Winter Solstice, and it’s been a week for crossing off a few inside chores. The depths of winter are good for that. Wardrobes have been tidied (why is it they are always the immediate answer to “where should I put this?”), accounts balanced and that cute-looking slipper pattern that’s been languishing in the depths of the knitting basket has been utilised.
Cosy!
Out in the backyard, the goat girls are in hibernation mode. If the paddock came with room service it’s doubtful they’d venture out of their houses…but it doesn’t so they grudgingly do.
The feed shed got a bespoke tarpaulin because that’s the sort of thing you do in the winter when the wardrobes are sorted, accounts balanced, and you don’t want to clean the oven.
Don’t be fooled by the blue sky…it’s definitely winter!
Off Homestead, Farm Girl’s BLENNZ (Blind and Low Vision Education Network of NZ) activities seemed to all fall during this week meaning far more time than usual was spent travelling to and from the other side of town. The downside of this is a general Homestead astonishment at the lack of grace on our roads, but every cloud has a silver lining; we were on the road when the call came to advise Farm Girl’s new glasses were ready to be picked up.
And finally, proving that good things do come to those who wait, our wonderful dairy (Convenience store? Minimart?) across the road has finally got the call that their earthquake repairs are imminent. This is going to mean a bit more forethought for us when it comes to milk and bread supplies but hopefully, come 17 August, we’ll have a fancy revamped dairy and Christina and her family will have enjoyed a few well-earned sleep-ins.
So while we have short days and weather to match, life keeps chugging on. Maybe next week we’ll even get the garlic planted!
A belated happy Solstice – winter or summer – to you all.
Union Homestead 
The girl looks pretty snazzy in her new glasses! Snugging down for winter tasks seems very far away just now as the hay is being cut all around us, and the temperatures are finally getting up above 20. We’re gorging on local strawberries just now, and so very glad to be putting aside the stored-too-long apples we’ve been consuming as fruit these past few months. I never did plant garlic last fall/winter, so will have to buy a whole bunch this year and try again in the fall. So far, no garden at all around here – not even petunias in pots. What energy I’ve mustered these days has been going on house maintenance stuff (spackling and hopefully eventually painting a hallway) and will certainly not be wasted on the oven. Have you started up the wood stove yet?
Most definitely…soup bubbling as I type. Spackling had me calling up mr google…we call it plastering and it is a job I loathe.
It all sounds idyllic…hay making and summer fruits. Enjoy 😊
The new glasses look very elegant and the face behind them good looking.
Farm Girl thanks you; the rest of us agree😊
Very smart glasses for a smart lass. Those goats looked very comfortable.
Farm Girl thanks you. The goats definitely know which side their bread’s buttered😊
Hi! I am admiring those snazzy slippers.
It is too cold to garden in the early morning so I am devoting the warmest time of the day to gardening chores when I am home. It might be frigid on frosty mornings but the weeds are threatening to take over, there are plants to be repotted, others to be pruned and trimmed and some waiting to be planted. So plenty to do….the inside chores continue to take second place.
Those goats are looking pretty comfy in their houses.
I am pleased to note you have your priorities right – oven cleaning always goes to the bottom of the list.
Farm Girl looks so lovely in her new glasses!
I wasn’t fooled by the blue sky in your photo; I recognise that blue and there is always bitter cold and frost with it.