We spent an amazing week in Yellowstone National Park with family and friends. We got to see Grizzly Bears, Bison, Antelope, and Elk almost every day that we were there. I enjoyed a great deal of time with my camera out, and I used my plant identification app more often than I have in a very long time. A stomach bug plagued me on our way out, and then my daughter halfway through, and my oldest and my husband on the way home. Luckily it was quick, and we didn’t have to miss out on too much in park time.

We got home on Wednesday afternoon, and I had so much I already had to do.

I got to feed my sheep for the first time in a week, and I sat with them for a little while before I collected eggs. Some of my pullets finally started laying, and the blue of their eggs is so brilliant!!

I then did my walkthrough of the gardens, and noticed that one of my sprinklers had been broken, and had missed watering my strawberries for long enough for them to wilt very badly. I ran to Home Depot and got a new sprinkler, only to step on and break another one probably five minutes after getting home. I was not going to home depot again, so instead I looked at the piece I had broken and realized that I could design and 3D print the piece I needed. It took a couple hours of my time, but I didn’t have to spend $30+ on a second sprinkler that night.

Thursday

More catch up, and another long day! The sheep had run out of round bale while I was gone, and desperately needed a new one. It is a bit of a drive to the feed store that sells round bales, and I tend to do this drive for work a few times a month, and at least once for myself, so it’s something I’m pretty used to.

Instead of putting it in the same space that I usually do, we rolled it into the middle of the pasture. I’m hoping that by doing this, they’ll move a bunch of the seeds around the pasture, and when it rains, we’ll get some new grass growing. I took a hog panel and wrapped it around the bale so that they didn’t make a horrible mess right away with it though.

While I was gone, the weeds in the paths had gotten incredibly overgrown, so I went through and mowed them. It made such a difference, and It made everything look a little more doable. I still have a lot of weeding ahead of me, but at least my pathways aren’t knee high with weeds anymore! I harvested some of the overgrown and overripe peas and I fed them to my flocks. They absolutely appreciated them! I scrubbed and filled the sheep, chicken, and quail waters and filled poultry feeders. Getting back into the swing of things is exhausting, but I’m figuring it out!

I spent the evening, after the kids went to bed and before it got dark, shovelling out old manure and peed on round bale from the sheep pens. There’s still lots to clean up, but it’s getting there.

Friday

The quail are almost 7 weeks old, which means they are nearly, or are sexually mature. This means that I got to vent-sex them. Once quail reach maturity, the males secrete a foamy substance from a gland in their cloaca, easily checked with a simple press above the gland. I wound up with only FOUR females out of 16 birds. They will either be sold or added to my list of things to process for the freezer! I’m now on the hunt for some females.

I spent the hot part of the day reading one of the books on my list, and mentally taking notes. Now that it’s Sunday and I’m writing this, I definitely wish I’d actually taken notes, because now I can’t remember half of what I’d meant to write down. Mom brain doesn’t stop when they’re not babies anymore.

In my reading, I realized that it is time to be planting for our fall and winter garden, and went through my seedbox to see what I’ve got that is winter hardy. I think we will try brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, beets, kale, and a few other things this winter. I’ll be working on the official plan in the coming week.

Saturday/Sunday

Saturday I spent the day running errands for work. I work for a horse boarding and training facility, and go to pick up a very large feed order once a week. I did get to spend the middle of the day on my horse with my best friend though, and I’m really glad I did, because the rest of the day was garbage. My horse trailers jack broke, which got it stuck on my friends truck, and then MY truck decided to stall out at a busy intersection on a small highway. It continued to drive rough, so my husband and I parked it at a friends house, and had his mom come and get us and the round bales on our truck. It was almost dark before I got home for the night, but I spent some time pruning and training my tomatoes. They grew a foot at least while I was gone!

Sunday was another busy weeding day, but also a work day. I scrubbed and filled waters, collected eggs, and even got a couple dozen sold!

Daily tasks this week included feeding sheep and collecting eggs. Every other day I filled waters, and a couple times I would scrub the waters. I am sunburned, dehydrated, and exhausted. More water, sunscreen, and a hat are in the books for next week!!

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