Goaties

Per Ben in Boston's request we are posting a bit about our kids.  The days of bottle feeding sadly have come and gone and now they are happily enjoying pasture, hay, kelp and grain.  We nervously have decided not to vaccinate or de-worm our girls - instead using homeopathic and herbal remedies to keep them healthy.   It is easy to worry about them and it probably would have given us some peace of mind vaccinating.  We are hoping that if something were to go wrong we would be able to amend the goat's environment, diet etc. instead of changing the goats themselves.  To defuse worms we use a combination of garlic, apple cider vinegar and diatomaceous earth. We still are mastering their diet but no problems yet...we will keep you posted.

Ten week old Greta enjoying her Morning Milk

Mabel, the First to Eat Grass

So, that's why they call them Kids!

Fired Up

Thanks to the Lunenburg Volunteer Fire Department the burnt down house is now (mostly) burnt to the ground.  A dozen men and women from the FD arrived at 6:00am last Saturday along with three sparkling red fire trucks ready to finish burning down the house and garage.  For them, it was practice for the crew, especially for the four high school students that are taking the first steps to becoming part of the squad.  It was an honor to be supported by the local community while also giving back to them. 

The sight on Route 2 was quite a spectacle with locals giving us thumbs up and waves of excitement.  Finally after three years since the original fire, steps were being taken to fix it up!   While sweating from the heat of the flames, we described to the crew and neighbors standing around that we were planning on someday building a bakery of sorts where the house had been.  Everyone seemed really enthusiastic and about five people said, “I’ll be your first customer.” 

Just as the fire dwindled and the whole site started to look very Gone with the Wind, it began to rain and we couldn’t help but feel it was a symbol of the cleansing and rebirth of this property. After the FD left we stood around the house like a campfire with Meryl’s parents and friend Angelica, drinking beers and talking about the prospect of the property. 

Before

After

bed preperation

All around us farmers are tilling, fertilizing and planting 50 to 100 acres of corn and from what we have noticed it takes them about 3 days to do that chore.  At times we joke about flagging down the tractors driving by to come in a take five minutes to plow our 1/6 acre – but we are holding strong.  After more than a week of us removing sod without a tractor we called in some manpower.  Lane’s two brothers headed up here and lucky for us they helped a couple days preparing the beds.  Now we are planting!  If it wasn’t certain to us before it is ingrained now that family rocks and we just want to take a second to thank Meryl’s parents and Grandma Bernice for helping make Prospect Farm begin to look like a reality.   Also, thanks to Matthias and Colin Nevins for their strong muscles and keen sense of soil.  It’s great to see everyone come together for us and it makes us feel really loved.  Fortunately with some extra help we are able to all work hard but also play hard and still we are making moves. 

Meryl's Dad and Grandma helping Lane lighten the load, 
"Bernice your the most fashionable gardener we know!"

 Meryl and Matthias finishing up the last of the tilling and forking.

To keep spirits up in heat of sun we all took a break to swim 

across the CT river followed by a quick game of wiffle ball.

 Lane spreading lime, bone char, potash and compost to raise the PH. He's working up a nice farmer's tan.

  Lane and Colin wrapping up the day with some music before dinner.

For the launch of our blog we wanted to share a few clips from one of our favorite shows The Good Neighbors, a BBC 1970's comedy aired on PBS.  Married couple, Tom and Barbara quit their jobs and decide to live self sufficiently in their back yard trying to eliminate the use of money.  Although we feel a bit more prepared than these two, I am sure we will be able to relate to their ventures.