week 20: everything
this week on the little dream farm
This time of year, I could write you a Farm Note every single day of the week—there’s just SO much to tell you because there’s just SO much going on!
A lot can change in a few months…
I was out in the Dahlia Patch yesterday, feeling so deeply grateful to be able to be out there working on it, thinking back to January when everything came to a halt with my health.
Now a few months removed from that time, I’m moving into the warmer months and this growing season feeling like I have a new lease on life.
I am taking it easy. I am doing what I can. And I don’t want to take one ounce of it for granted.
It’s 3 a.m. and I’ve been up for a few hours…couldn’t sleep. It doesn’t happen often, but my mind is buzzing with so many things and I’m riding the high from all the highlights.
Here’s a handful of them from life here at the LDF lately:
Met a new friend:
A few weeks back I attended this Soul Circle a friend of mine hosted at her home. It was a gathering of ten local women and led by a spiritual guide and intuitive healer. Following the event we were all standing around in the kitchen talking and I got to chatting with a gal I’ve not yet met. We had the sense that maybe our paths were meant to cross at this particular period and met for coffee this week—yay to new friends!
Picked up the dahlias:
Chris and I headed to our friend’s farm to pick up all the dahlia tubers we had stored in their basement for the winter. I used a different storage medium this year than I have in years past and sadly had quite a high failure rate of tubers—many of them rotted or dried up completely. At first I was really disappointed, but working through some of the boxes yesterday I discovered that many of the varieties I really love fared just fine…and all will be well. Gardening and growing things in general has been such a steadying thing for me. Some things go well. Some don’t. Either way, you learn.
Broke ground on our first big project:
On Friday both our excavation guy and our electrician showed up bright and early to dig a trench and run some electrical from our main service up to the house…a 170-foot long trench right through the front lawn! This is the first of two steps in having mini split A/C units and a heat pump installed for the house—the first major investment and big project we’ve taken on since purchasing the truck for the farm. The install of the equipment is set to take place Monday and we’re so grateful to be making this investment into the farm this year!
Went to Mahjong night:
A friend of mine is wanting to host a regular Mahjong gathering and asked a few women if they’d like to play this past week. I had the chance to learn how to play and was taught by a mother-daughter duo who did such a phenomenal job of explaining the game and guiding two of us newbie players through two rounds. We noshed, we played, we had dessert, we laughed, we enjoyed each other’s company. I can absolutely see Mahjong being a regular thing for me—it’s SO much fun!
LDF + community dahlia planting:
This weekend I’d planned to host two dahlia planting gatherings alongside people from our community who volunteered to come help me plant out the patch this season. A few weeks ago I sent a call out for some volunteers to help me with the manual labor tasks of setting up the patch in exchange for teaching people how to grow dahlias. Lots of people who’d said they might be able to help had other things come up, but two wonderful women came by yesterday and we got so much done. I’m expecting a few others today, and I’m beyond grateful for the extra hands!
Chris goes to London:
A few weeks ago Chris mentioned he might like to try and make it out to London if his favorite European football (soccer) team had the chance to play in the FA Cup Final. They made it to the final and he managed to score a ticket for the game, so he booked himself a few days in London to be there for the game and attend two others and do a little exploring while he’s out there. His team won yesterday and he had such a phenomenal time at the game and is really excited for the rest of his trip. I’m over the moon he had the chance to be there for such an incredible game!
Hosting a friend:
When Chris gets back from London he’ll be picking up one of his best friends from high school who is spending a few days with us over Memorial Day. We LOVE hosting our friends here on the farm and this is his first time visiting. We’ve already talked about all the things we want to make for him, the places we want to take him, and can’t wait to have him experience a few days with us here on the farm!
Two more PT sessions:
I’ve got two physical therapy sessions left and my PT and I are feeling really good about my progress. I’ll see the ortho doc again in two weeks for a follow up appointment and I’m really pleased with how my healing is coming along. I’m still so frustrated by not being able to do my normal amount of activity and that I have to keep holding myself back from certain tasks, but I’m getting stronger and have such a deep appreciation for my body and its ability to heal.
On the job front:
At the moment my job is set to end on May 31 but I may have the opportunity to stay on through June. That’s in work at the moment and I should hopefully have some resolution on it in the next few days. In the meantime, I’ve been working on what’s next regardless of that end date and when I’m in a place to share you’ll be high on the list to hear about it!
An LDF Retreat:
Chris and I happened to find this wellness retreat center just up the road from us that we didn’t even know existed! We came across it on the map the other day and I was blown away by this place. I immediately reached out to the owner and asked if I could come by to check the place out and discuss us working together to possibly rent the place out to host a group of you for a weekend at the retreat center and visiting us here on the farm. If that’s something you’re interested in, be on the lookout for a fall option—we’re in talks about dates and how many people we can host!
Gosh, there are so many other things things to tell you but let’s park it here for this week.
I’ll leave you with one of the most exciting things of all—this year’s herd of 22 LDF cattle arrived yesterday and we’re SO happy to have them back here on the farm and to be working with our neighbor farmer again. They’ll spend their summer grazing the hilly pastures of the LDF and will be here with us until November when the farmer picks them back up and takes them back down to his farm for the winter. Here’s to an awesome season having them here on the farm!
I captured this video of some of them yesterday and I think it’s safe to say they’re as happy to be here as we are to have them!
We’ll see you this week on Instagram and can’t wait to catch you back here again for next week’s Farm Note!
Love the cows.. looks children being let out for recess
You will not regret the mini split! I had one installed almost 2 years ago and it’s the best investment I’ve made for my house! Cool in the summer, warm in the winter!