week 18: the newest family member & more

this week on the little dream farm

This might not be big farm news but it’s big news in our world!

This week my family welcomed its newest member…meet Michael John…born May 3, 2024 at 3:25 a.m. at 7 lbs, 13.9 oz, 19 inches and cute as can be!

Welcome to the world baby Mikey!

I’m a boy auntie times two now and little Mitchy (18 months) and Mikey are in for a whole lotta spoilin’! I’m hoping to get to see them and meet Mikey here real soon!

Speaking of family, Chris and I popped down to the Bronx on Saturday to spend time with his mom and help her out with a few things around her apartment. It was nice to get to have the time together!

Here on the farm this week we enjoyed temps in the 60s and 70s with lots of sunshine! That meant we had all the windows open, the wind chime is hung and singing its beautiful song, and the fresh air blowing through the house puts me in some sort of state of pure bliss.

Here’s a quick video that captures that feeling…

Outside, we knocked out some of the first mowing of the year and cleaned up the chicken yard area to prepare for the growing season when we corral the hens into a smaller area so they’re not scratching around all the gardens.

We also got rid of a few of the old whiskey barrel planters on the patio and in the front of the house that had seen better days. I tried to hang onto them for as long as we could since they were from David and I loved them but it was time. This year, in an effort to simplify all of our growing spaces I won’t be replacing them…but maybe down the road.

Since the house is all wood on the outside we start to see a lot of wasps on the house in the spring. Each year we stain the side of the house where the patio doors and patio are so that we can spend more time out there without a sea of wasps buzzing around us. Rather than spraying chemicals to try and kill them, the stain seems to just divert them elsewhere and has worked great for us every year.

We’re in the process of fixing garden fences that got a bit banged around through the winter, and I also spent a bit of time in the Big Garden this week prepping the two giant growing beds and getting everything cleaned up from the winter.

It felt so good to have the soil in my hands and some dirt under my fingernails again.

The farm is erupting in a sea of dandelions at the moment and it’s one of my favorite little highlights of the spring season. Driving around the countryside, the lush green fields are all speckled in a sea of gold and it makes me giddy to see it…it’s just so beautiful!

I wish you could see it all in person!

It reminds me that just about every week there’s something new budding or growing or popping up on the sides of the road all around where we live. This year, I want to do a better job of documenting it from week to week and sharing those little bits with you. I’ll find places to include it in the Farm Note and share on IG, too, as it’s easily become one of my favorite little things about the season.

Looking ahead, I’m due to pick up our boxes of dahlia tubers and canna lillies from my friend’s farm. Our neighbor will also be coming by to do a quick till on the Cut Flower Patch for me, and then Chris and I will go out there and set up rows, t-posts, twine for corralling, and some drip tape so that I can begin to plant out the thousands of dahlia tubers I now have from three seasons of growing dahlias.

This year, the Cut Flower Patch will be dedicated to rows upon rows of dahlias! It’s a little intimidating to take on, because at the end of this coming season we’re going to quadruple the number of tubers we now have. I’m beginning to think I’ll have a giant local tuber sale this fall to help offload some of my collection. If you think you’d want to order tubers and have me ship them to you, teach you how to store them, and grow them in your garden next season, let me know that in the comments! I’d happily send you some so you can grow a piece of the LDF in your own gardens!

This weekend is also an Art and Ag Tour in our community where a bunch of local artists come together with a bunch of local farms and host a tour with about 15 different farms that you can drive around to for art, antiques, local made goods and lots of great locally grown and raised foods. I’m planning to throw on a cute outfit, pack myself a coffee, and bop around to all my favorite farms, even if the weather is supposed to be really crappy.

That’ll do it for us this week here on the LDF! The sun is (mostly) shining, we’re getting our hands dirty again, and we’re excited to bring you along for another growing season here on the farm! There’s so much more to come.

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Try this on and see how it feels:

I am not late. I am not running out of time. I am not broken, damaged, or flawed. I do have gifts and the’ve been within me all along. My purpose has not left me. I have not wasted my opportunity. Things are working out for me in the order in which they’re meant to. Every misstep, every failure, every lesson, every night lying awake questioning everything…it was all leading me to this place from which I may now begin.

xo, Sarah

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Backed by popular demand, I’ll be putting together and sharing my skincare routine, and because I think you’ll enjoy it, I’ll also put together a body care routine and wellness routine and share all of that with you over the coming weeks—stay tuned!

For now, ooo do I have some goodies for you this week!

1. My mom sent Chris and I each one of these cooling blankets and I was kind of skeptical at first but I’ve slept with it every night this week and I’m converted. You know when you get hot at night and your legs go searching for cool spots in the bed? This blanket stays cool all over so a slight shift and ahhh, a nice cool spot. They’re super soft, they wash great, and the cats all love them, too! If you don’t get one for yourself, at least get one for your pet, haha!

2. We were driving to the gym the other morning in the truck and the tire pressure light came on. Pulled over to check the tires and found a small gash in the tread. Thankfully, I’d just put one of these portable air pumps into both the truck and the Corolla, because we were able to fill the tire and get the car straight over to our auto shop to have it patched in a pinch. For your peace of mind and ease when stuff like this happens, get this little guy and keep it in your vehicle! Hopefully you’ll never need it but you sure will be glad if you do! In my cart is two of these tire repair kits so next time we can knock the job out ourselves!

3. I did a bunch of deep cleaning in the house this week and every time I fire up this little handheld vacuum I always think, I have to share this as one of my favorites again, I freaking love this thing! This little thing is so handy, it cleans up all kinds of messes and gets in hard to reach spots. We’ve had it for six months and I’m still using it daily…totally worth it, and it happens to be on sale right now, too!

*Note: Not all, but some of these links are affiliate links. That’s no matter to you, as it costs you nothing. However, if you make a purchase, we -may- receive a teeny weeny commission.

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