in the thick of spring
I’m finally back here, writing in this space. I can’t believe it’s been over five months since I last posted, even though I never meant to take a break! The winter has come and gone here in North Carolina, but it barely felt like winter, compared to our winters in the mountains. I never thought I could love a place more than Colorado, but I have to say, living here is amazing. Our quality of life seems intensified and extended, and we are loving every season. Time is flying–these are our cherry blossoms, and even they are already long gone.
Our chicks are all grown up now. Two of them are hearty crowing roosters and the other seven have joined forces with our original five layer hens, so we get around a dozen eggs a day. Our baby goats are half-grown, and becoming more mischievous by the second. Chia is a fiesty (read: very bad) little goat with one black horn and one white. She pushes all the boundaries and jumps on top of the truck cab, eats my jade plants on the porch, and runs into the house every chance she gets. Columbine is hornless and might as well wear a halo–she’s as good as gold. She still likes to be picked up and snuggled.
The garden is off to a good start. I’ll write more details in a later post, but for now, suffice to say we’ve had our last frost and I’ve put all the seeds and seedlings in the ground. We built a few raised beds too, and it’s all looking fine and dandy.
Cash and Zia are doing great and liking school. The weather has been amazing here, and they run around building forts, playing ball, and chasing the animals. The bigger they get, the smaller our 12 acres seems. Cash makes “weekly lunches” for the goats (although it’s actually daily), which consist of piles of pine needles, wild onions, and budding baby pine cones.
My mama came to spend some time with us and I am making the most of it. I love having her here to talk to and work with, and we bounce a lot of creative ideas off each other. We currently are making jewelry for an upcoming art festival, and I’ve gotten some fresh new aesthetic perspectives from her.
I’m happy the kids are finally around her long enough to get to know her a little, since our visits to NY have always been pretty short far between. It’s especially great to have her with me while David’s away. He went to Google (San Jose) for a week, and now he’s rocking out the Masters golf tournament in Augusta.
Happy birthday to this man, by the way. We celebrated before he left with key lime pie and a bunch of homegrown daffodils. It always amazes me how well he takes care of us, and filling his shoes while he’s gone is easy only because he takes lots of steps for a well-oiled and smoothly running house and farm before he leaves.
I’ll be back soon with more farm + life details!
