Some cooler nights here and there remind us here on the farm that Summer is beginning its wind down. We just had another hot spell though, so it’s not giving in yet! We had a spell mid-summer where the gardens were looking kind of bland. I got in and chopped down some of the weeds and things have been doing better since then! I think our lack of rain (we are considered in a moderate drought here) maybe slowed things down as well.
I also thought I’d share a photo of my little garden outside my shop. I kept it simple for my first year here. If business goes well I’ll add a lot more perennials next year!
Speaking of my shop, you know that opening that has been an adjustment for me, and for the whole farm family, really. Due to Covid-19 slowing down the shop’s start even more than would be normal for a new business, I’ve been there 6 days/week running the show by myself. I had hoped to hire some help for at least one day/week, but it just doesn’t make sense financially to do so at this point.
My one day off is usually spent making the products that I sell under the Barking Dog Organic Farm name. I had said I would keep my online shop here on the blog open, but I’ve been re-thinking that lately. It has been becoming too much to try to keep all the dog cookies in stock, and the sale platform I was using didn’t make keeping up with out-of-stocks easy.
This last Monday, my one day off, I rebelled a bit! I should have been baking dog cookies, but I decided I really felt like doing something different. I had organic blueberries and kale (from another farm, my crop wasn’t big enough of either, though my kale is starting to come along now), and I wanted to do some cooking for the family instead of the public!
I also needed to freeze the last of the yellow bean crop so we would have it over the winter for Luke’s homemade food. I made a favorite recipe for the Dadz and I – Kale BLT Pasta Salad (I plan to share that recipe next week), and a blueberry cobbler as well! I cut up the excess cucumbers for the birds and did put together a cookie order for a local store.
While doing all that, enjoying some different cooking (I haven’t had much time to cook since opening the shop), I had time to think and made the decision to close the online shop, for now anyway. My tentative plan and hope is to reopen it before Christmas on a different platform, probably Etsy. Who knows, in the long run, I may end up doing something online with my local shop too. I’m keeping my options open right now.
With more new chicks on the way, there will be a bit more work there too, so it seemed time to give myself a break! Hatching will hopefully start this weekend.
One thing seems sure with life, as with the gardens, farm, and nature: things are ever-changing, especially in these crazy times. All we can do is go with the flow and do what we can to make it easier on ourselves!
Thanks to our friends The LLB Gang for hosting the Nature Friday blog hop. Please visit them and other blogs through the links below!
Oh we wish it would cool down here it is just too hot and rainy and muggy blech..
You are a busy bee that is for sure. I would be slap worn out if I did all that you do 😉 Glad you decided to offload one area of work so you can have a bit of a break.
Can’t wait for that recipe it sounds delicious.
xoxo,
Jenny @ Bell Fur Zoo
We had another short hot spell but it went right back to cool again. I think we’re heading into the hot and humid again tomorrow though Hope you get a break soon! We could use your rain though.
Recipe coming next week. I got distracted by hatching chicks this week (post tomorrow).
xoxo
Luke looks ready to test the dog cookies … we bet he’s great at his quality control job!
He certainly is!!
Good for you taking time to do stuff for yourself. Flowers are all pretty.
Thanks!!
The gardens are beautiful. We’re in the midst of a record-setting heat wave, so we’re hoping some cooler temperatures come soon.
I hear that from a lot of people lately, hope you cool down soon too!
I cannot wait for those cooler nights to come to us, so I can open the windows and get some fresh air inside. It’ll also signal things slowing down outside – However, unlike you, I’ve not spent much time doing any flower gardening, and it shows, am I lazy or what?! 🙂
I always say “busy”, not “lazy”, but sometimes it’s probably a combination of both!!
Having your own business is a lot of work. I hope it pays off for you. I look forward to that recipe. XO
It’s very true, and thank you. ♥
I don’t see how you do it all! I keep the grandgirls three days a week and can’t find the time to do anything. Hahaha! I love your shop and the pics on facebook.
Thank you! Oh I imagine three days of the grandgirls leaves you too tired to do much on the other days! LOL
You certainly are busy! Just reading about all you are doing is exhausting us! 🙂
I’m glad I can share….ha ha!!
The recipe sounds yummy – can’t wait to try it – just PLEASE tell me you DON’T make your own pasta, too. 🤣
I think you should do whatever feels right for you. Etsy is probably better and more “user friendly” than Woo Commerce anyway.
Oh, goodness, no worries there! I’d love to make my own pasta, thought about it once, but it seemed like way too much work!!
My gosh, you are so incredibly busy-I don’t know how you manage! The garden looks great. If that’s a drought, I’d welcome it. Things are so parched here, even supplemental watering doesn’t help that much. *sigh. Luke looks like he’s pretty pleased with the beans. Take it easy and don’t work too hard.
I’m trying not to! 🙂
You really are seriously busy. Boy those beans sure look yummy and everything sure looks lush and green at your place.
The lawns don’t look so great, but other things seem to be doing OK with the lack of water. We got some rain over the last few days though.
Life is all about change, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Mom’s business is going gangbusters, but she is really burned out from it all. Time is just too short to get everything done, so we get it. If only we could just have a week off with nothing going on, but there is no one to do her work, so it can’t be done which is frustrating. Closing your online shop is right for you now, so good for you. It will all work out, just go with what you feel is the right thing.
All we can do is go with our gut, right? Thank you for your understanding!
Yes, not being able to take a vacation or even an extra day off here and there can be difficult. But I still wouldn’t trade it for working for someone else again. I hope your Mom feels the same way.
cooler night… oh we dream about it. we like your way to freeze the beans, that is much better than our chaos in a bag!!!
I ran out of time for freezing my blueberries though, so there was some chaos going on with those! LOL
Your mom sounds like a very busy lady, Luke and that salad looks and sounds amazing! We can’t wait for the recipe!
Momz got distracted by the chicks hatching, but the recipe should be coming next week!
xo
Luke
You ARE busy!!
Phew!
I am off tomorrow, too…but I do have a ton of chores lined up…sigh…
Wouldn’t it be nice to hire someone to do those chores!?