September Already

It is September again. A year ago today we took possession of the farm. Our only regret is we didn't do it sooner, a decade sooner. We love this lifestyle, we love this property.
We've had successes and failures. We read a lot of books and struggle to find the best way to do things. The Internet is a favorite resource answering many of our questions and our local co-op is on a first-name basis with Rob.
We've survived the first year with our enthusiasm intact, and that alone says a lot.
We've cut down saplings, raised chickens, our pigs are thriving, we have a great crop of onions and we're getting a wood stove next week.
We've lost three chickens (one was crushed as a day-old chick, one was a meat bird who died of heat stress and the third was our silver-laced Wyandotte who we had to put down because her neck was suddenly twisted and she couldn't hold up her head; the last one was the hardest as she was a beautiful, gentle bird).
The garden was a small version of what I planned. We weren't here enough early in the spring to get it ready and then the wet weather played havoc as well. But the onions and shallots did well. The lettuce flourished and we're now feeding it to the livestock because it has gotten too big. I have beets and tomatoes and cucumbers as well. The late carrots and turnips are growing and hopefully will be ready for a late fall harvest. I've learned mulching works well, but the site we're currently using probably doesn't get enough full sun. We'll look at relocating it for next year.
The days are already getting shorter and cooler; a sign of the passing season. This month I hope to get some tomatoes and make tomato sauce for the winter ahead. We're also harvesting two chickens a day (thank goodness Wally and Jen loaded us freezer space; we're having a delay in getting our own.) We'll have the pigs butchered late-October or early-November and be comfortable with the fact that we're providing the bulk of our meat.
While I don't look forward to the winter, there is a sense of personal satisfaction with all we've accomplished this year and we'll use the coming months to plan for the next season as well as enjoy the fruits of labours (as well as some farm-fresh eggs as the hens should start laying in another four to six weeks.)