The Routine

For the next 60 days my world revolves around these these stupid little buggers who insist on all drinking out of the same nipple even though there is one for each of them and a spare. There's a morning, afternoon and evening feeding--no way around it. It's not much different than the normal routine of morning and evening feeding...just there's an extra one which can really screw up any chances for a social life during this time. At the same time, I'm still waiting for the lone hold-out on kidding season. She's round as a barrel, but still hasn't popped. But with temperatures in double digits and her being an experienced in birth, my hourly vigilance isn't as crucial. I can finally sleep through the night.

While I may grump about the isolation, the truth is I really enjoy these times of solitude. Winter and kidding season affords me the simple luxuries I often ignore during the busy season, like reading. As a big fan of John & Abigail Adams, I've been enjoying First Family. Next on the list is Washington: A Life. I've wanted to dig into repairing some of the ugly holes in my horsehair plaster walls, but I just haven't had the motivation. With all the mess the bottle babies made while they were in the house, I haven't wanted to add anymore chaos since cleaning the urine & feces soaked newspaper covered with hay out of my dining room. There's something to be said about a little domestic cleanliness. Farming is no excuse for filthiness.

Yes, I had wonderful plans for making regular visits to the city to deliver goodies to my urban customers and enjoy some cultural enrichment, but the reality is that the farm demands my undivided attention during the winter months.