November Hill farm journal, 77

Busy week, but there were some lovely moments on the farm, like this one, when I looked out from the barn aisle and spied the gleaming Keil Bay, who, at 30 years of age, never fails to take my breath away.

He and I both got massages this week, first me inside the house, then Big Bay in the barn aisle. Our massage therapist said he didn’t have any major tightness or issues which makes her think he’s moving well and in a balanced way. I’m happy to know that; it fits with what I see, but nice to have it confirmed!

We’ve had a break from the unusually early hot temps this week, and it’s been wonderful relief after all those miserable days we just had of high 90s. Today on through the weekend we’re getting some needed rain. As I type it’s falling and watering everything. We actually have a number of days coming up with highs in the 70s, which is going to be even more glorious. I guess the thing about roller coaster weather is that you always get at least a little of what you like best!

The bees are doing well. We’ve chosen to leave them be for this first week, just checking to see that they have water. Tomorrow we’ll check the sugar syrup, refill the water feeders, and since it’s going to be rainy all weekend we’ll defer going into the hive to next weekend, when I’d like to get photos of the frames to make sure I see eggs and new comb being drawn out. Assuming the new comb is there we’ll go ahead and add second hive boxes to each colony.

This week I have a full-day pollinator garden design workshop to attend. We’re to bring photos of areas we’d like to plant, and I have an entire new space in mind, plus the shade bed, and I’m now also thinking of two areas for native rain gardens which will help the run-off we get through the front field when we get a lot of rain at once.

The interior fence work is progressed since last update. I think they’ll wrap it up this week. There are still two gates to hang after the fencing is done, and a number of things in the barn to do, but with summer upon us the inside work may need to wait until fall. This herd loves being in the barn with hay pillows and fans when it’s hot out!

Clementine the service pup in training had some terrific new experiences this week. She went to a children’s hospital where all kinds of physical therapy takes place and she was a superstar. I am constantly impressed with her demeanor and her patience. My daughter is doing such a good job training her. Yesterday she took her wait command to a whole new level at lunchtime. Clem knows to wait for her food bowl and the “okay” that means she can eat, but yesterday she waited for her name to be spelled out in kibble! This is a 5-month old pup. I don’t think I’ve ever known a more patient dog than she is. We’re lucky to have her with us.

Beekeeping at last!

Arcadia!

Queen Echo to the left, Queen Artemis to the right! Nucs are installed now and it went well. I went slowly and am giving them today to settle in all the way. 

November Hill farm journal, 76

We’re in the middle of a heat wave - 6 days now of temps 92 and up. Yesterday afternoon we hit 96 degrees. This is the thing about summer I dread and really dislike. The farm is beautiful this time of year, lush with tree foliage and green and growing things, but when it gets this hot, keeping horses happy and keeping up with the chores becomes a burden.

Meanwhile my amazing farm helpers pushed on yesterday, working from 6-2:30, to continue the fencing project. Thankfully most of their work took place beneath the shade of two huge oak trees so they said it wasn’t too bad. I encouraged them to wait for a break in the heat, but they wanted to go forward and get this done.

I’ll post photos once I can get out there at the right time of day to get good ones. It’s so nice already having the gates mid-way the fence line between the barn and the outer fence of the property. The fencing looks beautiful and when my garden space is complete it will be a nice little oasis at the end of the dirt paddock. I can garden in the midst of the horses and am thinking it might be nice to plant a couple of apple trees out there.

With this heat we have had two small rainfalls, enough that I didn’t need to water before leaving for Bath last week, but not enough to wait until this Saturday for the next one, so I’ve watered the pollinator beds by hand and yesterday evening my husband helped me roll the wheelbarrow water bag down to Poplar Folly to give the hollies, the Virginia sweetspire, the persimmon, and the redbud babies a good drink. They all look terrific.

The bees are coming Saturday morning! I’m naming the apiary Arcadia and one queen will be Echo - not yet sure what the other will be. Their area is behind Poplar Folly in a spot that will get morning into afternoon full sun and then some light shade toward evening. In the winter they’ll get full sun most of the day when the leaves are off the trees, so I’m hoping this spot works for them. It’s away from the house and the horses, and since I no longer have plans to try to get lots of honey from them, I think it will work okay for me as well, in terms of not having to haul supers up the hill. We’ll see how it all goes.

Today I’m going to the feed store in town to look at a whisky barrel water garden that I can put by the hives so they have water right there. There are ponds and rivers and a lake nearby but I want them to have water close by for cooling the hive easily, plus a little water garden will be fun.

Photos when things are set up!

Meanwhile I’m just trying to get things done without sweating too much!

When your screenplay nearly gets the best of you - DEEP WORK

Last night I was so confused by my own plot line I nearly exploded trying to explain it to my two writing friends. I wrote this trilogy of novels several years ago, and the plot is definitely complex, hopefully in a good, marketable way.

However, the writer of said work has to be able to get it clear in her own head before adapting it for the screen.

I ended up re-reading the first novel in this trilogy, read a chunk of it out loud to my feedback team here, and got the feedback that it wasn’t confusing when they heard it. This morning I jumped back in and did my best to wrap my brain around the thing my brain previously created. What a hoot!

This afternoon I had made progress but hit the truly complicated part and some resistance. I got up from the work space, decided to do some reading instead, and then Cal Newport’s voice rang in my head. “Deep work. Not distraction.”

Guilty as charged. I turned on a dime and sat my butt back on the red bar stool and forced myself to dig back in. Fifteen minutes later I had sorted out the central issue. This time around I charted the information in the novel manuscript AND on my screenplay outline and also repeated it out loud to my friends in an effort to truly cement it in my brain.

My agent told me years back that I didn’t back away from writing complex material and this is definitely the most complex plot I’ve ever attempted.

Thanks, Cal. Thanks, writing women. I’m back in the saddle and my outline is nearly done!