November Hill farm journal, 95

It’s a rainy day here so I’m going to update on the farm stuff instead of doing a what’s coming up post. I’ll get back to that tomorrow.

Over the weekend I finished off several terrace beds in Poplar Folly and planted them with native to NC pollinator seed mix. We’re fortunate to have a local farm that does nothing but grow and sell native plants, and these seed mixes are affordable ways to do larger pollinator areas. I still have some shade and sun mix left so will be sowing those in various spots around the farm where I want bee forage and roots in the ground, which help with run-off.

I also walked the entire back pasture, the big barnyard, and half of the little barnyard, spreading red clover seed in advance of the rain. Hoping to see that come up this spring.

I added to the terraced bed in the front pasture - more brush, more leaves, more stall waste. I have a bit more to do and then I can put compost on top and figure out what to plant there. Of course as I was out there working, I concocted another plan to create one more of these beds along that same steep slope using the other tree trunk in the front field. This will require the truck and tow strap and would be a bit trickier, but if we could do it, it would really take care of this eroded path along the edge of the front field. We’ll have to wait for dry ground, but I think we’ll give it a go.

There always exists a bit of a dichotomy between life on November Hill and the larger world, but it’s even more stark right now. I do the chores. Mucking is mucking, right? It has a zen-like quality to it if one allows for that, and it’s a daily thing. You feed the equines, they digest, they drop manure. You get it up and move it where you can use it best.

The world right now feels spiky and full of change. New updates, sudden change, information both reliable and not. Answers, no answers. I hope all reading this are staying home unless you are in a position essential to your communities. To all those on the front lines, and I mean not only doctors and nurses but caregivers and grocery staff and pet/livestock staff, and utility staff, THANK YOU. May we all come out of this smarter and more compassionate.

I posted about the golden girl passing her Canine Good Citizen test, but I didn’t share a photo of her. She’s very big and she is, we think, beautiful!