Today is the first day of the rest of your life

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

It’s a common phrase and also a John Denver song.

But it’s a tool in our tool trunk that collectively we may not contemplate enough, because we as humans have a nascent power of rebirth and renewal within us.

We have the capacity and self-awareness to better our conditions if we remove the blinders of ego and decide not to use our precious energy in playing the blame game but instead focus on:

our own self-care,
following our bliss,
a better work/life balance
the sweet life.

For us, today is the first day of the rest of our lives and I’m sharing a phrase I wrote a while back that now has renewed meaning to our lives, our farm and our ethos:

“La dulce vida cultiva de la sal de la Tierra.”
– The sweet life grows from the salt of the Earth.

Puff balls of hope

We said farewell to Trigo, our Bakery and Farm store in Westport recently. The experience has been bittersweet.

Our East Friesian sheep are doing well, and quite unexpectedly, are providing so much comfort during this period.

Every dog, cat and pet owner knows the two-way healing connection that chin rubs, nuzzles and cuddles provide and I’ve never had livestock which were so appreciative of all that love and affection.

Visiting the breed barns at various sheep and wool festivals over the years, I was always drawn to the docility and sweet temperament of the sheep on display.

I’m really glad these big puff balls of hope are here.

A Farrowing Close Call

We had a spot of worry right as I was heading down to meet Kimmy for the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival that one of our pigs Maggie, short for Magnolia, was pregnant and imminently due.

Now we knew from the beginning that our boar, Henry, wasn’t proven as they say, he’s not a stud with the ladies. As a rookie pig farmer, I have kept them together from the start and would let the chips fall where they may if somehow he did give procreation a try.

During my chores, Maggie was starting to rail up, meaning her mammary line of teats were getting larger than a normal heat cycle, or so I thought.

Milk if expressed from the teat, would mean that they’re ready to give birth in 24 to 36 hours, but it turned out to be a false alarm – just a pig in heat and an anxious farmer.

Just chalk it up to my lack of experience with identifying pregnancy in Mangalitsas.

Something I hope to work on next Spring with a new boar.