Happy Independence Day, Subscriber First Name!

I want to start with a special thanks to our newsletter subscribers pictured below who came out to pull invasive thistle and horehound in our pastures! We appreciate Eve, Robin, Nathaniel, Clancy, Clara, and Robyn for your hard work and wonderful company!

A soulful day.

That was our collective reflection on our morning spent together pulling horehound and thistle from the North pasture and enjoying lunch together afterward. It felt so good to do physical work with tangible results in a good-spirited company.

It can be hard to ask for help.

“Learning to ask for help is win-win. Your burden lightens and someone else is blessed.”

Wise words from my dear friend and newsletter subscriber, L. Manning.

I want to keep these words close to my heart the rest of summer as we face record-breaking heat waves.

I also loved the treat of diverse, unique companionship. So many hands make quick work of the task, but the people those hands belong to? They make it happy work too.

I can’t thank this team enough for answering my call for help. Due to popularity, we will be hosting more of these days, possibly a workday each month!

Surviving record-breaking temps at Big Rock

What a doozy the end of June was! We have had crazy hot temps for our area, many days over 100 degrees and two days over 110 degrees! We were very thankful to have installed an air conditioning unit last Fall. What a relief it was.

We had to ramp up our animal chores; however, only so much can be done in extreme heat. We ran sprinklers, made sure animals had access to loose salt for electrolytes and full water troughs for hydration. That was about all we could do.

One chicken died despite our efforts, and most lost some feathers, all looking a bit worse for wear. However, egg production is still decent, so they must be fairing alright.

We had three broody hens hatch out three eggs. After that, one hen took over chick-rearing responsibilities; she is doing very well keeping the chicks healthy in the heat; it’s incredible.

I struggled with dehydration despite our attempts to stay inside during the heat of the day. Animal care-wise, we had to pack more action into the mornings and nights. I’ve struggled in recent years to hydrate my body between impaired liver function and taking pharmaceuticals.

Dehydration sucked, but I had an underlying current of fear that our two cows would give birth during this massive heatwave. Summer Solstice marked the start of calving season. We kept our eyes on udder development. There was little colostrum building up in bags and none in the teats; we were relieved.

Calves handle 10° better than 100°; I was fully prepared to have a baby calf in our living room under the mini-split fan, haha.

Ginny did calve in the early evening on July 2nd to a male ‘bull calf”. No complications!

Sharing a quick fav for summertime!

I have been enjoying the SAME Primally Pure lip balm for TWO years now! I ordered a bunch of balms as bridesmade’s gifts in 2019. I kept the grapefruit; it is so yummy! Nathaniel and I both use the charcoal deodorant too, it is the only deodorant we will use.

Their ingredients are sustainably-sourced from small farms(LOVE) and their products are made right here in America. Everything is non-toxic and their are no artificial ingredients. I am very careful about what I expose my body to, but their products I don’t hesitate to try out and use.

I will be trying their mosquito spray and hand sani this order around.

Click the button below to save 10%(I get some bucks to spend there, so thanks!)

Do you want to learn Gluten-Free Sourdough?

This month I will be taking 3-5 people under my wing to teach what I have learned. You must be motivated and ready to build a starter and get baking GF bread!

You will help me know what I need to improve and help me answer common questions that pop up. Please reply to this email or seek me out on social media/messenger if you want to be apart of this exclusive group! I have a blog post coming soon that I will share with you so you know exactly what you need to get started!

I have not yet determined the pricing of the video course that will be coming, but those that help me in this initial phase will get access to the course as a courtesy for helping me!

Happy Fourth from The Ginny’s! (L>R: Lil’ Gin, Ginny, Nuts)