August is typically a busy month here at Mossygoat Farm. Blackberries, plums, and the garden bounty are ready to harvest and preserve. The rainy season must be prepared for. All the projects started in the expansion of summer must be completed. Everything seems to need to be done at once.

Speaking of blackberries, if you are also enjoying the autumn blackberries, be sure to check out my recipe for gluten-free Farmhouse Blackberry Muffins.

Last year this time of year saw Timothy with a broken ankle and with only one of us working the farm, things didn’t get done. This seemed to double the work this year in cleaning out the deep bedded sheep stall and the barn but it’s finally finished: all the bedding has been removed, the walls and floor have been washed down, and the matts repositioned. I sincerely thank the Mossygoat kids (not kids anymore) for helping with this project.

preparing for winter on the farm cleaning stalls

Here is Rosarita checked up on the progress of getting her stall put back to together.

mustang horse in stall holistic horsemanship

I still managed to find time for some domestic pursuits as homemaking is important to me. I put the finishing touches on turning a dress that never quite fit right into a skirt (see below). I am trying to work on living life more and being on Instagram less and I really enjoyed the quiet hand sewing snuggled next to Jill the cat. Speaking of domestic pursuits, I finally published the recipe for the gluten-free Marionberry Velvet Cake that our daughter created. This cake was honestly the best cake that I have ever eaten and was better than my wedding cake. There are only a few extremely non-aesthetic pictures, and the blog post is basically just the recipe. When she makes the cake again, I will be sure to have her take photos so that we can add more detailed instructions.

tales of a wild homemaker dress to skirt hand sewing

Whether you believe autumn begins on August 2nd, September 1st, or September 23rd, it’s either here or arriving quickly. Autumn means new routines and a new chance for balance to return after the out breath of summer. Routines always change with the seasons and this is the first year that we have no homeschooling on the farm so that is a big adjustment to make. It’s a little sad but also happy: we are now the parents of two college students.

No deep thoughts today as they are stuck in my head. I am preparing to write about sheepish gardening as well as choosing a kinder path (in horsemanship and in life) but this will be in the future.

I can report that we did a mini scientific study on how much water wool pellets hold. I will write more in depth about our methods in the future, but our definitive answer is that wool pellets hold over 4X their weight in water. Actually, they hold nearly five but nearly five isn’t five, so we are going with the fact that wool pellets hold over four times their weight in water. This is actually really amazing and can revolutionize water wise gardening because they hold on to this water without sogging down the plants and then release it slowly back into the soil as needed.

In closing, before I get to the late august photos, don’t forget to start planning your thanksgiving meals. Check out our recipe for Simple Autumn Churney which is a delicious and healthier alternative to cranberry sauce. Also remember that our whole website is 25% off until 9/21 to celebrate late summer and early fall.