My sweet husband works incredibly hard.  Long hours, stressful situations, on call 24-7, all part of the territory when one is in management.  Yet, he continues to support my scheming and dreaming for our family farm: Melville Farms.
Hubby Dearest is a reluctant farmer to say the least, but luckily he volunteers for a “honey-do” list of sorts. 
As summer turns to fall, days become  shorter, rain falls harder and my toddler is less willing to cooperate, I have quite the list for him:
1)Drainage: we want use of our small field in the winter, even if it’s only for poultry.  I discussed renting equipment to ease the task, but of course Mr. Do-it-himself went out there and dug a drainage ditch BY HAND.  It is well done, but a failed culvert has turned his hardwork and our access road into a lake complete with miniature waterfall.

(Faithful dog Ted testing out his new swimming hole)

(Our new water feauture: Waterfall de Melville)

2)Help winterize the coop: for some reason I feel like it’s a bad parenting decision to work on electrical with your toddler helping.. so the Hubs will be hooking up a light timer to keep those ladies laying!
3) New chicken housing- our multiple chicken tractors have served us well, but the ladies need some new digs and we are trying to improve production here on the farm by raising meat birds through the monsoon months as well as the happy-go-lucky summer months

(The Hubbity-hubs helping move one of the tractors around)

4) Contain the madness- I do not want chicken juices on my front porch as I have been there, done that, over that.  So imagine my suprise when I brought home 14 new chickens and over half of the newbies REFUSE to be contained.  The cozy coop, spacious winter run, treats and fun roosting options were not good enough for them apparently and dag nab it they flew the coop to then roam the world, coming in and out of the fenced area with ease and roosting 20 feet into the trees around the chicken house only mocking my attempts to lure them back to the rest of the flock. 
My Little Miss Q is only so helpful while I do daily chores or chase animals as she often tries to sample miscellaneous livestock poop like they are rare delicacies, attempts to jump in the impromptu lake, or break into the chicken coop and dig in their food. She is being an adventurous  kiddo, but as it can cut into my productivity I’m glad Sir Hubby Dearest is willing to help out on the farm!!!

(Q helping with her wheel barrow)

Wind was blowing rain into our living room window in loud sporadic sheets.  Sweet Little Miss Q was staring wide eyed as leaves ripped off branches and swirled away out of view.  Dense clouds turned the sun into a gray-blue twilight that lasted from dawn to late morning.  Only poultry remain on the farm as the butcher has come and our pastures recover over winter.  Though we are striving to have breeding livestock year-round, I’m not upset that I don’t have to water hogs, chase sheep, or mend fences today.  I will watch the storm and maintain caffeine levels.
Coffee is a food group on days like today.  I need the energy to continue the battle against spiders attempting to colonize my home.  Spiders of all shapes and sizes have decided that our humble abode would be the perfect place to nest.  I’ve found them in boots, blankets, beds, toilets, you name a room and I’ve likely chased a spider there.  My methods of removal vary based on my level of horror: when a choice specimen was crawling up the chest of my 15 month old I squished a quarter sized arachnid with my thumb and forefinger, when one crawled out of the towel drawer in the kitchen the weapon of choice was a cheese slicer, and when one dropped onto me in the shower I’m not sure which karate chop move did the trick but only one of us walked out alive…
The farm is a horror show in terms of spiders, webs and their ability to get in or around my hair or on my baby. I don’t mind spiders, they are important to food-webs and I am in awe of their natural ability to spin silk art.  But I pity the spider who chooses to jump from the chicken coop door onto Little Miss Q or flies through the air to land on my head… “oh was that an alder cone falling from that tree?” NOPE.
A few fun facts about spiders from Random History: 
1)There are typically 1 million spiders in 1 acre of land
2)Spiders are not only pollinators of plants but support bird and small animal diets
3)Spiders help control insect populations (which is increasingly important for years like 2015 when insect populations boom, thus negatively affecting food crops, timber production, and other environmental sectors)
4)Some of the most deadly spiders in the world include black widow and brown recluse (both of which have been found in the Pacific Northwest).

So, though I love spiders and all the work they do, I will fight the good fight to keep them out of my house and off my baby. If that includes squishing a quick little spider with the baby monitor as I write blog posts- so be it.

     
Little Miss Q watching the storm