I have been reading "The Dirty Life" by  Kristen Kimball.  It is about a couple in their 30s who find some land in New York and build a big old fashioned farm.  Their goal is to provide local people with all the food they need using organic methods and horses instead of tractors.  The work they do is incredible and back breaking.  The book covers the first year up to their wedding and then sort of summarizes and highlights things that happened in the 6 years after that.  They actually succeed which is amazing and, at least to me, surprising.  In most of the other books I have read like this, the author usually gives up and moves on to something less demanding.  

When I first started my little farm, I too thought I would like one of those all around old fashioned farms but I only wanted to feed my family, not 100 families in addition to mine.  I have discovered just how difficult it is and how demanding.  I cannot even begin to do it all myself and it is a good thing that Steve still has a job.  Perhaps if he was a full time farmer we could make a go of it.  I have friends that do but most of them also still have income from something other than their farm.  Maybe if we were younger or more dedicated we could do it, but I don't think so.  I think now that it is something people did because they absolutely had to to survive.  I am grateful for the little farm I have.  I can manage most of the work by myself and I am not totally dependent on the success or failure of my tomato crop.  It was an interesting book that I would recommend, especially to anyone who is thinking of farming.

I had the most successful day at the Farmers' Market this week that I have had so far.  The art lady was very pleased with her apron.  She took it out of the bag and wore it all around the market showing it off to everyone!  Great advertising for me! Ha!  I also sold a teddy bear and another llama doll.  People seem more excited about the soft fleece blankets, gloves and hats now that the weather is cooling down some.  The Farmers' Market runs til the end of October so I hope to sell many more items over the next few weeks.  

I have decided to stop feeding the alpacas pellets because of the choking hazard they present.  The cost of timothy bales has gone down some and they still carry them at a Tucson feed store.  Sometime this week Steve and I will go get a truckload.  Steve is also planning on rebuilding the goat shelter this week.  The straw bale shelter is not very stable and the goats, active as they are, tend to knock the bales around and knock the roof off.  We'll probably pile the bales around the new shelter once it is completed to give them more insulation when it gets cold and something to climb on.

The monsoon is lingering longer than anyone ever thought it would.  We had rain and thunderstorms again today.  It is starting to cool off though.  I re-potted two big plants today, a fern and a large leafed tropical one.  I cut off most of the tropical leaves and put it in a hanging basket.  I asked Steve to drill some new holes in the Arizona room to hang more of the plants when I have to move them back inside.  He should be able to get that done sometime this week too.  As for me, I hope to get more aprons made and maybe some Christmas stuff.