Read-Aloud: A World of My Creation

I spent a Saturday evening this week doing what I love most—moving through the garden at dusk with a drink in hand, trellising cucumbers, pulling weeds, watching the bluebirds and song sparrows work the rows for insects I haven’t had to spray for all season. Those new birdhouses are earning their keep. It was the kind of evening that reminds me why I’ve built what I’ve built here, even on the hard days.

And there have been a few of those too. I had my annual wellness visit this week—clean bill of health—and I finalized my divorce, closing out the “Maine Homestead Life” chapter for good. Just me and this farm now. And you.

On the practical side: the farm stand is finally open, later than I’d have liked after last year’s off-farm work detour, but the CSA boxes are full—zucchini, summer squash, chard, beet greens, peppers, herbs, even squash blossoms. I scored a full-size refrigerator for free off Facebook Marketplace (BraeTek helped me haul it home in the truck), so cold storage at the stand is finally solved. Bread’s back in rotation too, after my usual spring baking dry spell—sourdough boules, zucchini bread, muffins, some for us and some for sale.

BraeTek got his learner’s permit this week, six months late by the calendar but right on time for him. And I sold the last of the hay and the hay conveyor now that the sheep are gone—moving farm equipment to where it’s still useful.

Coming up:

• Robin Motzer joins Talking Dirt Friday the 7th to talk wildlife sanctuaries.

• Office Hours shifts to paid-members-only starting Thursday, with one free session each quarter.

• Workshop for paid members August 20th—covering my anti-canning food preservation methods

Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.