MESSY MONDAY.

It was around November when we finally conceded the goats were not the best fit for us. Their proclivity for being on the same side of the fence as we were was, to say the least, a liability for us vegetable farmers. They ate several crops. They broke lots of things––cold frame windows included. They tore up the insulation under the house. And with Further on the way, it was just too much to think about having to chase the goats around everyday with an infant child in the house. So, regretfully, reluctantly, we found them new homes.However, the reason we wanted to put this as a Messy Monday was because for the past few months we have actively avoided talking about the goats on the blog. We tried with them, but we failed, and that failure was a little embarrassing. We could have kept at it, sure, and that embarrassed us a little. We could have built better fencing and infrastructure to keep them from escaping to the gardens, but we didn't and that embarrassed us. But you know what, we've decided we're fine with that. It simply didn't work for us at this moment, and that's okay. We want our readers, or anyone who is thinking about this lifestyle, or already trying it for themselves, to realize what we realized this month: it's alright if everything you try doesn't work out––not everything is going to.That said, we do still want goats––need them even––we just want the right kind of goats. We're thinking about meat or fiber breeds––smaller animals with less desire to jump 42" high electric fences and chase us around. Plus, we share a milk cow with our neighbors, so milk goats don't make the most sense anyway. We're in no hurry, though. The pigs we'll be getting this week, and our loyal flock of chickens, will be plenty enough for right now––plenty enough to get another crazy season started on the farm.- Jesse.

MESSY MONDAYS.

This is what Jesse does all of his writing on - a very busted iPad. This is also why farmers can't have nice things! It has been like this since Thanksgiving.

MESSY MONDAYS.

If you were wondering how we wash our cloth diapers, here is a shot of our washing machine:Cold water soak, hot water with soap and a plunger, cold water rinse, hang diapers over the stove to dry. Not too fancy but it gets the job done!

MESSY MONDAYS.

In continuing with our Messy Mondays series, here is our set-up for cooking down maple sap into maple syrup from last week......and here's what happened when we went for a walk and the oven mitt caught on fire.Good thing we didn't try this INSIDE the house!