects I have on the go are many and varied.  I'm painting, regenerating paddocks, farm planning, planting while the weather's favourable, working with the children.....

Monday saw me checking the hive and robbing some honey.  I didn't measure but there were several kilos of golden sweetness.

Tuesday we went to help some friends pick their small commercial olive crop before they missed their deadline.  Three other friends also came to help.  Sadly we didn't get much done before the rain set in and made it impossible.

I've been determinedly painting our house over the last couple of weeks.  We never did get around to finishing the doors and trims when we moved in.  Once living here, we just got on with daily tasks and became so used to the unpainted surroundings that we didn't even notice anymore.  However, for some unknown reason, suddenly it's all I see!  So every day this week, I've painted a little more.

I've also dropped in to the local tip with a trailer on tow and picked up an old freezer.  Sorting a container for the chook food has been on my to-do list for a looong time but now that we're thinking of getting more chooks it's become a priority.  This freezer is perfect for the job.  I'm making my own grain mix for them and recording the costs as I go.  I'm confident that my mix is nutritious but I have a sneaking suspicion that when I add up the prices, it would be cheaper to buy the commercial mixes.

We've been to the library, picked up (and shoveled out) a load of manure and returned the trailer to the stables.  The children have played independently.  There have been shopping games, mum's and dads, doctors and even dinosaurs.  We've cared for the animals, milked the goats and Belle and I have knitted fingerless mittens to try and ward off the cold.  It's icy out there in the late afternoons!

  I've had a friend visit twice this week and twice she has helped me complete some tasks on my list.  She and her husband helped me plant the garlic last weekend.  I was despairing that I wouldn't get it in on time.  During the week, she and I planted comfrey under the fruit trees while adding compost and manure.  It's lovely to have friends that enjoy working alongside me.

The chooks are doing a lovely job in their new enclosure.  We've put them in a bare paddock on the top of the hill.  This paddock had no soil whatsoever so, a while back, we shoveled a couple of trailer loads of horse manure on it.  Now the chooks are scratching it around and adding their own manure to the mix.  We'll move them soon to a new area and put them to work again.  Our hope is that, over time we'll see the soil build up.

I know it can work.  I've inspected the area where we've been putting piles of horse manure in one spot over the last year.  Yesterday I scratched the soil around the piles.  It was definitely an improvement.  Just three metres away, where there has been no manure, I can't even scratch past the surface because there is no topsoil at all.  I will begin piling the manure there instead next week.

Near the manure pile

Existing 'soil?'

Today I will continue to paint and this afternoon I plan to take a look at a second hive which is down in the bush.  I find it hard to get to this particular hive because it's so far from the house.  I don't want to have the children there with me but I can't leave them home alone.  Hence I wait until Hubby is around, the weather is right, and my mentor is available.  It's getting late in the year for beekeeping and I won't have many opportunties before winter sets in.

I've only had a couple of attempts to beekeep on my own so far and they weren't very successful.   On one attempt the bees were very aggressive and I had two stings inside my boot which I had to ignore.  I was also stung twice on the hand.  I managed to calmly work through but didn't know enough about the bees to understand what was happening.  Normally they are quite settled.  My mentor felt it may have been due to the hive being so full of honey that they had nowhere to lay their brood.  Therefore, once I had removed three frames (all I could manage in my bee-stung state), they were calmer when we inspected them this week.

I'm very lucky with my mentor.  He has years of experience.  I've known Jim since I was born.  He was a friend of my parents and we used to visit their family when we were children.  I was lucky that I unexpectedly came across Jim and his wife in the supermarket car park soon after we bought this property.  We had lost contact and I had no idea that they lived in this area.  Neither did I know Jim was a beekeeper.  I invited them to lunch, together with my parents, and it was then I discovered that Jim worked with bees.  He's been helping me since.  It's wonderful to watch him at a hive.  He works slowly and calmly.  He doesn't even wear gloves!!!

So onward I go!  Hopefully I can get through my jobs by the end of the day and perhaps tomorrow I'll just relax.

How is your weekend looking?  Are you taking it easy or do you also have a thousand projects on the go?!

Sunday

As the rays of the sun turn golden (and I dream of photography skills yet to master) I contemplate the work we've done.  A productive day, full of small but significant achievements.

The cooked quinces hang in muslin, dripping out the fragrant juice in preparation for more quince jelly.

The electric netting fence, which I expect to be pivotal in our new system of intensive rotation, is up and running.  A basic shelter to meet the chook's needs has been completed.

A tagaste has been planted in the paddock and protected by scrounged pallets.

The Australorps have called an impromptu meeting to decide what needs to happen.  How do they negotiate this new fence to return to their pen??

The goats are in their pen waiting to be milked.  The goats savour milking time, as do we.  For them it means food and our company; for us, it means their company and snowy, fresh milk!

The geese wander in a pack, wondering exactly when they can expect some grain, nibbling at the tender, new grass as they go.

As an end to the day, I created a temporary seat in the paddock, thrown together (amongst the horse manure) with bricks and a plank.  I love it when we achieve something new and I like to sit and admire the day's work.  Satisfaction fills me as I picture, in my mind's eye, the fertile place I hope to create.  I also love reflecting on how far we have already come.  Yep!  It's been a good Sunday!

Did you have a lovely Sunday?

Lazy housekeeping

Well I never!!  Hubby arrived home from work one night last week as I was busily bustling in the kitchen preparing a meal.  He walked in the door and the first words out of his mouth were, "Gee, you've worked hard today!'

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to stare at him.  What??!  I normally feel completely at ease with our arrangement of Hubby working each day while I stay home and teach the children, organise the house, clothes, food etc.  I know that I put in a good day's work that can easily rival Hubby's efforts.

However, on this particular day I had been very lazy.  Not sure what came over me really but I just couldn't be bothered.  The rush and tear seemed unimportant.  So the kids and I just did as we pleased.  Apart from caring for the animals, we did nothing.  No painting the house like I have been, no collecting or shoveling manure, no planting or fertilising in the garden, not even any washing of clothes.

I looked around the lounge room.  Yep!  Sure enough, the place looked great.  About half an hour before he'd walked in the door, I did my usual call of, "Put away everything you've used today."  A quick scurry around and it was all done.

Oh dear, oh dear!  How ironic.  My usual busy days create mess.  Whereas on my lazy, feeling guilty, should-have-done-more day, the house looked great.  No clothes hanging on clothes horses ( they weren't washed), no piles of unaddressed stuff on the table because I hadn't got anything out.  No kid's messes because I'd been inside to do the pack-up call.  No aching muscles, no bone tired weariness.  Just a tidy home.

So I stood there - shocked!  I didn't know whether to feel demoralised that my real work doesn't show or plan to spend more time sitting on my butt!!

Are you a mess maker too?

A time for work

The talks by Joel Salatin that I recently attended worked like a shot in the arm; an injection of energy.  There's nothing like inspiration to awaken/rekindle motivation and get the blood flowing.

I wake each morning full of energy and with many ideas of things I would like to achieve in the day.  Sometimes I even find myself outside in my nightie and slippers before I know what's happened!  The timing of the talks was serendipitous too.  Why?  This is the time of year for work.  The weather conditions for plants, the comfort levels of working and the amount of time available are all better at this time.

The summer heat has gone, it's even raining regularly at the moment.  Cool days and a gentle soaking means everything planted stands a chance of becoming established before next summer arrives.

The temperature is perfect for work too.  The days are chilly so I don a jacket, hat and scarf when I head out but I can manage some serious physical work on these cool days.  It doesn't take long before shoveling out a trailer of manure has me stripping down to a t-shirt.  In summer, I would only last five minutes before giving up.

Autumn is also more generous with allowing me time.  Spring in the garden means soil preparation, planting, fertilising; summer is for watering and heat management and extra attention for the animals.  Late summer is a crazy time of year because so many fruits and veggies are ready and need to be dealt with.  As I learn more about preserving, each summer I am busier in the kitchen.  Now, with my shelves as ready as they will be and only the promise of a day of picking a friend's olives ahead of me, I'm out working.

I've been leaving my trailer at a near-by stable and picking it up a couple a days later, laden with stinky goodness for my paddocks and garden.  I've been shoveling it straight onto the top of the paddocks.  Because we are on a hill, I layer it thickly at the top end and hope that gravity will work in my favour over the next couple of months.  I imagine the rain and chooks will help it spread further down the paddocks without much actual intervention from me.  Occasionally, living on a hill has its benefits.

Daily we drop in to the post office in the hopes that our electric netting fence, that we ordered online, will be there.  When it arrives, we can put our chooks out in the paddock to do their best work.  They can scratch and peck at the moist dirt, spreading the aforementioned manure as they go.  With a bit of luck and a little management, the dirt may transition to become a layer of actual soil in the next season or so!  Last year, I laid branches across one of the paddocks on the contours and I can already see they are beginning to hold the soil and create flatter, more grassy spots.  The addition of some fertility should make a good improvement.

Sometimes I layer the manure with straw or hay from the goat pens to create a nice, hot compost.  It makes a beautiful addition to the garden beds!

Our does have been to visit a local buck.  He's a bit of a stud actually so I wait with baited breath now, hoping that they don't cycle again.  We're hopeful for some lovely baby goats in about five months time....

I have planted tagasaste for forage and put in some apricot seeds.  These were saved from apricots we ate.  I put the seeds in the fridge to plant out later in the year.  They were starting to sprout in the fridge however, so I've sown them and made little plastic covers in the hopes of seeing them through winter.  So far, so good.  They have shot up out of the ground and look great.  I will use these as forage for the goats as well.

I've planted elder-flowers, jerusalem artichokes, and a wormwood grown from a cutting.  The wormwood is next to the chook shed as an insect repellent.  I'm hoping all my new systems are more established by next summer and that life will be easier and more comfortable for us and the animals alike.  I'm deliberately planting chook plants near the chooks and goat plants near the goats to make our work flow.

Belle and I asked Hubby to show us how to use the power drill and we're ridiculously proud of ourselves!  We made a goat shelter from pallets.  I've since collected heaps more pallets ready to scatter shelters all over our property.  Armed with my newly found power tool skills, I've also created a clothes rack for the winter months so that we don't spend all our time negotiating clothes hanging on clothes horses set up in the lounge room.  I'll hang it upstairs to catch the rising heat and the ceilings are higher there so I can raise the clothes out of my way.

Daisy overseeing the construction

I'm also dreaming of completing the bulk of our hard physical work before winter really sets in.  I'm picturing gentle days inside near the fire, crafting, spinning and cooking up winter delights to serve at the end of a short and chilly day.  I like the idea of winter being a time of rest and recuperation before the busyness of Spring and the yearly cycle begin again.

Do you find that each year follows a pattern (or rythym.....  I love the peaceful sound of that term) and are you working harder than usual now?

A Steiner special school and Organising a break from the farm

Recently, the kids and I attended a camp.  I knew I was going to like it but didn't realise what a huge impact it was going to have on me.

The camp was organised by the Melbourne Waldorf Farm School.  They are a group of Steiner connected people who are in the process of organising a Steiner special school.  It would be the first of its kind in Australia.

The vision is for the school to operate as a working farm and incorporate residential housing for elderly folk as well as people with disabilities.  I love the concept.  They are creating a place that is useful and where everyone would be involved in a very real way regardless of ability.  The way I believe the world should be.

The experience of the camp left me wishing I could be involved when the school is operational.  The days the children and I spent there were incredible.  We were immediately immersed in the most connected and nurturing environment I have ever found myself in.  We were a community of people who cared about each other by the time we left. 

There were opportunities for Buddy to experience new activities as well as felting and music and singing for all of us.  Buddy's sisters had the opportunity to part from him and each other while playing, and to meet many other children with disabilities.  Pumpkin announced on the way home that she would like to work with people with disabilities when she grows up (because they are so nice). 

The parents were nurtured and, through various activities and in-depth discussion, felt very deep connections with each other by the time we went home.  The school will be in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne; too far for us although I toyed with the idea of moving for a while.  I would encourage anyone with an interest, to get involved.  You would be welcomed.  Tell your friends and spread the word.  The families who end up at this school will be very fortunate.  The school is in it's initial stages and those who get involved will be instrumental in helping this concept become a reality.

Hubby was left at home, as usual, to care for the animals.  It's the only way the children and I have been able to go anywhere over the last couple of years.  He gets up early for work to put animals in paddocks and stays up late milking, feeding, watering, and locking up.  I was beginning to feel as though we could never go away as a family again.

A friend, who was aware of our situation, organised a three day beach trip for us and pushed me encouraged me to stop procrastinating and find a way to leave our farm.  I put the word out on Facebook and a few friends offered their services.  I chose this medium because I felt I wasn't putting anyone on the spot.  It seemed such a big ask!  This way, those who wanted to come forward, did.

With two people able to help on the selected dates, we began our organising.  I was determined to make it as easy as possible for our generous volunteer friends. 

We organised self feeders for the chooks (I usually feed mash) so that feed and water only needed to be checked and filled if low.  We made up the daily feeds for the goats in ziplock bags - yes, I know shouldn't use plastic but I was desperate to make it easy!  The goats' feeds are individualised so we labelled each bag and labelled the pens.  We even wrote a brief descriptor above each pen in case the naughty girls took advantage of inexperienced carers and swapped pens.  We labelled food containers and the receptacle (an old dishwasher put to new use) where we keep first aid equipment and minerals.

Our evening helper came over to learn to milk and be shown the ropes.  Goats' hay feeders filled, chooks locked up, goats up from paddock, buckets and washing water organised, goats milked and fed, milk strained and buckets washed ready for the next day.  She was very enthusiastic and made me feel comfortable about asking her to take the task on.

Our morning volunteer was a neighbour who has helped in a couple of emergencies and already knew the ropes.  The chooks to be let out, hay in paddocks, goats out.  Her farm is a similar setup to ours, with many of the same livestock.  She is a kind and generous neighbour who happily helped us out!  This same neighbour has come and helped when one of the goats was sick and has lent me her caged trailer when my girl goats were wanting to travel to a buck because they were looking for love.

We only had one hiccough while we were away.  I wasn't clear enough with the days I needed help and there was a morning when the animals weren't let out.  A lesson to me for next time - specify exact days!

All in all, I think we organised the care of our farm fairly well.  If you are in a similar situation, don't be scared to ask.  There are probably people out there that would be happy to help you.  Make it as easy as you can by taking notice as you go about your chores.  You'll think of ways to simplify your system for inexperienced helpers.  Make sure you prepare anything that you can in advance and make sure that you leave a contact number.

I'm sure, one day, we will be asked to provide reciprocal care and my friends will be comfortable to ask me seeing as they have already cared for our animals.  It's lovely to be able to walk away from the daily grind every now and again and well worth the effort of organising the carers.

 Happy holidays!!!

My muddle

On my good, productive days, I feel gooey!  I'm living the life I've always wanted to live.  What could be better?

However if I'm honest there are lots of bad days too.  Trying to live as sustainably as possible does create extra tasks.  There are the days on which I wake feeling tired before I've begun.  There are days on which I wake to a terrible mess in the morning.

I'm not a night person and will fall into bed at the end of the day without a thought of the dishes waiting by the sink.  But then I wake up to...........

In our home, more often than not, I don't just pop that empty jar into the recycling.  Oh no, not me!  I leave it next to the sink to be washed up ready to use for some gastronomic delight I am yet to make. I can't waste a perfectly good jar!

There's the garden to water, seeds I should have sowed already, animals to care for, milking to be done, chaff to be bought, children to be taught, a house to clean, cooking to be done, clothes to be washed, appointments to be kept.....

I still need to make time for the children to enjoy the things children should.

 

I can't throw out that piece of ribbon!  I might use it one day to pretty up a gift.  So I pop it on the stairs to take up next time I walk past...... and the pile on the stairs grows.

The stale bread can't go in the chook bucket this time.  I'll crumble it and pop it in the freezer when I get a chance so that I have breadcrumbs on hand.  Ooops!  Forgot.  I've now found a green loaf in the pantry.  Similarly the plums need attention.  I've used most of the plums for preserving, jams and sauces.  But there's one bag remaining.  These plums are going soft so I'll turn them into more sauce.  Ooops!  Forgot.  They've created their own version of a sauce by turning into slop as they waited for my attention.

Last night I was pickling as Belle and Hubby bottled cider.  No time for dishes or a tidy up.

Life's not always like this.  Sometimes I turn my attention to the house, tidy it up and swear I'll never get behind again.  But then I notice the garden is suffering so I'll turn my attention to outside......

How I long for some consistency!  Or more hours in the day.