Our Cursed Garden

So we have had some bum luck when it comes to our garden at this place. The previous owners of this place didn't have your standard garden set up, they built mounds, long strips of raised dirt. Apparently, this enables you to plant a couple weeks earlier then your neighbour because your plants are slightly up out of the cold lower ground.  But by the time we got around to planting our garden the first time, the soil was really rather dusty and depleted, and so much of our water ran off the mounds and our plants were kind of stunted.

Not that that really mattered because that first year the sheep got in our garden and mowed everything down! We waited and waited for the sheep to be moved to a different field so we could put our started plants in the ground until we couldn't wait anymore.  And of course they got eaten. And then because we put everything in so late, what didn't keel over and die from the sheep was stunted and never reached maturity!

That was year 1.

This year, we cajoled and pleaded and whined and dug our own post holes (Post Hole Champion, right here!) and managed to put a fence in! Well part of a fence.... enough that nothing can get in our yard anyways, and it's the greatest! We even expanded the beds, put in a few extra ones, brought home loads of started plants (because the yard is sheep proof now!), got experimental with some planting techniques, filled or herb garden to the brim and wouldn't you know it hailed, twice in two days....

If your not an avid gardener, hail equals death to gardens.  We started a whole bunch of melons several weeks back, all excited that we could put them in on time this year and actually yield some fruit, and they are all destroyed. Our giant rhubarb leaves look like Bonnie and Clyde's get away car, completely full of holes.

And this wasn't small chunks of hail, these were huge, marble sized.  I realize that there are bigger out there in the world, but I don't know that I have ever seen bigger (Cue sexual innuendo...) Standing at the window watching the spectacle and it was like someone was throwing snowballs at us.  Chunks of our roof came off! I half expected to see chips taken out of my windshield...

                                             

Our poor Balou took shelter under the truck but the water puddled underneath.  So she managed not to get pelted, but still got soaked.

The weather forecast never said anything about hail.  It is predicting storms for the next 3 days, so we may have more hail to come.  I don't even want to go outside to try to assess the full extent of the damage until this string of storms has passed.  There are several things out there that we are certain are destroyed, but there may be some things that survived. We still have peas and kale and sweet potatoes to put in too. At least we'll have those!

Maybe next year will be our year! Then again, maybe there is a curse on our garden...?

Post Hole Champion

I feel like I have entered into a whole new level of redneckery.... I dug post holes, like for putting in fence posts. Did you know there was a name for it? And guys, I feel like I have found my calling. Seriously, I am really good at it! My hands might be covered in blisters and may not ever relax out of this claw seizure, and my back may be in a permanent hunch, but it was worth it!  Looking down at your shovel that has disappeared down a 4 foot hole only as wide as your foot is long, is oddly satisfying.... I did that. I dug that awesome hole. I am sure I felt like this at some point in my childhood.

We are putting in a fence around our yard. Last year, we couldn't plant our garden until mid June, because the lambs kept getting in and eating everything! So most of our crop were these sad little stunted things. We even had watermelon which made a valiant effort, but the first frost got them before they could really get anywhere. This year however! We started a bunch of our plants indoors ahead of time and we're putting up a fence. I cannot wait for things to really get going. It is going to be so nice having a real garden this year!

Just a little tidbit, did you know people round here measure the depth of the snow by how high it reaches on the barbwire fence?! "Geeze, Snow got 2 strands deep this year".  If there were a redneck dictionary, you would find that in there....

This post is just a little quicky. Mostly I just wanted to share how proud I was of my new found career choice.  I held myself back from taking pictures though. I couldn't imagine looking down a deep dank hole being as interesting for you as it definitely is for me.... However, I did take these handful of gems I thought I would share!

An Atheist at a Christian Conference

As some of you know, (unless this is your first time here, in which case welcome!) we home school our kids.  If your thinking to yourselves "Why ever would you do that!?" check out my past post Home schoolers? What are ya, Hippies?

So this last week, we packed up our gongshow and headed down to the Okanagan for the Christian Home Educators Conference (CHEC). No, we are not religious.  Until this last year, there was a huge homeschooling conference down in the lower mainland but due to some lack of interest from vendors and volunteer shortage, they didn't put one on this year, which was a real shame.  So that left us with the only other option in BC, which just so happened to take us to my old hood! Ya win some, you lose some, I guess.

Just a little history on myself, I have extensive experience with organized religion that has caused me to very strongly believe that it is not for me, at all, not even a little bit.  In fact, I have a very healthy critique of the whole institution in general.  However, not all my experience was negative, I met and have remained friends with some really remarkable and good people. Because of this history I found it incredibly difficult to remain objective during this whole conference, and I had to walk out of one seminar because of how wildly offensive it was, but I did manage to glean some wisdom in the end and actually found myself enjoying the keynote speakers.

We went down a day early and stayed with some family in Merritt who very kindly agreed to take 3 out of 4 of our kids for the weekend! Coincidentally, it was my Grandmother and Uncle's birthday that weekend, so I happened to have a lot of family out that weekend and my lovely cousin offered to take Isabella for the weekend too! Woo hoo! A weekend free of children?! For 2 whole days?! And it isn't even Christmas yet!

Despite being a vacation of sorts the whole weekend was a complete whirlwind of conference, seminars, and more then a few "Did he really just say that?!".  Followed by late nights catching up with old friends and family, and really early mornings making sure we took full advantage of the continental breakfast at the hotel.

To finish off our time in Kelowna, Partner #2 and I went to my family's house to celebrate my grandmother and uncle's  birthdays! It was the first time many of my family had met Partner #2 so that was .... nerve wracking. But I think things went well. My beautiful cousin was trying out for the Canadian paralympic sitting volleyball team so several of us went out before dinner to help her practice. (Since that night, I might add, she went to her auditions in Montreal and totally made it on the team! Brazil 2016! Congrats Tessa!)

We spent the next 2 days in Merritt recovering and visiting. I think I spent the majority of the time sleeping as much as I could. And then it was back home, back to reality. Back to milk cows, and chickens, and not-started gardens, and school, and for me more job searching...

Another little side story, on our way out of Merritt, we stopped at this really great little coffee shop/bakery called Brambles (I recommend it. If you do go, get a morning glory scone. Soooo good) and while we were there the lady behind the counter said she reads my blog! It was possibly one of the most flattering moments of my life! I couldn't believe that someone recognized me! And in typical Natalie fashion, I made a complete ass of myself, told her I was starstruck but starstruck for me... It doesn't even make any sense! I am groaning internally.

Anyways, this lovely lady at Brambles (Whose name I've since learned is Katie, because while making an ass out of myself I completely forgot to ask her name :/  Hi Katie!) she recommended another blogger who is utterly awesome and I endorse her completely. Her site is called Renegade Mothering and she is fantastic, witty, cynical, hilarious, sarcastic, and best of all r-e-a-l! If you are like me and you gag at all those "Children are the most wonderful blessing" posts, your love Renegade Mothering.

One more little update, our 1st milk cow Beullah had her calf on Saturday! A sturdy little heifer calf. I was thinking, since we have yet to name her, perhaps I should open up the comments section on this blog for name suggestions! Here's a picture to help you come up with some ideas :)