Been awhile since I updated. Alot has gone on but not nearly as much as we wanted. Per our plan, the larger (300 ft x 300 ft) goat pen has been finished and a barn has been added. We re-purposed the metal siding off a partially collapsed RV shelter and the frame from an old 10 ft x 20 ft greenhouse for the barn. Unfortunately, the anchors for the building proved to be unworthy in a large wind storm and the whole barn moved approximately 2 ft and off its foundations. We are currently trying to figure out whether to try to move it back and re-anchor with heftier anchors or start over.

The male goats are currently in the new pasture. The does are in the smaller old pasture. We had one buckling in with the boys and 3 doelings in with the girls. These 4 precious babies went to their new home at my cousin's house yesterday.

My son and his family have chosen to move to their own place so my father (a young 74 yrs old) is now live-in foreman at Royal T Farm. We had one original garden spot measuring 60 ft x 70 ft. Our design included adding another garden spot the same size and placing a chicken pen between the two with access to both gardens for the chickens to work which ever side is not being planted. My father began working the old garden site with the chickens still in it. In the last week, we set all the wooden posts for both the chicken pen and the new garden site. The chicken pen was completed and our 9 chickens and their tractor were moved into it. Both Daddy and the chickens were ecstatic.

Since that time, he has managed to plant speckled butter beans, peas and some other kind of bean, red potatoes and yukon gold potatoes. His watermelon and tomato plants are coming up in the little greenhouse. He still has many more rows of various veggies to plant. We're looking forward to the end result of his hard work. Hopefully, freezers, pantry and root cellar will be full by winter.

While home, 100 strawberry plants (25 of 4 different varieties) were set out. Two fig trees, 2 Chinese chestnuts, 4 blueberry bushes and 2 fruit salad trees were also planted. We've had to remove several trees due to bug infestations and our design. To compensate for their loss, we're planting just as many new trees. In the fall, we'll plant Caddo sugar maples, mulberries and apples. I wish we could have gotten this done now, but we just ran out of time.

I feel we're just poking along and not accomplishing much. I have to remind myself that we're gone 3 months straight and only have 7 days to work on our design. In fact, we're actually doing quite well though it doesn't feel like it. We still haven't even taken the laser surveying equipment out of the box. I'd love to have that first swale put in and planted with at least clover or some other nitrogen fixing cover crop by winter. We need to control the water draining down to our house from the back pasture. Maybe in June we can try it out. The tractor we bought last year is a wonderful addition to the farm and is so worth the money. It is both a time and back saver and a worthwhile investment.