These sunsets. They are amazing. One of my favorite things about Montana summers. They certainly make up for the all out mosquito assault going on at our house currently. Don't mind the Grover smudges on the storm door. He loves to just sit/lay there and look out on his domain, aka, bunny stalk.
It was a productive week around here, though there's so much more to do.
I had a bout of feeling out of shape and self-conscious and my response to that is to jump right back into working out with a renewed commitment. It's the kind of thing I do on occasion, but words from Alicia on recommitting continue to help me stick to my guns. So I dug out the Insanity DVDs again and cranked out three workouts this week as well as a surprisingly speedy 3.2 mile run. It's so much easier to run when I get a cool morning with this view.
It was a productive week around here, though there's so much more to do.
I had a bout of feeling out of shape and self-conscious and my response to that is to jump right back into working out with a renewed commitment. It's the kind of thing I do on occasion, but words from Alicia on recommitting continue to help me stick to my guns. So I dug out the Insanity DVDs again and cranked out three workouts this week as well as a surprisingly speedy 3.2 mile run. It's so much easier to run when I get a cool morning with this view.
And I need to get on the ball with Ashley's #30DaysofCityLove since I need to do more exploring in this town. I've only been here a year and a half and while I have my favorite places and regular haunts, I need to discover more.
There's been chicken chasing and slow progress on reducing our rooster population. It sounds terrible, but it turns out roosters are terrible. They're mean to poor Crazy May and they're loud and truly, we have too many roosters compared to the hens. That's just bad news. Crazy May is the only chicken with a name so far. M started calling her that because she's a little different. She's the smallest of our flock and always off on her own. But she's also the sweetest hen and she lets M and I pick her up without a lot of flailing and flapping and general shenanigans.
Since I'm still getting the hang of this chicken thing, Modern Farmer's latest chickens for dummies article is pretty handy.
We're still working on our plan to build their permanent coop further out in the windbreak and away from the house. They'll need that for winter and it will help with our gardening plans since that will help us keep them off the deck, out of my container plants and out of our plants in general.
For now, we have one raised bed completed and another one in progress. We've got plans for more raised beds since they keep out more pests and predators and also protect our plants from the brutal winds up here on the hill. Plus, then I get to have flowers and other plans in the ground in front of the beds, completely protected from the wind. The tomatoes and peppers are doing well so far. I'm looking forward to having some veggies to eat!
There's been chicken chasing and slow progress on reducing our rooster population. It sounds terrible, but it turns out roosters are terrible. They're mean to poor Crazy May and they're loud and truly, we have too many roosters compared to the hens. That's just bad news. Crazy May is the only chicken with a name so far. M started calling her that because she's a little different. She's the smallest of our flock and always off on her own. But she's also the sweetest hen and she lets M and I pick her up without a lot of flailing and flapping and general shenanigans.
Since I'm still getting the hang of this chicken thing, Modern Farmer's latest chickens for dummies article is pretty handy.
We're still working on our plan to build their permanent coop further out in the windbreak and away from the house. They'll need that for winter and it will help with our gardening plans since that will help us keep them off the deck, out of my container plants and out of our plants in general.
For now, we have one raised bed completed and another one in progress. We've got plans for more raised beds since they keep out more pests and predators and also protect our plants from the brutal winds up here on the hill. Plus, then I get to have flowers and other plans in the ground in front of the beds, completely protected from the wind. The tomatoes and peppers are doing well so far. I'm looking forward to having some veggies to eat!
My carrots are exploding in a container on the deck and my edible container is still trucking along. I'm hoping those plants start to fill out soon. More on that coming soon!
I loved this post from Caitlin on gardening in small spaces with low lighting. Great ideas in here for those with less space to fill with greenery.
My mint plant also turned into more of a mint bush. It outgrew it's little pot so last weekend we went on a hunt for a new container. I wanted a galvanized tub kind of thing, but instead, we found a steel milk bucket at my favorite second hand/antique shop in town, The Barn. The bottom had some small holes and rust, so we cleaned it out and M sealed it with some paint since it's an indoor container.
The other night I transplanted the mint to its new container and love it. I've got another metal pail just waiting for a plant to make it's home in.
I loved this post from Caitlin on gardening in small spaces with low lighting. Great ideas in here for those with less space to fill with greenery.
My mint plant also turned into more of a mint bush. It outgrew it's little pot so last weekend we went on a hunt for a new container. I wanted a galvanized tub kind of thing, but instead, we found a steel milk bucket at my favorite second hand/antique shop in town, The Barn. The bottom had some small holes and rust, so we cleaned it out and M sealed it with some paint since it's an indoor container.
The other night I transplanted the mint to its new container and love it. I've got another metal pail just waiting for a plant to make it's home in.
All of this has kept me busy and not blogging as much as I'd like to, but life is meant to be lived. I worry sometimes that my blog doesn't get as much attention as it might need to be great, but really, I'm okay with that. I've got a lot going on at the house, with animals, mini-farming, plus work, professional organizations and community projects I'm involved with.
There was a time I could do it all on very little sleep, but my mom's sage words, "you should pick a few things to do well instead of doing everything less well," have finally become an accepted fact of my life. It's hard for me to do, but I'm working to focus on the things that most need doing and the things I most want to do. So if I'm not here on the blog as often as maybe I should be, don't hold it against me pretty please. And if I'm slow to respond to your comments, it's not at all because I don't love you (your comments make me so happy, every single time) it's more likely that I'm chasing a chicken or trying not to kill my plants.
I've seen quite a few other bloggers having similar thoughts on their blogs, including the always thoughtful Manda over at Break the Sky, which is now Musicalpoem. She just got back from Chile and seeing photos from her trip made me smile at the memory of my own. And guys, she's a Blackhawks fan. This girl is awesome.
The incredibly lovely Kate over at Farmhouse38 is also changing things up on her blog and I recommend a read. She's the sweetest blogger friend who is my go-to gal on chickens.
Basically, every night I feel a lot like Grover does after doggie day care. Exhausted. That just means it was a day well spent, right?
There was a time I could do it all on very little sleep, but my mom's sage words, "you should pick a few things to do well instead of doing everything less well," have finally become an accepted fact of my life. It's hard for me to do, but I'm working to focus on the things that most need doing and the things I most want to do. So if I'm not here on the blog as often as maybe I should be, don't hold it against me pretty please. And if I'm slow to respond to your comments, it's not at all because I don't love you (your comments make me so happy, every single time) it's more likely that I'm chasing a chicken or trying not to kill my plants.
I've seen quite a few other bloggers having similar thoughts on their blogs, including the always thoughtful Manda over at Break the Sky, which is now Musicalpoem. She just got back from Chile and seeing photos from her trip made me smile at the memory of my own. And guys, she's a Blackhawks fan. This girl is awesome.
The incredibly lovely Kate over at Farmhouse38 is also changing things up on her blog and I recommend a read. She's the sweetest blogger friend who is my go-to gal on chickens.
Basically, every night I feel a lot like Grover does after doggie day care. Exhausted. That just means it was a day well spent, right?
What's happening in your world lately? Read anything great lately on the internet?
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