The Hustle and Bustle While the Leaves Still Rustle

That title… I think… is referring to all of the activities we are doing and still need to do before the big cold and white settles down on us. The days are getting shorter and so is the time we have to wrap up the outside activities.

1. Perhaps the most exciting part about this fall is the breeding of the goats. Now that we have Henry (our billy goat), we are all set and watching the girls for when they go in heat. All in all, the breeding process itself isn’t too exciting (except in Henry’s opinion), but it makes it very real to us that kids are coming in the spring. About five or six months from now, we will have little goats hopping around and our farm will be flowing with milk.
2. Prepare the gardens for next year. As we finish harvesting the cool weather greens, we will be dumping leaves and seasoned manure into the gardens and rototilling it in to replenish the nutrients of the soil for next year. The gardens were good to us all summer; it is time to be good back to them.
3. Stock up on sap wood so that it is ready to fuel our maple syruping season. We have the trees down (though we also have some more we would like to cut down), now we need to chainsaw and split it them so that they are all set for for making maple syrup. Seems frightening, but the maple season will be upon us before we know it.
4. Winterizing what needs to be winterized. This refers to the bee hives and the fruit. We have had a full summer to build up our hives, fruit trees, blueberries, strawberries, and grapes, and now we have to take the necessary steps to make sure they survive the winter. Hopefully this winter isn’t as deathly cold as last year.
5. Hit the store. As we finish the outside activities, our attention will turn to transforming the yellow house into a store. We will have the winter months to get the inside of the store in working function, as our goal is to have it ready to go in the spring.
6. Enjoy the fall, and thank God for it all. It is such a beautiful time of year. We don’t want to be too busy to take a moment and look at the rolling hills of color or smell the crisp fall air. What a mighty Creator we have.