Mindless

Sunday afternoon began with a broken lawn tractor belt, which resulted in quick trip into town, which isn't so quick when you live in the country.  It actually takes around 45 minutes round-trip.  Anyway, the broken belt led to a stop at Tractor Supply for a new belt, which led to me drooling over all the fruit trees they had for sale out front, and the next thing you know I was buying a pear tree.  And also a pair of gloves, and of course the replacement belt.

So I bought a sort of sad looking, tad bit stressed Kieffer Pear tree, and I'm hoping it makes it through the winter.  I might even go back and get an apple tree.  Thankfully, the tree is self pollinating. Which I didn't bother to even think about until I got it home.  I can be so mindless sometimes. But sometimes its good to stare off into the clouds...

Later in the day, I decided to put all three pigs together.  I was worried at first that Penny might harm the two little dudes, but she was thrilled to have new friends!  Let's hope she doesn't grow tired of them. 

Speaking of mindless, I agreed to adopt two pot-bellied sister pigs from a farmer friend.  What the hell was I thinking?  So now I'll have two more "lawn ornaments" to keep the goat company sometime soon.  I need names!  Any one have suggestions for two potbelly girls?  ~A

The Great Monsoon of 2015

Its not appearing very likely the first round of hay will ever be cut.  The rain is still coming, each day and every day.  Maybe Mother Nature drank too much dandelion wine and forgot to turn the sprinklers off.  It happens...

I'm behind horribly with the garden weeding.  A broken arm set things back quite a bit.  Though I did get some great help with the barn and now it is all back in place again.  I'll tackle the garden over my long Fourth of July weekend break from corporate life. 

I'm not sure what will be made of it though. It already looks like the radishes and cilantro have drowned, and the peppers are beyond suffering.  But the garlic, lettuce and corn look great! I was finally able to harvest some lettuce and make the first salad of the season.  That made tolerating all the rain a tad easier.  Fresh lettuce is so much nicer than store-bought.
 

I made some lovely cheesy, onion and bacon scalloped potatoes to go along...

New bunnies have made their appearance.  There two larger ones, and now two more that are only a few days old.  That's another thing I have to get a handle on.  It's well over due time for a grand slaughter of older chickens and bunnies.  And the pig will be ready soon too.  I'm down to a couple hams, a tongue, some blade steaks, and miscellaneous other cuts, but only a mere pound of the coveted bacon! 

New Arrivals

What do you get when you cross a Blue Slate Tom Turkey with a Bourbon Red Hen Turkey?  This...

New Arrivals, Part 2

In the last post I mentioned that I had gotten two new pigs.  Maybe you were wondering why I didn't show any pig photos? Wonder no more.  I still do not know which is the boy and which is the girl, because I haven't even given it a thought.  Too busy of a weekend!  I was preoccupied cleaning and trying to get a make-shift pen set up for the pigs, who will be staying inside the mudroom until the weekend, when the weather warms up.  I was also busy separating the Marans chicks from the Barred Rock chicks.  Which also confirmed my theory, that the one chick I did loose was indeed a Marans.  One of the expensive ones.  But of course!

Anyway, here are the pigs.  And Larry. He is trying to string bales of hay together to keep them in.  Which didn't work.  Which is another story...

 

 

Cold

Not many words today, just a few photos from this past weekend.  It's too cold to be motivated to write.  I keep telling my self this is the last of it, this bad weather.  It's taking its toll on the animals as well.  The horses have not been out for two days now, and the chickens.... I don't even know how long its been.  So no more words today, I'll let you imagine the weekend's stories...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farm Dogs

Snow doesn't seem to phase these two.  It was seven degrees this morning when I took them out for potty break.  They can't resist a good romp, no matter how cold it is.

 

Let it snow

Though there isn't a lot going on during this time of year on the farm, other than some early spring cleaning in the house, purging of old files and preparing for taxes, one still has to make time to ride.  Snow or not!

Snow doesn't bother Dottie as much as it does me...

Mud Fever

“When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes. ” 
― William Shakespeare, Henry V

The horses enjoyed a proper romp in the mud the other day...before everything froze and turned to ice and snow.  Hello January.   ~A

Shades of Brown

The last of the green is fading and the many shades of brown are creeping in.  Winter is nearly here.  The only sign of life in the garden is the parsley, who seems to be unaffected by the frost or snow.  The cilantro is hanging on by a breath, but starting to turn brown as well.

We had a lot of rain recently.  The creek gushed and swelled, and over-filled the little pond.  The dog dared not go for his usual swim.  He learned a time before after getting swept away a few hundred feet down little rapids in the creek. 

 

I miss the eggs from my hens.  I haven't found an egg in the nest box since late November.  I've heard from other fellow farmers everyone is experiencing the same thing at the moment.  Even my young hens won't lay. Store bought, factory farmed eggs are an abomination... Really!

~A

Nine Days

Nine days until twenty-some family members (and a few dogs) arrive for our annual Christmas gathering at the farm.  I'm not panicking.  Not me.  Not one bit.  I'm used to hosting visitors now. 

A fellow farmer friend once told me that if I ever have a farm, be prepared for visitors.  Many visitors.  Announced and unannounced.  He also told me that anyone who ever owns a farm should be very grateful because not many will ever have that opportunity, and in his opinion, its a farm owner's duty to show their gratitude for their precious gift by sharing their farm, its beauty, its animals and its bounty with family, friends, guests and visitors as often as they are able.  A very wise man, no?...~A

And so December arrives...

The last month of the calendar year has arrived. These last two months of the year have been so much easier than last year.  Much warmer. Much kinder. Much quieter.

I took a walk around the property over the weekend and noticed how much bigger the little pine trees were this year as compared to last.  Theses trees were not planted by me, they appeared on their own.  There are around ten of them total.  Last year they were no more then around six inches tall. Look at them now!

In anticipation of the upcoming Christmas / New Year's holiday break from work, I ordered a few books to get me even more excited about the coming year on the farm...Backyard Meat Rabbits, Butchering, and Goats, small scale.  Who doesn't like diving into a new book?

Happy December ~A

The winds are changing...

A little seasonal folklore...

"When deer are in grey coat in October, expect a hard winter"

"Much rain in October makes for much wind in December"

"A warm October means a cold February"

 

 Last fall,  all the wooly-bear caterpillars were pure black.  I haven't seen ANY this year so far. Maybe last year's polar vortex, winter-from-hell froze them all dead? 

Last fall, the first snowfall was October 24th.  We've had quite a bit of rain this October, but so far, no snow.  I'm glad.

I do hope this winter is nothing as miserable as last year's.  Although the animals did impress me with how well they coped and withstood it. 




The first frost of fall 2014

 

 

I wonder if the spider froze?

I wouldn't say its been a warm October.  And official winter is still two months away. But we did have our first frost about ten days ago.  Its dark in the early mornings now, and dark early in the evenings. It feels a bit like winter.  I still haven't gotten any wood in yet, but I do have a loft full of hay.  I hope you all are healthy, happily getting your wood stacked, and filling your pantries.  And may this winter be more kind to all of us. 

 

~A

New stock

A friend desperately needed to rehome three chickens.  So I took them in.  I don't know what the breed is.  If someone knows please tell me! Here is one of the trio... I wonder where she gets her" hair" done?

 

 Anyway, they all seem to be adjusting to the other chickens and turkeys and are holding their own just fine.  Odd as they are...  I hope you all have a wonderful Saturday.  ~A