November Hill farm journal, 103

This is a daily occurrence in the potager. Cucumbers are still going strong. To the point that I have been giving them away to neighbors this week. I have two kinds of zucchini and they get more shade than they need, so we’re NOT being overrun with them, which I feel is a good thing. A couple every few days is just fine.

Last night we had the first tomato, basil and Brie summer pasta of the season. It was delicious!

Otherwise, November Hill is nearing high summer with insects busily flying about, and more than I like are bothering the horses. So far only Cody is having issues - and this just started this week for him. He’s always been sensitive to insects and while I have tried to supplement him with things known to help, he’s starting to sport bumpy bug bites and a scabby spot on his midline. 

I’ve got two new things on board - Ecovet fly spray and Zephyr’s Garden No Fly Zone salve. The Ecovet works. Well. But while nontoxic it is made using fatty acids which are heavy and cloying in the air, which means you have to spray it carefully. You don’t want it in eyes or breathed in. The smell is not bad, really, but just very very potent. I’ve been using it on the herd’s legs only, but today I sprayed Cody all over, carefully, to see if things improve for him. The good news with the Ecovet is that it’s very long-lasting. I’ve been putting it on every other day.

The salve is a dreamy concoction, herbal goodness that the horses love. Keil Bay tries to lick it. I put it in their ears, a small amount rubbed in to keep the gnats away, and on the mid lines, and in armpits. 

Redford donkey really doesn’t like fly spray but he will happily let me apply the salve to his legs and back and shoulders, armpits, and chest. I feel like it’s working for him so far, and it definitely helps with the ears and mid lines for all.

I have a nice almost unused fly sheet that I got for Cody several years ago. He wore it one time and within 30 minutes he was galloping about, managed to get it off himself halfway, and I was too paranoid to put it on him again. I have no idea if the fly sheet freaked him out, if a biting fly got trapped under it, or if he was just playing around and the fly sheet seemed like the culprit. I may have to revisit it if I can’t get a handle on what’s biting him.

Otherwise, the bees are good, the dogs and cats are good, the humans are as well as can be expected given COVID and the state of our country right now.

I’m reading good books, writing for my class and other markets, gardening, cleaning, grooming, feeding bees, avoiding cleaning, relaxing, sweating, rewatching Buffy and Downton Abbey, cooking, eating, enjoying glasses of wine, and basically wishing most days that I had more hours and more energy. 

In the small circle of my life, it’s good. In the larger view, it’s good in some ways and stressful overall. Suddenly my balancing dilemma is focused on the balance between staying informed and active with not letting myself get totally overwhelmed with anxiety. I know many of us are in this space and I send good thoughts out to all, in hopes that we find some peace, solutions, and a path forward that brings us to a new and improved way of being in the world. 

If anyone has tips to share for staying calm and also focused in today’s world, please share them!