August 19, 2025

Where the heck did summer go? What a whirlwind of activities and heat and more heat and no rain! We had illustrious dreams of flower farming this year. I spent last winter day dreaming of field of snap dragons and dahlias and zinnias and sunflowers…and then we had such a wet spring I couldn’t get all the precious seedings I’d started in my basement under growlights into the ground. They would have drowned. Once I was finally able to get them in, they were thriving, then the heat came, the suffocating heat that makes you want to crawl into a tub of ice and not want to move. It was oppressive. I, unfortunately also have an auto-immune disease which makes me even more sensitive to the heat. Heat became a problem for the flowers quickly, especially when it wasn’t raining anymore. Water wouldn’t be a problem for most except we live off a well. Yes that wet wet spring had left us soggy but the heat was drying things up quickly and now here we are in August and we have neighbors with wells going completely dr. They are having to buy water. Our well is getting low, lower than I’m comfortable with. Our pond, usually about 8-9 feet deep, only has about 1-2 feet of water in it. We made the devistating decision to conserve water and let the gardens and flowers go and use the water for the goats and chickens and of course, us! We has to stop watering our plants. Dahlias love water, our veggies needed it too and aside for cucumbers, peppers, a few squash and tomatoes, we lost it all. A horrible year but a sacrifice we had to make. Animals always come first for us!

We have LOVED meeting new people at the Mexico Farmers Market this year selling our soaps and lotions. It was a huge leap of faith for us, me especially. Its always hard to put yourself out there and hope a product your pour your heart into is received well. It was our first market ever! We are signed up now for several more markets and so excited!!

We successfully butchered our meat chickens and it feels good to have our freezer stocked with good meat and to know we are selling fantastic meat to our community as well. (we still have some available)

Overall, despite the weather, I feel very optimistic with the direction we’re heading. The feedback from our soap and lotion has been amazing. I am experimenting more with colors and scents and my skills grow with every batch. I love watching our little farm grow!!