Facebook stole my soul.

Well, not really, but that's where I've been hanging out during the limited amount of computer time I have. The great thing about fb is that I can chat while baking or doing other housework, and the short little bursts lend themselves more to my lifestyle than blogging these days, it seems.

I want to thank all of you who have reached out to check in--I'm really humbled by the care and consideration.

I haven't lost interest in the farm blog, but we've had a difficult year here, and I find it hard to be inspired to write about the farm when life itself is in limbo. Jim quite understandably grew tired of his hellish work commute, and we've gone back and forth over the past six months or so about whether we should sell the farm, whether he should quit his job, and any number of other potential solutions. We've decided to stay put for a while longer and find ways to feel less tied down by the farm, so we're in the market for a good farm sitter if you know any.

Of course, the fact that we've all gotten into skiing/ snowboarding this winter has helped make our decision easier as well. Being 15 minutes from the slopes has its appeal! We just need to free ourselves more for summer beach trips that will help feed our souls.

We've gotten lots of snow this winter season, which has been wonderful, but unfortunately brought the collapse of one of our high tunnels and the loss of a litter of piglets. As with everything in life, there are ups and downs.

I'll post more pictures and updates soon, but for now, a teaser photo of some of the animals enjoying the snowy day.

Wheeeee! New Camera!

I'll be playing with it all day today.

My Camera Is On the Fritz...

... and it's crampin' my style. More posts soon, promise.

I can bring home the bacon...

Fry it up in a pan....


This is Jules's first rabbit of the season; she's quite a good shot.

Last year she got one while wearing a bikini:



And here's one of my favorite photos—target shooting in a leopard suit:



Julia plans to sit for her hunting license this year and head out deer hunting on kids' day. Jim has modified a deer rifle for her (or some such thing). I really don't know what I'm talking about, but since he's not posting these days....

Blog Look

Just an fyi type thing...

I liked the background, but the slow scrolling was driving me batty. So, we're back to the ameraucana blue background.

A New Look for the New Year

I've been playing around with my blog, as you can see. I'll be updating the look and content over the next couple of days, archiving my 2008 lists and making those for 2009.

Happy New Year to All!

Doings

This is a tough time of the year for me... the kind of waiting game, knowing that I'm about to have a ton to do with planting, etc. but still not quite warm enough to be doing it. I'm chomping at the bit, looking for little projects, avoiding some others, waiting for bigger things to get done like the plowing, waiting for the weather to cooperate and the soil to be dry enough. Waiting. And trying to find little things to occupy my time.

But little doings add up, too, and it's not just the big stuff that keeps one ahead of the game come season. Of course, many of these things involve spending money rather than doing work, but still... here's a list of some of those little things:

• ordered bee hives:
  After much hemming and hawing over size, I ordered two standard deep hives from Brushy Mountain Bee Farm in North Carolina. A standard hive full of brood and honey can weigh up to 100 lbs, so I was seriously contemplating going with a medium hive instead, which will weigh around 60 or 70 lbs. Ultimately, I decided to go with standard equipment in the hope that it will make life slightly easier in the long run, although it seems nothing is completely standard in the bee world.
  
  Brushy Mountain offered free shipping to beginning beekeepers enrolled in a bee course this year, so I took them up on the generous offer. Unfortunately, things are backordered and they're running a bit behind schedule, so I'm hoping to have enough time to assemble the hives before my nucs are ready, around the 2nd week of May. I'm pretty sure that the only things I'll need to assemble are the hive frames, so it shouldn't take too long. Of course, there are 40 of those, so...
  


• ordered amaranth and quinoa seed:
  This year, we'll be planting three test plots of grains: hulless oats, amaranth, and quinoa. I was able to get my oats from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, my favorite local source, but I needed to do some shopping around for the other grains and ended up getting a pretty good deal from Wild Garden Seed out in Oregon. They're not local by any stretch, but they look to be a good company, and they sold the seed in bulk rather than by packet only.
  
  I ordered 1/4 lb of burgandy amaranth, an ounce of Hopi red dye amaranth, and 1/4 lb of red head quinoa. I also decided to try a packet of huauzontle, a grain I'd never heard of before, based on their description. A chenopodium like quinoa, it's related to lamb's quarters, but is an ancient Aztec green/ grain version that is supposed to be more reliable than lamb's quarters in addition to being a beautiful red color. I'm not sure yet how I'll grow it with regards to cross pollination, but I wanted some nonetheless; I may use it solely for microgreens and salad greens.
  


• ordered 25 tulip poplar trees and 25 hybrid willows:
  We live on such a small acreage that I've been searching for some way to produce at least a portion of our own wood fuel, and while these are both soft woods, making them less ideal than traditional hardwoods like oak, they also grow quickly—about 6' per year—making them good possibilities for a staggered yearly harvest. Willow, in particular, can be coppiced, the practice of cutting the trunk to the ground, allowing multiple side shoots to grow, which can then be harvested for firewood.
  
  Another advantage of planting these species will hopefully be to provide quick-growing shade in our pastures for the livestock, something we've been wanting to do since we moved in. Our land is primarily pasture, with a long hedge-row running along the back that provides some morning shade, but no afternoon shade. The pastures can be brutally hot during the high summer, often about 5-10° hotter than the house yard. The hedgerow, too, is overgrown with several invasive species, including honeysuckle and Chinese sumac, which we've been working to clear since we moved in to enable the native Eastern cedars and staghorn sumac to gain footholds. We're hoping to use our goats to help with some of this now that Jim's pulled the fenceline through the tangled mess.
  
  I opted to go with native tulip poplars rather than the faster growing hybrid poplar because this native species is such an important food source for wildlife like the Eastern swallowtail and my bees. In fact, both poplar and willow are great food sources for honeybees: the willow will provide one of the first important sources of pollen, while the tulip poplar will provide a key nectar source. So, my hope is to accomplish several things with these two species of trees on our property.
  


• transplanted and divided some ornamentals:
  This is just typical gardener fare, moving and dividing and tweaking the gardens up by the house. Nothing terribly exciting, but it lets me get my hands in the dirt and feel like I'm actually getting stuff done.


• trying to get hens to set on collected fertilized eggs:
  And not being terribly successful, I must say. The hens have their own ideas and timelines and seem to be completely ignoring mine. So, I may be ordering chicks again this year as I try to identify which hens will be willing to act as my broody hens next year. I think, too, that I'll do a better job keeping the roosters separate to prolong our fertilization window. Unfortunately, this year, one of the roos got out into the general hen population, messing up my careful segregation. Live and learn.


• over-seeded pastures:
  With our rotation, we pull all the animals off the pastures sometime after Thanksgiving, giving the land a chance to rest all winter long. This also gets the animals closer to the barn, making winter feeding and watering much easier. We'll be turning them out into rotation in the next couple of weeks, keeping them off the parts I over-seeded for another couple weeks. The drought hit the pastures pretty hard last year, so I'm anxious to see how the grass comes back. Right now I'm seeing the cool season grasses but won't see the warm season for a little while yet.


• continue to water seedlings in high and low tunnels:
  I have several sowings of radishes, as well as tatsoi, turnip, beet, kale and chard growing now. Our temps are still dipping into the 20s at night, so the plastic will stay on for at least another week.


• planted two rows of peas in market garden:
  It's been too wet to plow on the weekends, so I had Jim use the walk-behind tiller against the fenceline to allow me to get at least the first sowing of peas in the ground. Hopefully either this week or next, he'll get the whole garden plowed, and I'll be able to begin some serious planting. Our seed potatoes won't be shipped out until the first week of April, so we should be able to get them in the ground shortly thereafter. I need to get the broccoli, onions, and carrots in asap, though I do have a round of carrots maturing now for harvest in the next few weeks.
  

Archive Meme, or That Damned Kevin

Kevin tagged me several posts ago, and I've been procrastinating as I'm wont to do with such tasks. This is an archive meme, which offers both me and my readers the opportunity to revisit favorite old posts—kind of like when your favorite tv show can't think of anything new so it does one of those flashback episodes that we all hate. At any rate, I suppose I can be thankful that Jim hasn't actually made me go through his blog and do the archive meme Jenny tagged him for, as he jokingly threatened to do.

Just to keep the joy alive, I tag El, Miranda, and Melinda because I've just started reading their blogs and would love to see some of their favorite old posts. And I tag Christy and Wendy because I like their thoughtful, reflective selves. *See below for meme directions.


Family
I don't wax poetic about family here (well, there was that one mushy post about Jim, thanking him for his love and all his work), but my family and the love we have for each other is the backdrop of every single moment on the farm. The two are intertwined and inseparable because the farm and the food we produce here are all about the time we share, the love we have for each other, and the amazing memories we build every day. Because of that, I've chosen my very first post, Farm Sweet Farm, to represent family. It's simple, elegant, and it encapsulates how love and a vision make the whole world possible.


Friends
Well, apparently I have no friends on this blog—they all reside at Organic Learning along with my family. But I do have evidence of friends! Unschooling farming friends no less! And I am so grateful for Nicolas and Madeline in Georgia, who welcomed us into their home and lives and shared their food and farm. And I'm grateful for my farming friend Jenny in New Mexico, with whom I share so many similarities, not the least being too much good red wine. And I'm grateful for my dear friends Christina and Tom in upstate New York, who neither unschool nor farm, but who provide endless support and stimulating conversation, not to mention beautiful art. Here's to wishing you all lived right down the road!


About Me


Really, need I say more?

Well, okay, if you want just a little more insight into what makes me tick, you could also check out this post.





Something I Love
Not long after we moved into our new home, we began wishing for a barn cat. Not long after that the universe saw fit to deliver not one, but five barn cats for us to raise and care for. I love those damned babies more than I ever could have imagined. I love them so much it makes my heart ache. Every time I see them, they bring a smile to my face. Since they're the first animals I feed when I go out to the barn, they're one of the first things I see, too—all lined up on my potting bench waiting for me—so I'll be smiling the whole way through my chores with the sheer joy of having them in my life.


Wildcard
With all the posts to choose from, the wildcard screamed out for the CSA because it took up so much of my time and vital energy last year. I threw myself into it head first, and although we had some touch-and-go moments with the drought, in the end I was pretty proud of how it turned out. We offered some damned good food to people, all grown completely without synthetic chemicals, and it's amazing what good, fresh, whole food offers people. Time after time, members and customers told me they made the best meal with our food, and there's nothing quite like being able to share that with another person.


*Archive Meme Instructions: Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you've written. ... but there is a catch: Link 1 must be about family. Link 2 must be about friends. Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are... what you're all about. Link 4 must be about something you love. Link 5 can be anything you choose. I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone had written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know. Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be *newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better....and don't forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

Ode to the Barn Coat

It's been friggin' cold here for the past week. My small ornamental pond is, we think, frozen solid through. So much for the fish. I think the larger pond is still okay, though we had to turn the pump off because the water could no longer flow through the frozen filter in the skimmer box.

Admittedly, I'm a total wuss when it comes to the cold. I just don't like it, and I've completely released those dreams of a beautiful New England farmstead as I freeze my rear off in the mountains of mid-Atlantic Maryland. I'm not even north of the Mason-Dixon line, for heaven's sake, and I've decided that I never will be! This is as far north as I go. It's not just the growing season thing anymore; it's the Danielle doesn't like the bitter cold thing.

The water has been freezing overnight and during the day, so we've been changing the water out 2-3 times a day for the animals. The other morning I took two chicken waterers out with me that had defrosted inside overnight. I fed the cats, our three goats, and walked down to feed the pigs. By the time I got back, the bases had frozen on again, and I couldn't get them off. I made due with the rubber tubs, which are much easier to deal with in the winter because we can just toss them upside down and give them a good stomp to get the ice out. The piggies have all these little mini ice blocks strewn about their pasture from the past week—it looks as if we went a little crazy with the salt licks.

My one saving grace has been my glorious barn coat—lined with thick, nubby, sherpa fleece, my barn coat is my best friend. It's warm, soft, durable, and does an excellent job of keeping out the bitter wind. I love my barn coat! When the barn door froze in place, and I leaned into it to get out—a little too hard with eggs in my pockets—my barn coat didn't mind a bit and kept that goopy mess nicely contained within the pocket, just waiting until I got inside and could turn it inside out in the mudroom sink to give it a nice wash.

I've been tagged on two different blogs!

Well, I've already lost this post once, so I'll try again...

Here's the dealio—the idea is to tell 6 weird things about oneself, then tag six people, creating a weirdo ponzi blogoscheme kind of thing.

So...

1) I like to play with words like synonym and cinnamon, saying them alternately over and over again until they become jabberwocky nonsense.

2) I frequently dance with abandon in my kitchen, surrounded by three laughing children and two barking dogs.

3) I like to rock climb, but I'm afraid of heights

4) I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

5) I have a bizarre skin condition called "dermatagraphia," which means I can write on my skin and have it show up seconds later exorcist style—I definitely would have been burned at the stake in a previous life.

6) I still sometimes get scared at night after I get up to go to the bathroom, so I race back to the bed and dive in as quick as I can, worming my way as far under the covers as possible, just like I did when I was six.

I don't know if I know 6 bloggers who haven't already been tagged—I think our blog circle is becoming too inbred!

I'm tagging Julie, Amanda, Leanne, Jen, Manisha and Vicki

MIA

Okay, yah, I admit it—I've been missing in action lately.

First, there was the totally unsustainable vacation we took to Disney World that we all absolutely loved! Of course, the amount of daily waste was absolutely staggering—in Disney, of course, but also at my mom's house where she recycles—get this—absolutely nothing! Yes, you read it right—absolutely nothing.

By the end of the trip, I was physically pained, unable to push the wanton disregard to the back of my mind any longer. Not only I, but the kids as well, as Em made me promise to bring the Lego cardboard surround 1000 miles home to recycle.

There's nothing quite like going out into the real world to realize just how much we are really doing. As a family of five, we put out one garbage can a week, and I wish it were less! It would be if I could get Jim to agree to let me burn more, but he argues that it creates really bad build-up in the flue. We're able to recycle most paper products, though, so it's really only the unburnable stuff that goes into the garbage. I save all the plastic containers that I can't recycle (our county only takes #1 and #2), and I reuse plastic bags whenever possible. Still more work to be done.

The other really big project I've been working on is getting our CSA up and running as a reality rather than a dream: Touch the Earth Farm. I'm really quite pleased with how it's come out, and the kids and Jim are really excited, too.

Wish us luck!

Happy (American) Thanksgiving!

Trying to plan out my day, so I figured I'd do it here, then update with photos tomorrow.

We have two turkeys to cook:

one 10 1/2 lb. free-range heritage turkey from our own farm, which Jim killed on Saturday, so he's been sitting for a few days to tenderize and has been in the garage brining for the past 36 hours,

and one 13 lb. kosher bird from the grocery store because my mother-in-law refuses to eat a "backyard bird."

Mashed potatoes grown on our farm

Green beans grown on our farm

Green onions grown on our farm for seasoning and stuffing

Sweet potatoes

Candied carrots


My mother-in-law is bringing the candied carrots, a coconut-custard pie and an apple pie.

I'm trying to motivate and make the pumpkin and pecan pies that I like, but I'm not feeling terribly motivated at the moment, which is why I'm sitting here typing this list rather than actually making any of it.


Goals for next year:
Homegrown pumpkins, which the deer crushed this year
Homegrown sweetpotatoes
Homegrown carrots, which we had but already ate
Home"grown" whipped cream from our goats
Homegrown sausage for the stuffing (yup! brought our piggies home yesterday!)

Farm Sweet Farm

We moved into our new 5.25 acre farmette the last day of June, 2005, and haven't looked back—well, the adults at least. The kids miss the old neighborhood and old friends, understandably, but they're having loads of fun, too. We have grand plans to renovate the property, focusing on restoring native habitat, preserving rare livestock, and growing heirloom fruits and vegetables. Our homesteading adventure embraces a vision of sustainable agriculture, a commitment to biodiversity and a quest for spiritual fulfillment in harmony with the earth.