Associate Producer Jack debuted in his first episode today at 4:29PM, weighing 7lbs even. I pushed him out with no pain meds - though by the end I was screaming for an epidural but it was too late. Jack was already on his way out. I have never experienced pain like that in my entire life. I can’t even believe I survived and I’m not being dramatic. Thank you all for the prayers and comments, I’ve read each of them and they carried me through. We can talk all about it in our next editorial board meeting. For now, Im gonna try to get some sleep (well, after some ice cream.) We did it!
The morning after our coldest night in Florida was filled with bashing ice out of water buckets. When we lived in Washington state, we had bucket warmers, but we have never needed them here in Florida. Moving the chicken coop with all the insulation was a challenge. Milking the goats with frozen fingers was no fun but at least I wasn’t the goat having my teats grabbed by frozen fingers. Otherwise, it was just another crazy day on the farm!
We survived our coldest night ever in Florida since moving here in May 2023. It got down to 24 but the “feels like” was 16. Florida infrastructure is not built with such cold in mind, and we don’t have appliances like water bucket heaters on our farm because we never need them. It was a great reminder why farming sounds so idyllic until it gets really cold. I am glad we don’t deal with this every day for 6 months like our friends who live near our old home in Washington state. Kudos to the farmers who brave far tougher conditions than this all winter to keep food on our tables.
You think you have drastic hormonal swings? Meet Heidi, our first goat and Peter’s #1 lady. She is a total maniac every 3 weeks when she is ready to breed. Heidi is definitely the alpha female in the herd so she makes sure everyone knows she is in charge. This time she tried to show me that she is my boss and I’m hoping my NO was loud and clear.