Cedar the highland surveys her kingdom.
She & Willow are just beside the main Topsy #farmyard.
We're working on building a nice platform/railing/deck for our visitors to say hi
Right now the viewing area is a piece of salvaged plywood.
Topsy is leveling up.
But, leveling up...1/5
in a way that feels right for us.
Each new click of the gear gets us closer to the place where we would like to be.
What does that look like?
It looks like the #animals getting the best possible care, all of the time, & not having to factor in what a vet costs or how much a...2/5
particular medicine costs.
The Topsy staff always has enough human resources to mostly work on projects they want to work on most of the time.
It looks like more #rewilding.
It looks like having #SallysGarden as a #teaching, #workshop space.
It looks like the buildings...3/5
straightened up & wood rot fixed.
It looks like the #wool, #retail part of our business expanding to a national scale that we are comfortable with.
That simply, running the #farm well is the marketing plan for the #blankets, #yarn & all the other wonderful offerings...4/5
#TheCannons at #TopsyFarms
"The Royal George! There, Captain, at the horizon, I see her!"
Autumn 1812
7 gunships of the #USNavy lay in ambush for the biggest kid on the playground. #TheRoyalGeorge.
96 feet long.
22 cannons, firing 32 pound shot.
In June 1812, President...1/10
Madison declares war.
It's not going well.
The Americans desperately need a win.
Manifest destiny; the vision of a North America united under the 15 stars & stripes is delayed.
The audacious British General Brock has gone against Royal order & attacked first.
Brock's...2/10
friendship with Shawnee leader Tecumseh is already kicking the hell out of America's war plan.
The loss of strategically important #FortDetroit in August is a terrible embarrassment.
Surrendered without firing a single musket.
Brock calculates that strengthening the...3/10
Lambing Season
"Willpower & skillpower are a cheat code"
Topsy got hit by a 3-day power outage.
In the country, on a farm, the loss of electricity is a very serious problem.
Large capacity freezers filled with perishable food.
Sally requires a special machine so that she...1/8
can eat.
The flock needs water pumped into their pastures.
Electricity powers the fences to keep the coyotes out & the sheep in.
A blackout here is a problem beyond the inconvenience of a dead cell phone or that episode of Ru Paul's Drag Race we were looking forward to.
The...2/8
Topsy team crushed this past week.
Crushed.
The big generator started right up with just a couple pulls.
Workshop Team had given it a full service after the last power outage (mid winter) - new oil, filters, & fuel with a stabilizing agent.
The generator has enough capacity...3/8