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I saw the Orthopedic Surgeon yesterday and it looks like a new hip is needed. I will know soon when surgery will be scheduled in November 2026 (my choice, not the Docs). I need to have my support team in place for me and the farm.
So I will be putting together a plan as far as eggs and good things in jars for pick up at the farm while I am recovering. The process is real now, I have already started prehab and will continue with that right up to the date of surgery. I will try to do as much pickling as I can in the late summer into the early fall to build up my inventory. My request will be if you are a regular and are willing to buy more jars in bulk, that will be of help. I will have a limited list of what I plan to process this season and will have it completed by the time the market moves outside on June 6th.
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I remember making the Apron for Brandon. We had coffee for sale roasted by my Nephew Sean and we were selling whole chickens, lamb and meat from PT farm( now Montshire).
Brandon ran the booth on Saturdays as I was teaching gymnastics till 11:30 am. I would come to help Brandon clean up at noon time . We hadn't started selling GOOD THINGS IN JARS on a regular basis. It took me a while to develop a product line that I felt would sell well at the market. The picture came from the Contoocook Farmers Market Facebook Page and it makes me smile! Brandon's hat was washable ...which was good ....as many of his hats were made of polyester and nylon . I couldn't wash them and they smelled terrible....Brandon used to have 12 hats and he marked each of them with a month in magic marker. As of yesterday 3/30/2026 I had 6 lambs total, 2 black ram lambs, 1 white ram lamb, 2 while ewe lambs and 1 black ewe lamb. Now I have a newly arrived black ram lamb with a large white splotch on his head! I didn't think his first time mother was pregnant as she had had issues with parasites(worms) since the fall. Many times when a ewe is wormy, they don't get pregnant, but I guess I was wrong. Another interesting thing has happened.... two of the lambs are growing HORNS! Now this is not unusual with the Icelandic genetics in my flock. One of the lambs is Blue who is a ewe and whose mother is Allegro. The other is Maker who is a ram and his mother is Music. They have very black horns! Over the last two years none of the lambs have had horns, but before that I was getting lambs with horns at least once every other year.  The crocus have bloomed with the arrival of a new lamb! That title is a bit of an exaggeration as there are only 6 lambs! Luckily everyone of them is doing well, the twins had a bit of a sore mouth(which can be contagious), but that has cleared up and no other lambs had it. The twins had a difficult entry into life , as they were completely backwards and I needed the vet to deliver them. But they are now both thriving! Lambing is now complete! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  One thing I have resolved to do is try to have a regular massage. I used to do it regularly and it helped my body quite a bit. But as with many things in my life I have to plan ahead and make sure the appointments get on the calendar next to my desk It is amazing how many things need to be done in the winter...that take so much longer and can sometimes feel overwhelming. But once the tasks are done you wonder why you felt overwhelmed. I find using the lists is much less stressful and it is satisfying when you checked a task off the list!  A January thaw..... It was in the 40's today and I didn't need much more than my farmer armor to be comfortable. So far there are 4 lambs on the ground, all healthy and their mom's are doing an excellent job of taking care of them! THEREFORE I have no BOTTLE LAMBS, EXCESSIVELY LATE NIGHTS AND LACK OF SLEEP. But I have 2 ewes yet to deliver and one is a first timer. So , wish me luck!
The above picture shows what happens when you have rain falling and freezing on contact. The poor Hydrangea had all its old flowers still on it and when they became encased in ice it broke the center 2 branches of the tree. The weight of the ice split them in half . I have never had this happen ...the tree has been through 6 winters with more snow and ice. But from what I have read the tree as it gets taller and fuller it can get top heavy.
It was top heavy in the summer and had started to lean, so I cut back the branches and then staked it. If I hadn't done that trimming in the summer it probably would have broken off near the base from the ice load. So I should consider myself lucky. But now I just hope it survives. It was a gift from my father in law in memory of Brandon ,as we couldn't plant a tree near Brandon's grave in our cemetery. The tree was delivered to me in September of 2019 and a friend helped me plant it. The penguin Blanca is right next to the tree and under her are my Mother in Law, Rosalie's ashes. She wanted to be buried under the old pear tree, but I and my sister in law decided it was better to put her next to Brandon's tree and I had planted 3 young pear trees right behind Brandon's tree. So Rosalie was near Brandon and the pear trees, which fulfilled her wishes.  I got all the Holiday cards out in the mail. I finally got lots of stuff to the dump after Thanksgiving. I got a beginner felting kit to make holiday gnomes. I have never done any felting , but their noses were a bit too large. Before I readjusted the 2nd gnome's nose, he looked more like an anteater disguised as a gnome. The tree between the gnomes is from my oldest sister , along with the advent calendar ornaments.
I just started organizing for the Christmas tree which will be in the Addition living room. Last year I had the tree in the downstairs library, but I will have 3 here for Christmas and the library is too small for a celebration. I admit this year has been a bit easier with the time change. I don't know why...but I don't feel as anxious when it gets close to 4 pm.....I just put on a head lamp and head out to do chores. The 1st barn chickens are usually in the barn before it gets dark and I don't have to chase after them . The girls in the trailers are mostly up on their perches when I come by to close the trailer doors and any windows that need to be closed. I turn the lights on in the barn while I feed the sheep and the donkey, but will turn the lights off as soon as I can let the sheep back in , once the donkey has eaten her food. The only time the lights stay on is once lambing starts ....that way it is easier to see where all the sheep are and make sure no ewe is having difficulties giving birth. .
So winter is coming, time to go and cut down a Christmas tree before life gets too chaotic....then holiday cards and trying to wrap and mail presents. The wrapping and mailing presents has been the hardest thing for me since the pandemic... I don't know why....I love giving gifts to people....we shall see how it goes!  The time change is here.....I find it very hard losing the daylight. But there is not much I can do about it. The Red Head chickens are finally starting to have new feathers growing. I was getting only 8-10 eggs a day from them and there are 15 of them. It should be closer to 12-14 eggs a day. The stripped girls are laying pullet/peewee eggs and will for a while. I still sell them but at a lower price.
So into the long nights we go! |
Mary Will Sussman Archives
May 2026
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