um, 2011?

Since the last post... well, it's been months, so a lot has happened. We recently spent a couple days hauling cow manure from our neighbor's barn--three truckloads. Beautiful. Next week we'll be hauling horse manure and hay from our good friend, Alison's, barn. We love poop.

Speaking of poop, our lovable loo is wonderful and we finally found a consistent source of sawdust: The Appalachian Center for Crafts. They even bag it up for us.

We're now sleeping in the apartment. I think our first night was around January 2nd. But we still don't have water or our gas lines plumbed. Gas will be done the 16th and 17th. Water... well, sometime. So we're still showering and cooking with my parents, which was obviously not the plan. Oh well. Drywall is done. Painting is done. Flooring is done, tiling and hardwood. Lighting and electrical is done. And the fart couch has a new home.

Also not the plan--the greenhouse freezing. I have seeds in dirt, placed there four days ago. No one has busted out of their shells. The dirt also froze--in the greenhouse--so maybe they're dead. Which sucks. So oh well. Event number 5,698 that hasn't gone the way I wanted or planned. Guess we're buying brassicas.

The winter has been long, freezing, and gray. I feel like I'm back in London, except my boots are always covered in mud. The daffodils are up and have buds, so I know that spring is thinking about coming. But we're only in early February, and I've been here for March when it's freezing, so we still have a while to go.

I've made the seed order, including onions and fingerling potatoes. I met with the chef at a local restaurant who has give me a list of veggies he wants. This is a huge deal for us and could be a major part of our business. So now we just have to grow stuff. Thank goodness for poop, since we didn't use a subsoiler, grow cover crops, or make beds.... No CSA customers yet, but I did talk to a farmer last night about the Smithville market and got an hour and a half of tips. Another soil sample will go out next week, which I should have gotten done months ago. #5,699.

Hector dropped in for a surprise visit, and I took him for a hike to the top of our property. Anna and Beran also came to visit, and we had a grand time hiking and drinking at Dan and Marianna's white trash party. We can't wait for May, for the major family reunion :)

When the whole apartment is done (trim, shelving, etc) I'll do another slideshow. Until then, the fart couch picture is all you get.