Friday, August 7, 2015

Open Homestead Day 2015

At 12:07 am, Sean is creating Bee's Wax Wraps in the kitchen and I am steady at work trying to find the posters I created from last year's farm-welcome of friends and neighbors. With less than 48 hours before you all come to visit us, there is no point in reinventing the wheel, if little tweaks are all that is wanted.

Wanted. Hmmm. Well, I am going to be honest and straight up tell you, we did not finish all the projects on our list to prepare for your coming this year. I wanted to get a new deck framed and planked for you to sit on while enjoying a snack near where the baby chicks and Momma Wyandotte live. But, money is tight. Too tight, really, and the choice came down between spending money we don't have on wood for the use of the visiting peoples or using that money to expand some fencing areas for our birds. The birds won out. Both the duck yard and turkey yard gained an additional 200 square feet. They will grow larger through this year, but it is a good beginning. I also wanted to get the entire yard mowed, the herb garden weeded, and pretty flowering planters set out to welcome you. None of that got completely finished and the pretty flowers did not even get a foot hold. Folks, this is a working homestead. It is not a pretty lay-out in a homesteading magazine, no matter how hard or often I wish that to be. Sean and I work our tails off, but there is NEVER enough time in a day to keep up with everything. Just when Sean got the goat stalls looking clean and well-arranged, three of our goats started scouring. (For those of you not familiar with the goat lingo, that means diarrhea. Delightful, right?) Tonight, I attempted to make a couple quarts of dill pickles and dilly beans only to discover that I ran out of pickling salt. Undaunted, I moved on to start a batch of chevre for you, got the milk all pasteurized and at the right temperature to ripen with its culture, looked in the freezer for said culture... denied. I have 4 packets of Feta culture and 2 empty bags that once contained Chevre culture. (Who leaves empty bags in the freezer!?!?!?! It must have been me. I am the only one that makes cheese, so I don't even have a scape-goat here.) And, the best part? The closest store to carry it is 45 minutes away and closed 2 hours ago. *Forehead Slap* Add that back onto tomorrow's list. The point I want to get across to you is this, we are looking forward to your visit so much and we can't wait to see you, but if you are looking for a picturesque Martha Stewart-type farm, this is not that.
What we can offer you is a warm welcome and a peek into a small-timey family homestead with all its ups and downs. And, of course, tons of happy babies and their parents to visit with and learn about and maybe a scouring goat or two to round out the day. ;)

Here is what we have planned for you:
We are located at 435 Loggin Rd in Frankfort, Maine. The Hiking with Goats will leave promptly at 10 am, so if y'all want to participate in that, make sure you come a little early or call to let us know that you are en route to us. You can reach us at 323-0520 if you have any questions.

Hope to see you on Saturday!
~ Sean and Sonja ♥