The end of the year is always a big bang for us, the last big push to make some money before things go quiet around here for a few months.  This week we’re booked solid with wagon rides and I’m tempted to add a few more days of availability to our schedule.  It’s a tough sell, though.  Caitie (one of the draft horses) has just recovered from a bruised sole and I’d rather not work her back into lameness.

We’re perpetually short handed this year, so staffing may be the deal-breaker.  Turns out wagon drivers are a select group.

Meanwhile on the farm…

Lucy the Nigerian Dwarf nanny is looking for a Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!  She screams constantly. Whatever it is women do to attract a male, female goats’ equivalent is to scream when in heat.

All 4 of the does — Lucy, her daughter, and Ethel’s two girls — will be bred in January for June babies.  Why?  Because the flowers are better in June for us to take goatie photos.  Most farmers plan their breeding cycles around weather and milk production and whatnot.  I plan it around flowers.

Is it worth it?  You be the judge.

In the winery, not much is happening.  The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon is ready to be “racked” — siphoning the wine off the sediment that has settled in the bottom of the vessels.  That’ll have to wait until January.

The soap bench is chock-a-block with soaps and candles for the next release (mid to late January).  Chocolate and rose fragrances permeate everything, greatly improving the usual “eau de manure” around here.  (Honestly, it’s not that bad.)

Plans for Christmas Day rely heavily on my grotty old green bathrobe and loads of herbal tea.

Here’s hoping your Holidays are filled with family, love, peace, and safety.  I know, it’s a weird wish to articulate “safety” but 2020 is a weird year.

Take care!