Maid-N-Meadows: Spring 2021 Update

           

      Daffodils, the symbol of spring, are finally blooming on the farm. It has been many years since the last time they bloomed in March. Usually they are fully bloomed in the third or fourth week of February. Not so this year! We had a snow that will remain in our memory for many years to come.

Life With Interstitial Cystitis: Part 2 "Recovery"

               If you read "Life With Interstitial Cystitis", the first installment, then you know my struggles of timing my life around pain. I had many "Ah-Ha" moments along the way. And there was even a brief period of time when I had a complete remission. 

Life With Interstitial Cystitis

           This is such a personal and for me, intimate topic. It speaks of a very private battle of chronic pain and physical limitation that I abhor admitting to. I have spent years planning my life around it's predictable nature, trying to outsmart the effects it had on my life. I have been silent in the presence of others and participated in activities I knew would exacerbate my symptoms because I simply didn't want to discuss my symptoms or complicate other's meal or activity plans. Eating at restaurants always seems to come with a painful price tag and physical exertion often left me sweating from the sheer pain it caused.

Maid-N-Meadows: Fall 2020 Update

             Fall is on the slippery slope toward winter and we are just barely hanging on! There is so much to do and yet so little time before the cold creeps in. Plus, this year, we are going to function a little different than normal and milk through the winter. That means chores on top of preparations! But lots of fun stuff to be excited about and excited we are!

Notice the corn in the background drying in "shocks". Local Amish farmers will feed their animals with this corn, over the winter.

Managing CL In Goats

       

 Talking about CL in your own goat herd is a subject that fills many a goat farmer with shame. No one likes to talk about it or admit they have it on the farm. It is a disease that is incurable, gets in your soil, in your barn, and spreads through tools as well. Quite simply, it is gross and hard to get rid of without hard culling and testing. It was a sad day when I realized what we were facing.

Dairy Sheep Diary Part 3

       

          We have had our dairy sheep for four years now. If you are just catching up, check out "Dairy Sheep Diary" and "Dairy Sheep Diary Part 2". A lot has happened with the sheep in the last 6 months. We are still really enjoying our girls and milking them more and more. This year we are using some of their products to sell at our farmer's market booth, along with selling the rams for meat.

10 Things I Hate About Farming

         Some days, I HATE FARMING. Some days I can't help it! I get hot, tired, and frustrated to the max. So before anybody gets any unrealistic, romantic ideas about what farming looks like....let me just burst that bubble really fast! Here are the top 10 things I hate about farming.