In Spring, varied thrush, robin, and song sparrow all chorus up the dawn light, thus waking me at roughly 5am, sometimes 7-but that’s a good sleep if I can get it. There’s sometimes a 2-3am wake-up for chicks that are hatching, or lambs being born, so 6-8 hours of sleep on average. Usually animals get an initial check once I’m dressed. If the sheep are grazing nearby, I can have a look from the porch. Sometimes, I take a walk down to the chicken coop and take in the dew soaked grass, fresh cool morning air, and the bird song.
Back at the house I read news and steep a warm beverage, get the fire going again to keep things warm enough for incubator in the living room, then check email. I have always been an early riser, and appreciate a well rested mind when reading correspondence. Val gets her kibble and that signals me to get dressed and get out in the morning coolness to feed the rest of our humming creatures. By now it’s around 9, and chores begin.
Ewes move onto fresh pasture, and when I move fence, it’s a meditative exercise in fitting shapes, stretching lines, and holding boundaries. In the past 10 years, a few of our natural hedge fences have begun to hold on their own, but to keep those young hedges growing, at this crucial stage, I’m still using electric mesh to keep stock off the establishing vegetation. It’s great to make pasture spaces to custom fit the growing season. Sometimes I do forget young plantings and the sheep make short work of a year’s growth or more on some smaller shrubs.
Today, I was fencing the orchard, and also took time to bend a few branches on young fruit trees. I had just finished ting off a pear branch when the local jays started a ruckus aerial predator alarm, compelling my gaze to the north just in time to watch a bald eagle soaring up into the bright azure sky. A male robin came coasting down through the red alders, alighting on the newly tied branch, chirping his own warning. These are the moments I treasure being part of on the land.
By 11, sheep moved, chickens set to work in worm city, Val on the watch for any mischief, Gill fed and set loose on his rounds with sturdy orthotic in place, geese are watered (still waiting for any sign of nest building), and with all the animal care attended to, I can set the garden watering and head back in for one more warm beverage, a quick check of any calendar specific tasks and texts, and then I’m off to set a new fence line, plant some trees, move a wood pile, stage the next dump run, add to our burn pile, plan the new geese habitat, or any other number of fun “to dos” around the land.
Afternoon siesta if it’s hot enough- and usually I’ll take lunch, write a blog, make a few phone calls, check lists (shopping, farm supplies, mending) and run errands if I can. Other days, I’m back into a project for the rest of the afternoon, with occasional livestock checks- water, fencing, general demeanor. Today the youngest lamb learned about electric mesh and steered clear- good progress! The wind has been up, so I’ve watered a second time to keep seedlings wet and happy, then made sure recent cardboard mulch stays down. It’s a diverse life full of many light tasks, and some not so light, but minimal to ensure my physical self is not overworked. The balance of hard labor and passive watering or internet researching allows for resting the body between harder tasks, and not overdoing it in screen time either.
4ish I take another break and eat something akin to dinner. This evening, I harvested some asparagus, rhubarb, garlic, spinach, plantain, dandelion, and currant blossoms to make egg rolls. The evening Pacific breezes carry salty cent of ocean onto the porch where I sit eating home grown, watching the lambs frolicking in lush pasture between blossoming fruit trees. It’s a magical place, with so much to work and learn from in real time. The red shafted flicker family is out to dine in our driveway, taking a moment to gather in cackling chorus on a blue spruce snag near the house. Valentine does not like the birds’ loud activity, and gives a low “woof” of protest, but the avian antics rule the roost, and I enjoy another bite of warm, fresh egg-roll while watching the living system of nature all around.
Evening chores are a routine of winding down- hopefully, as sometimes, especially on warm summer evenings, the sheep do not want to go back to the barn, and hay is not an exciting prospect, compared to fresh greens. Usually, I wander down to the barn, looking over plantings like the rain garden below out well house, or the raspberry canes near the pond. If I happen to have clippers with me, I work for a few minutes on clearing out stray weeds and bramble, or trim up the established natives, like willow and dogwood, to keep the drives clear. Other evenings, chores can be a rush, with quick feed and water check, and other projects or off farm obligations rule the evening. It’s great flexibility when needed- so long as the animals are well cared for.
Speaking of- there are these two dogs that are my co-workers, and are not only great support, but also life long learners like myself, so we spend time each day training, and what that looks like ranges from walks to socializing with friends and other dogs that visit, to daily work like moving sheep, waiting at the gate, or standing while getting a good brush and nail trim. Gill’s more on auto pilot, but he still receives daily handling and care. We have more leash time together since his injury, he’s been working on ground manners, which are already pretty stellar, but practice and consistency offer this great training. There are days when a walk doesn’t happen for Valley, and that comes out in over-exuberance and difficult handling later. That’s on me, not the dogs. Daily work with these two is paramount to the farm’s success and my sanity.
They run the night shift and let me sleep. Sometimes I’m to bed by 9 and sometimes 11. On some nights, I wake to an alert bark, listen for a bit to see what level it might escalate to, and then, if it does continue to elevate in alarm, I’m up and throwing on proper layers to go out into the night with a flashlight to make sure all is well. Lambing season is the most nocturnal time, around New Years. Later in April, there could be a late batch, and I’ll have about a week of nightly checks. It can mean a few months of less than ideal sleep, but siestas are available when needed. On rare occasions, when there is a more determined night predator starting to hang around, I’ll be up for a few evenings prepared to step up the patrol and back Gill in the field. But most nights are calm, and as the great horned owl calls a low hooting lullaby, sleep comes before the turn of another day.
Hopefully this helps those who wonder what it’s about- I didn’t get into too much detail about admin- the website, organizing and teaching classes, helping clients, off sight work with other local organizations, personal time with friends- I do get out to walk Valentine, dinners with good friends and neighbors, occasional evenings in Seattle for a range of events and fun adventure, and now that warm weather is returning, a few overnight camping adventures in the greater wilderness all around. I’ve already had a trip to Olympic National Park this Spring, 2024. On rare occasions, with the help of kind neighbors who exchange farm sitting time, I can get away for a little longer to see family and take a break from work. Those are special times, and not usually on holidays, because it’s when everyone wants to travel. Life here at Leafhopper Farm is a chosen lifestyle, with some great benefits, and a few hard demands- mainly small lives that rely totally on humans for survival. But the lifestyle is what makes me the most happy and well fed- and it’s a pleasure to share this energy and food with others. Gratitude for each day of this grand adventure in learning and growth, and the opportunity to be with land and deeply rooted to place and the enrichment of space.
EEC Forest Stewardship 