Wild Moon Cottage is a small working homestead in the pristine Ozark Mountains. We have dairy goats, poultry, organic herb and vegetable gardens, a start of a tiny fruit orchard, several black walnut trees, wild berries and fields of wildcrafting goodness. We raise our own milk, our own eggs, much of our own medicine and food. I do laundry by hand, make my own vinegar, candles, soap, bread, cheese ........ For a living I am an artist and herbalist. My goal for myself and our homestead is to be as self sufficient and self sustaining as possible.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

8.31.10 The last day of August



Baskets of apples, soft breezes rustling the leaves, crow calling, a yellow leaf dancing to the ground, a fat moon hanging low in the night sky ...



The weather has gotten much nicer and we've gotten some much needed rain. the rain was a bit hard and wasn't able to be soaked up as needed but still, the ground is less cracked and things are a bit greener. It's supposed to rain a bit all week as well with the highs in the 80's and low 70's :)

Yesterday the Crows were carrying on about some bit of gossip and we heard the faint sound of a distant chainsaw. It sounded a lot like Fall.

The Blazer still isn't running but I was finally able to get to the store. It's been 7 weeks since I shopped and altho we could have easily made it much longer, it was nice to be able to go.

I was very sick over the weekend, I'm not sure from what, maybe stress built up or something. I'm one of those people who rarely gets actually sick but when i do it's usually pretty bad. I feel much better now tho my ribs hurt from a full night of throwing up *~*

Goat wise, we now have only Thistle and Ivy. To keep from exposing the other goats I just went ahead basically gave them all away. We have such limited space I couldn't keep them all separated indefinitely and can't afford another goat house at the moment ... Thistle and Ivy are not the goats I would have chosen to keep but things are as they are. And Thistle is turning into a good little milk goat.


..................................................................Thistle & Ivy




I still have hope of getting a barn this year but it's vexing to be sure. At the beginning of the year I had money saved for emergencies and money put back to go toward a barn. Since that time a great deal has been lost including the Burrow in a way. So I'm still milking in the tarp barn and dreading milking in the winter. Millions of women long before me have milked in worse conditions tho and altho i might bitch about it, I'm truly thankful to have the tarp barn and the milk!

I was going to be changing the name of the Burrow when I had the signed paper from the seller. I was going to change my email and blog along with it. Now I may go ahead and change anyway and just take the name with us when/if we do find another place. Home is within us anyway.

Since we returned from Virginia I've been making desperate jujus and prayers that he would do the right thing and "remember" our agreement. Who knows, maybe he will yet.

I've created a Sales Blog to help with income. I ended up losing 3 weeks of work going to Virginia and I'm still trying to pay off my moms funeral home costs so her ashes can be freed. I had opened The Cottage Crow in a booth in town for awhile but didn't make enough to make it worth the cost of the booth. I also had an online store for a time but both were just for the sale of handmade Prims. The new Sales Blog is more of a thrift store kind of thing, like a private craigslist. It doesn't cost me anything but time so i don't have to worry as much. anyway, if you feel inclined, please do check it out :) http://TheCottageCrow.blogspot.com

2 comments:

Nancy said...

Juli, sounds like the past few weeks have been difficult for you, for sure. I am inspired by your resourcefulness and upbeat attitude. Things seem to happen for a reason, at least in my life. Take care and hopefully, Autumn will hold some good opportunities for you.

Marisa@ Getting Back To Basics said...

Sometimes there seems to be no end to it...what else can go wrong...but we just soldier on.

Glad you're getting some cooler weather. We, in Nova Scotia are in the middle of a heat wave and the humidity is unbearable. Aside from worries about property damage from hurricane Earl that's due to hit us tomorrow I am almost welcoming it and the cooler, fresher air I hope will follow it.