The long delay in blogging was in large part due to the “inland hurricane” that southern Illinois experienced. It knocked out power in the apartment I’m renting for nine days (some places are still without power). I also went to my brother and his fiancee’s graduation. But the biggest reason for there not being a post is simply frustration:
1) Feeling like I’m falling behind in getting things done, which is primarily the result of the weather. With it being so wet, I haven’t been able to move my cabin and make the improvements to it (solar panels, drywall, ceiling, floor, etc.).
2) Garden troubles: rabbits have now destroyed all of my tomato plants and the rest of the garden isn’t looking too hot, primarily because I haven’t been watering it, which is difficult without a pond slightly filling up (this was supposed to get done just before the spring rains, but there wasn’t a chance to do it because of frustration 1).
3) Sick: I got pretty sick and threw up on the floor in my kitchen awhile ago.
4) Food prospects: Generally, I eat pretty simply. My roommates will attest to the monotony of my diet: beans, rice, grilled cheese, salad, mini-pizzas, cereal, milk. But since I’m going to moving onto the farm in a few days and I don’t have a refrigerator, I’m sort of fretting about what I’m going to eat, since the things that make all of these foods best is the dairy (I usually put a little bit of mozarella on the beans and rice). The possibilities will be explored in the next post, as soon as I write some more down about it, but for the time being, suggestions are very welcome, especially for things that take little time/effort to prepare (ideally without having to heat them up).
5) The scythe blade I want is unavailable (and I haven’t called the guy with a bush hog to mow), so the grass is getting incredibly tall. It’s already up to my breast chest high.
All that being said, I realize that these are all temporary things. Eventually I’ll get the cabin moved and I’ll get that work done. More things are sprouting in the garden or are doing sorta well in the garden, but it’s important to remember that I don’t really care about the garden that much. All I’m shooting for is getting 25% of my food from there this year, and anyways, this farm has more of an emphasis on trees and I’ve since found a lot of paw paw trees and a mulberry one. I’m no longer sick. Powdered milk seems pretty versatile. And the scythe blade will be available in the second week of June. So keep your chin up, your wings in, and all that…
Eudaimonia Farm 