Foggy Bottom is not only a neighborhood in our nation's capital but also on our farm.
The precipitation we have received this year is close to double normal amounts. This has made for frequent flooding and foggy mornings, even a snow-covered one earlier this week. Our bottom ground is susceptible to flooding, so we have to be vigilant about which animals are where during such times.
Bovines and hogs are most adaptable to wet conditions, while sheep and goats are the least. The former originated in the humid forests of Southeast Asia, while the latter stem from the arid hillsides of the Middle East.
Our cattle are accordingly weathering this wet year better than the sheep. Parasites have been thriving in the humidity of the year and are dragging down the ovines, despite our practise of frequent rotation and 45-day rest periods for pasture. We probably needed 60 to 90-day rest periods this year. Next year we will make changes toward that goal.
So, our low lying fields in Foggy Bottom have often been wet this year, and today we had to move the bovines from their recently flooded break of grass to an adjoining one on higher ground, as below. We would much rather deal with too much water, however, than too little.
Last month we saw damage wrought by hogs to a hillside. This month we see how an application of annual ryegrass, protected by a hot-wire, is healing that hillside.
We will have frozen turkeys for pick-up this Sunday at Clark Montessori, for those who ordered them. We will have a few extra on-hand to accommodate last minute purchases. We will also have a number of smoked capons ready to go, which serve well as a small turkey. Let us know if you would like to reserve a capon.
As we wrestle with abnormal levels of precipitation, we remember our bretheren in California, suffering from abnormal drought and horrendous wildfires. What tragedy they endure. May our moisture bless their hillsides soon. No force in Nature is greater than that of water present or absent.
In this season of thanks, we bow in gratitude that we witness fog in our bottoms.