The last two mornings I've slept well and woken up early, unusual because generally on the nights when the moon is full our room is so bright I often have trouble sleeping. January's Wolf Moon has been good to me, though, and I'm currently very well-rested.
The weather has been freakishly warm -- 82 degrees was our record-breaking high temperature yesterday -- so the mornings are also warmer than usual (44 right now). It seems strange to stand outside on a January morning in a t-shirt and not freeze, but I'm not complaining. It seems stranger still to be working at the winery and have to throw open all the doors at 2 p.m. because it's actually hot and we need a breeze, but again, I'm not complaining -- the warm weather and breezes feel sooo nice.
The one specter looming on the horizon is our lack of precipitation. We've had absolutely no rainfall since before Thanksgiving, and are already in a drought situation. everyone in our area relies on some sort of well water, but it has a high mineral content, so rainfall is necessary to wash away the salts and accumulated mineral build-up from the ground to keep the crops healthy. Without rain, we're looking at reduced crops here on the homestead as well as out in the area vineyards.
This week I worked three days in a row, so other than hanging wash and putting some water on my winter crops (the lettuces are tasting lovely right now, carrots are growing strong and onions are still getting started) I haven't been outside checking the property much. I pretty much do what I have to do then start getting ready to go down to the winery. We are bottling white wines right now, so the tasting room is a hub of activity...bottling volunteers (mostly from our wine club) coming in and out, the usual lunch-and-tasting crowd, then a big meal and wine outside on the sunny veranda for the volunteers late in the afternoon, once the work is done.
These days are lovely, filled with sunshine, nice people, good food and of course plenty of great wine. It makes me appreciate living here all the more. I just hope we get some rain soon.
This next week I will be back, on-property, full-time, so pens will get cleaned (including the one we live in lol). And we're in discussion with our neighbors about doing a pig share, and getting a couple of hogs raised and butchered before summer's heat sets in. The chest freezer is alarmingly empty at this point, and my sister-in-law is taking a break from hog-raising now that her kids are done with FFA.
Not sure we can live without chops and bacon.
I'm glad you enjoyed the full moon! I got the crazy side of it I think. Haha lots of bizarre behavior on promenade (from me too, I'm sure). Also I see you've taken down your 'mean girls' post. Which is too bad because it was very thought-provoking to me. But I understand. Occasionally I will write and post things where I sort of "sound off" and instantly regret that feeling of negativity. But I was right there with you. Why women perpetuate that term is unclear to me. I think it's a shame that feminism has become a twisted word and doesn't actually represent what it used to mean. I also think it's unfortunate when society uses once-vague words and makes them labels. My experience is the word 'lifestyle'. To me, lifestyle is how you set a table or how you spend your time. Now it means GAY. "I don't agree with that *lifestyle*" makes me cringe. So maybe you're just a mean girl and I'm living a non-biblical lifestyle. As in, you have your own words and thoughts and I don't have a 15 year old wife.
ReplyDeleteI did *exactly* the same thing as you...I left it up for a day and then took it down because I did get that negative feeling from it! A day later and now I wish I'd left it up and not deleted it. And, you're right, it always seems to be women pointing fingers at other women whenever the "mean girls" term is used (leaving you to wonder which girl is really the "mean" one?)
ReplyDeleteI still refer to myself as a feminist, if it puts people off then so be it. I've also told my husband and sons THEY are feminists, too, because they treat women as equals.
It's funny no one ever talks about straight people coupling up as their "lifestyle choice" isn't it? I find that term usually gets bandied about with intolerant people, who secretly believe gay people can choose to be straight, hence the term, lifestyle CHOICE. I suppose I've also *chosen* to have a size 7 foot and 10 fingers and toes by their logic.
But here's something interesting ... hetero couples who are "swingers" do actually refer to the way they live as living "the lifestyle." It's kind of code word for their poly-amorous relationships. Now some people are going to think they're gay, too, and it will all get tremendously confusing. I'm starting to think labels should go -- most are too vague to be useful, often confusing and potentially hurtful to those they claim to identify!