Summertime on the homestead

Only missing little miss Mia

There is little progress to report on the home front. It has been a busy summer, so the house has taken a back seat. After spending so much time the past two years, it has been nice to do some other things.

This past week also marked the one year anniversary of my Dad’s brain surgery. We have all been reliving each day exactly one year ago and continue to feel so incredibly blessed. God has certainly blessed our family over the past year.

At this point, we need to complete the stairs, finish the kitchen cabinets and countertop, and finish the floor. I really want to save the floor for last so that we don’t scratch it. For the time being, I will live with a concrete floor which is ok with me. I do think that I have decided on the flooring, however.

Much of this spring and summer has been spent on the lambs and pastures. I have a main pasture that their shelter is located in, and then a secondary pasture that I put them in some days so that the grass can have a chance to grow in the primary pasture. My Dad found some portable electric fencing on Craig’s List so he purchased that recently. I’ve had them in there this morning. They’ve learned about an electric fence the hard way.

I think that we have spoiled them. My Dad will usually come down while I am at work and lets them out so that they can free range graze. As soon as I get home from work at night, they all run to the gate and start baaing, wanting me to let them out. I typically let them out for an hour or so after I get myself some dinner. They’ll run around but usually stay pretty close to me. Once I go in and get them some grain, it’s typically a stampede to the shelter. They are really very funny.

I am really enjoying them, but have come to realize that they are a lot of work. I have to get up about and 30 minutes earlier than I used to and usually spend about an hour with them each night shoveling and cleaning up their pasture. The hardest part is that I like to travel and unless I find someone to watch them, I can’t leave them overnight. I lock them up every night to protect them from predators.

I remain on the fence about a dog. I am considering one if I can find the right one. I’ve wanted a dog for a while and also think that it would be good protection for the lambs.

Hopefully, I will be able to report some more progress on the home soon.

Laura Reed

About Laura Reed

After 15 years in college athletics, the last seven as an assistant athletics director, I was burned out with 70-hour work weeks and extensive travel. I resigned my position and accepted a position in marketing at a small, vibrant college in my hometown of Unity, Maine. In the process I wanted to go back to my childhood where we raised polled Herefords, had a Christmas Tree Farm and spent many hours outside. I decided I wanted to build my own home on beautiful farmland that my family owns. With help from my Dad, the most talented person I’ve ever met, we are building my home together. I have decided to blog my experience – the ups and downs, the joys and frustrations. What was once an open field will one day be my home! The dream in my head is becoming reality. I can just see the lambs frolicking in the field, chickens in the barnyard and going running with my Alaskan Malamute!