Our excuse

   Mid-March is a very busy time of year on the farm.  There are onions, lettuce, and other greens to transplant, spring crops to seed in the garden, potatoes to plant, summer crops like tomatoes to seed in the cold frame, ground to work up...  The bees need attention; we try to keep the bees from swarming along with making up colonies for next year.  The grass is starting to grow, so we set up fences in the pasture for the cattle and goats.  The mushroom logs need to be stacked.  Then there's the winter projects we try to finish up before it's too late - like spreading manure or picking up firewood before it gets lost in the growing grass.

  Suddenly, mid-March this year, everything on the long to do list was put on hold.  Christina, our then 7 week old baby, developed a serious case of a respiratory infection (RSV).   For 7 days, she was on a ventilator in the pediatric ICU, followed by another 3 days in the hospital.  It was a harrowing experience.  Yet, God was abundantly merciful, and Christina is now completely fine.  Just a few days shy of 3 months, she is a happy growing girl.  We are so grateful.  We too were well cared for during her hospital stay.  We were richly blessed in prayers, visits, meals, offers to help, gifts, and phone calls from our friends, neighbors, and family.
    But what happened to that long mid-March to do list?  What about the farm?  Where are we at?  By God's provision, we're about as caught up as ever.  Of course, on a farm, you're never caught up!  But the spring crops are coming along with some of them even ready to harvest, the bees are making honey (earlier in the year than they ever have due to the hot spring we've had), the cattle and goats are out on pasture, and the firewood is mostly picked up.  And most important, the children are well.  That said, losing a week and half at a busy time of year does have consequences - some crops are probably going in a bit later than they otherwise would have, a few more hives swarmed than they might have otherwise, etc.  So we've decided, if anything doesn't go as we'd like this year, we'll just use this as our on-going little excuse.