The temperatures are hot, very hot. The grandchildren went home with their parents the first week of August. I cried the first week they were gone. “Empty Nest” all over again. The sounds of little foot falls in the early morning as everyone is greeting a new day is what I miss the most. There are the video calls to keep up with how they are doing. Video calls such a nice way to visit with grandchildren who grow up in a short time. I did not have video calls when my children were little.
With the grandchildren gone, it was time to catch up on the farm projects. Before they arrived in April, I had started cleaning shelters and doing some reorganization of sheep pens. When they arrived all those projects were put on a very slow snail pace towards completion. After crying for a week, it was time to get to work. Winter and lambing time are going to be here and these projects need to be completed before their arrival.
The hot temperatures and drought in our area hinder my progress of completion. Heat stress on the animals and myself has been a constant concern. In order to avoid heat stress in 110 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, I have to work early in the mornings for just a few hours. My biggest chore has been keeping water full for the animals. Watering the trees and shrubs around my home is done daily, moving hoses and sprinklers. At night, I am exhausted, not from the amount of work I have done, but from working short periods moving hoses, sprinklers during the extreme heat.
There is no pretty corner garden this year. The time of working with grandchildren and the extreme heat, I could not keep the ground moist enough for the corner garden. The animals needed water more than my little garden spot. But do not fear, I have plans for a fall garden in my little corner. As with every summer, summer will come to an end and the cooler temperatures of fall and winter will soon be upon us.
I have sold several sheep this summer. But any profit has gone into purchasing hay to feed, since I do not have pasture for them to graze. I have plans of planting winter wheat as a cover crop on the pasture for winter grazing, hoping for rain to water the seed and help it grow.
I move forward one day at a time as any farmer does. Getting done what I can each day, with the next day already lined out in advance. Every farmer has hopes that the next year will be better, the weather will cooperate with the plans made. Maybe farmers are a mental lot, always hoping and working for a brighter tomorrow. But I would not be anything different. I enjoy being a sheep farmer, grandmother, mother and wife.
amtolle
Me, Myself and I 