
Just a small portion of our trench, showing a new hydrant install, as well as the partially-repaired electric that was cut by the backhoe, and phone line still waiting for repair
So, my weekly gratitude photo is a bit different this week. This time, I’ve never been so grateful that I decided NOT to do a project myself.
We’re having some serious infrastructure work done on the farm. We’re running electrical to the barn (no more extension cord from the house to the air compressor or block heater on the tractor! Lights in the winter!), the summer kitchen to be, and the greenhouse/X’s shop. We’re also putting in a two inch irrigation mainline from the well out about 480 feet, which should allow much lower maintenance and higher efficiency irrigation of the veggie field.
I was a bit worried about all of the underground obstacles to work around, so we hired a local electrician friend. Such a good call! Besides the fact that they have a lot more equipment and experience, he brought a 5 person crew out to work, expecting it to take a day and a half. Well, until they cut the pipe from the well with the backhoe. Then the electrical with the backhoe. Then couldn’t find the phone/internet (it wasn’t where the location service flagged it), until they decided to dig the electrical a bit deeper to make it easier to repair. Oops, the phone was in the same trench, just a bit deeper than the electric. Then they ran the trencher through the drain line from the geothermal system. Then two drain lines from the septic…
This all makes them sound incompetent, but that’s really not the case. Things at our place were just not done in a normal manner. I almost certainly would have run into each and every one of the same problems they did. But wouldn’t have insurance to cover it, nor the experience fixing it all, nor the time to deal with the setbacks. Suffice it to say, we still have no internet, the well is only producing a fraction of the flow rate it should, the lane is all torn up, and they’re probably only about half way done. Hiring it out, even though somewhat more expensive than what I expected it would cost to have done it myself, may just be the most cost effective of choices we could have made!
Meanwhile, we did an OK, job following the menu last week. The Tromboncini Fajitas turned out to be an amazing inspiration – really, the best fajitas I’ve had. So, we’re going to repeat significant chunks of the same menu this week. It’s seasonal, an yummy, and, well, there’s a lot of stuff and only a little inspiration.
Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | Notes/Prep | |
Mon | Zucchini Bead Peach | Dining Hall | Dining Hall | Blueberry Festival Parade Lancer Band |
Tues | Zucchini Bead Peach | Caprese Salad | Tromboncini Fajitas Salad | No Farmers' Market Lancer Band Make something for mentees |
Wed | Zucchini Bead Peach | Tromboncini Fajitas | Lamb Burgers w/ Fresh Tomatoes & Onions from the garden Roasted Tromboncini Squash Green & Yellow Wax Beans Watermelon | Mentor/Mentee Time |
Thur | Zucchini Bead Asian Pear | Dining Hall | Sausage Spaghetti Pie (from freezer) | Retreat, Late Lessons, & Late Duty |
Fri | Zucchini Bead Asian Pear | Sausage Spaghetti Pie | Harvest Panic - piece while picking | Harvest |
Sat | Zucchini Bead | Munching at the Market | Pizza? | Farmers’ Market |
Sun | Zucchini Bead | Dining Hall | Market Leftover Stir Fry | Garrison Parade |
New from the farm: The current produce list is over 25 items long!
Groceries: Park N. Shop – $2.82
Wow! Your own peace of mind is often the single most important reason to hire out a job. Sounds like a busy time on the farm! Do you have time to chat next weekend? Let’s make a point of it!
Hey, Tim,
Things are crazy right now, but maybe after Farmers’ Market saturday evening… If you’ll be around, I’ll give you a call. Probably easier that way, because I don’t know exactly my timeframes, nor whether the farm phone will be operational again by then…