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The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

September 29, 2022

No.696: Homestead Diaries // September 2022

+ We finished the permanent winter pig pen for Ethel.  And since our life is a circus, it was not a smooth process!  Within hours of putting her inside, she managed to pull the gate off the hinges and frolicked around the property in all her newfound freedom.  (She also made a mess of part of my food forest.)  After half an hour of excitement, we finally convinced her to go back and take a nap.  Oh pigs…

+ And speaking of Ethel: her due date came and went and we realized that she wasn’t pregnant after all.  I had conflicting emotions because while I was sad we wouldn’t have any baby piglets, I was also SO grateful for a fall/winter of less work!  Our new plan is to put Fred back into the paddock with her in December and pray for babies in the spring.

+ In sad news, our four sweet ducks flew off one day and never returned.  We miss them.  We also lost three more hens due to freak incidents.  It’s been a hard month of loss and death.

+ The garden is pretty much finished for the season.  (I still have tomatoes, jalapenos, figs and a few surprise strawberries left.)  I chopped and dropped the dry corn stalks and started working the soil with the old chicken coop bedding.  A layer of leaves will go on next!

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Posted In: The Farm · Tagged: homestead diaries

Comments

  1. Laura M says

    September 29, 2022 at 6:10 pm

    Is it normal for that kind of ducks to do that?

    • Ashley says

      September 29, 2022 at 7:02 pm

      I know they can fly, but have never heard of anyone having issues with them not coming back! So unexpected.

  2. Amy in Oregon says

    September 29, 2022 at 7:05 pm

    Oh bummer…. farm life comes with a fair share of setbacks and loss. I sometimes catch myself wondering if it’s all worth it….it totally is but man it can be hard.

    • Ashley says

      September 30, 2022 at 8:46 am

      Totally agree: it’s all par for the course for homesteaders/farmers, but the setbacks never get easier. Praying October will be better.

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