Farm Life Cometh

This is my last week of "real" full time work at Goddard College.  There is so much to do here still, and I'll stick around part time thru June, but I am really looking forward to a job that doesn't require me to sit on my butt for 7-8 hrs. a day.  Granted I currently begin every day hauling water, hay, etc.  However I'm looking forward to cleaning pens, milking goats, making cheese, weeding the garden, sheep herding, and all that other farm stuff - with some agility training mixed in of course - none of these things require that I sit on my butt. 

Construction on the farm is coming along.  All the new rooms are constructed, next we'll complete the finish work (painting trim, additional lighting, built in shelving, etc.) and then comes the installation of the vacuum system for the milking parlor and then the cheese making equipment.   My mom's friend, Jim, did an amazing job in such a short amount of time.  It looks fantastic!  Now though our attention is turned toward the new goat housing.  We're changing a ramp housing off the back of the barn to just an overhang and plan to abut a clear span building to that for goat housing.  I ordered the new clear span building yesterday and construction on the ramp and excavation for the new shelter site starts next week.

Sometime this month we'll also install new pasture fencing, about 1600 feet of fencing.  Rob, my mom and I are going to be doing most of the work by ourselves.  The new fencing will consist of a perimeter fence and two large interior fences that will be just wide enough to be divided into smaller grazing areas with our existing electric net fencing.


Perhaps it is my impending changeover to life as a farm girl, but I've become more interested in eating locally and seasonally over the last year or so.  I find my thoughts turning to this year's garden, what to plant, what I will want to preserve by canning and freezing as well as what we'll raise for meat this year.  I always think that places like our local co-op are focused on local, seasonal food as well.  However, I was really surprised to find ice cream recently at our local co-op that was from the west coast?  What is the carbon footprint of a half gallon of ice cream that has to travel from coast to coast and retails for less than $5?