Merry Christmas!

 Well Christmas is upon us all. Amy and I have traveled back to WV for the holidays to see her parents and family and friends. We were up over Thanksgiving as well. It is about a 7 hour drive for us each way and with the weather being so cold this time, it was definitely harder as we brought the pups with us. We left the house at 46 degrees and hit 0 degrees 2 hours later at the top of Fancy Gap, VA. It never really warmed up from there. And to top it off the WOF mobile developed a running problem we diagnosed on the final leg, so that means repair work this morning. Some very close friends of ours have offered the use of their shop near their farm so thankful for that. I say that as it is 2 degrees this morning with a high of 16 forecasted today. Definitely better than yesterday but still cold for transplanted Tarheels. 

I am starting to get the seed-  ordering feeling this year as the catalogs have been steadily arriving at the farm. I have some work to do on the beds and then I am going to make a solid plan on what we will be planting this year. I also have thoughts on a greenhouse build as I am taking down a pool deck and will have some excess materials (after back deck repair.) I cruised by Our Happy Acres last week and noticed Dave had one and inquired how his was built. This is something I have wanted for a while so we'll see how it plays out in this spring's preparations. As far as the seeds, I definitely will be getting some heirloom tomatoes as we love a good tomato. Also will get our standard cucumber and green peppers. We'll see what happens. I do have some left over seeds from last year that I need to check for viability. I usually order from Territorial Seeds, Sow True Seed and Peaceful Valley. 

And with that we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. 

Winding Down 2022

 Hello and how are you doing? I hope everything has been well for everyone. There have been many changes here on the 'farm' so let's dive right in to that.

Our business slowed down this year, more than likely due to the economy, so I searched for a full time job. I was hired in July at the same company my youngest son works at but was laid off three weeks later, dur to 'going in a different direction.' It took me a while to get that one. So I went on a short golf trip and started applying again when I returned. I eventually was hired by The Town of Benson, NC as their project manager. I started at the end of October. It is a little different from what I have done in the past but I do like the work environment and people. I will say it is demoralizing getting so many rejection letters and emails. I know my age had a lot to do with that although companies will not admit that. I will also say that my commute is a lot shorter than my last one was a few years ago. 15 to 20 minutes to get to work now. I would love to have my wife find something closer too as I know her commute is hard on her. 

Here we have Sir Benjamin Woffington the Third

And Lady Matilda Mae of Woflandia.

Otherwise known as Benjamin, B- dog, or Scooter and Tilly, Tilster or Brat Dog. They have been with us for a little while, Benjamin 3 years and Tilly 2 years. Benjamin is a mix of Saint Bernard, Boxer, and a few other things and Tilly is a Husky/ Malamute mix. She is definitely wild at times (especially when she was little) and Benjamin has taken up the role as farm WOF. He is definitely attached to my wife and Tilly hangs with me mostly. Always something with these two. And Princess Leia the cat is still going strong, sleeping everywhere and letting the dogs know she is in charge. 

We still have our Etsy business running and we have reduced our booth presence to one location now. 

We need to work on more than we do but now time is limited with me working full time now. We sell antiques and vintage items, both online and in the booth. We also sell repurposed and original furniture in the booth. With the holidays coming up I hope we do well. Check us out. Google WOFdog Farms Trading Company. 

The garden this year was pretty much a bust except for some cucumbers. It all falls on me as I didn't put the effort into it. Next year it will definitely be different and I am expanding it. I don't think grocery items are going to drop too much so it is good to plan ahead. I am on the fence about chickens but Amy isn't. She is not too keen on them but I am still considering getting some. I think now is the time to place the order for them. I have downloaded some coop plans and will build one, hopefully to make it a little mobile. 

The 'fix the garage door' item from last post was this. My oldest bought a trailer and lent it to me to move some furniture out of a storage building. One day I was going to hook up to it and take it up to where he works so he could have it back. I pulled out of the driveway to back up to it, saw my neighbor coming up the street, panicked, reversed too quickly and hit a bush on the side of the driveway. I then really panicked, pulled forward, then reversed even faster. I hit the trailer which hit a set of metal nesting tables, that hit the garage door hard, knocking it off of the tracks and putting a good dent in it. Took me the better part of 3 hours to get it fixed enough to operate correctly. What a way to start a day. It seems my to do list keeps growing. 

That's about it for now. Back to watching Hallmark movie and list a fe more things on Etsy. See you soon.

2022 Has Rolled Around

 And here it is. Almost another year between posts. Almost. As stated last time things have changed here on the farm for us and a lot has happened between then and now A quick run down:

I started working full time on our 'side business' 
We have picked up a new WOF and another companion for the WOF
Garden was decent last year but I plan on a good one this year
Cat still being another WOF around here. 
Amy still works full time and has been doing well in that regard
We have expanded our original Etsy business to include a website and currently two antique booths.
I have been redoing furniture for some time now. 
We look like we live in an episode of hoarders at times. 

I have been pondering on what to do for the garden this year and I think we'll be trying some new varieties and more items that we can keep for the remainder of the year. A true year- round (almost) garden. I have also considered getting chickens this year too. 

I have a ton of photos and detailed information to come but as of now I have to get some packages ready to ship and fix the garage door (more on that later too) so I can get furniture out to the booths. Until this weekend stay safe kids.