Farm Happenings for July 14, 2022

Let me let you guys in on a little secret. Sometimes life on the farm is amazing, fulfilling, and fun. But sometimes it’s downright rough. We have been without power for the past couple of days after a crazy storm. We had to go out and buy a massive, expensive generator to keep our walk in freezer and fridge running that we had not budgeted for, so all the meat and veg we grow didn’t spoil and we didn’t lose thousands and thousands of dollars worth of inventory. And it still has the capacity to only run our walk ins and not the house so we are roasting in this July heat. 
While I absolutely recognize that we are privileged and lucky that the storm didn’t do more damage and that we had the money to buy the generator, I am still a little salty it is taking Dominion this long to get our power back. 
Without power, we mostly spend our days bucketing water to our cattle, sheep, ducks, horses, and pigs. Without power, our well pump doesn’t work and you would not believe how much water all these animals drink. Our hands are blistered from carrying buckets of water and I don’t think there is a dry pair of boots to be found. 
In these tougher times, I am proud of my and my husband’s resiliency. Our willingness to put our heads down and just do the work that needs to be done. And Shane’s unfailing cheerfulness even in the face of a very sweaty, very tired Jessie. 
Hopefully, our power will be on in the next couple days but in the meantime I am embracing the inability to cook by sampling all our favorite downtown Staunton restaurants!