Alright, so the injury is not farm related, but it does affect my productivity. Picture it, a rainy Friday morning, making a lovely breakfast omelette, preparing an avocado…yup, the culprit is the avocado. I’ve cut a gazillion without mishap. That morning? Well, I also blame it on a new set of knives. They just don’t react the way I’m used to.
Knife went through the avocado and stabbed my palmed. Quite deep too. Deep enough that the top of my hand aches. So, that’s a little inconvenient for the farm right? Well, some of you may already know, I own a music academy. I am a pianist. Cardinal rule of pianists, DON’T INJURE YOUR HANDS!
The day following the injury I directed a choral concert and needed to play piano. I did alright, but it was not particularly pleasant. I’m pleased to report that I did NOT go for stitches (I confess the idea of them freaks me out) and managed to have to wound close naturally. 5 days later, the swelling is way down, I can nearly open my hand fully and the nerves only zing once in a while. So that was a close call!
Apart from this mishap, it’s been a great week here at Unruffled Farms.
The kittens have had their vet check and are on a few drops to clear up what might be upper respiratory infections. They are adventurous and curious. They follow us around the barn and outside eagerly. Katie and Lizzie are full of scratches though. The kittens don’t like the medication and do like to climb us with their little claws! They’ve discovered trees and bushes. Killing leaves innocently blowing in the wind are a favourite sport! I think they will be good at keeping the rodent population down once they’ve grown up a bit. Luckily, we have not seen any near the barn yet.
Learning to love heights 
This one may be too tall 
But I’m still a baby – I need my naps 
A witch’s broom? Purrfect 
I will get that leaf if it’s the last thing I do!
We spent a few hours on the week-end cleaning up a mound of junk that the previous owners accumulated. Had a big fire going to burn old wood and brush. Organized the rest in piles of useable and un-useable. It felt good! I love recycling and that pile has lots that can be repurposed.
Big pile of junk that’s just an eyesore from my back windows 
Saving the wheel off a decorative wheelbarrow that’s seen better days
As for the animals, no losses this week! Well, not with the live ones. We did the final candling before lockdown on the eggs in the incubator. We started with 21 eggs and at lockdown we were down to 9. Hopefully they will all hatch. Our first batch was a complete failure. 9 out of 21 is still better than 0! The turkeys are thriving as are all the chickens. We are really looking forward to figuring out how many roosters we have, but so far, not clear definitive answers. I guess we may just have to wait until they start crowing.
The seedlings are doing well. I started some Swiss Chard which just broke the surface of the earth yesterday. This week I will be breaking through my own earth. I want to start turning some areas in the pasture so that I can begin planting. In this area, zone 5a, the long week-end of May which will fall on the 18-19 this year, is when you can start outdoor gardening, safely. No more chance of frost, or so you hope! My delicate seedlings will not all be ready for the great outdoors, but some of the hardier ones will be. I can also plant some seeds directly in the garden. Beans may be going in the ground. So, turning the earth and removing grass and weeds is the work for the week.
So between cleaning outdoors, emptying a few more boxes indoors, taking care of the animals and plants and of course, working, it’s been a good week.
Unruffled Farms 