Wrap it up

Well, sorry to have broken my promise to blog more this summer. I've got a list of excuses. First off: no camera. We had a torrential rain in early July, two and a half inches in two hours. During the storm, as I was running around in full panic mode, the camera got wet and well, no camera now. It's been a crazy summer. The drought has had us working twice as hard to get things to grow. If only there were more hours in the day! Our CSA was a success. We managed to make it go despite the conditions. Cleaned up at the county fair. 24 blue ribbons. Worst predator year ever. We've battled fox, coyote, bear, skunk, racoons. How I managed to have any birds survive is a wonder. Tilling up a little new ground this week and processing the last of the meat birds. Putting the finishing touches on the egg mobile. I guess that's about it... I mean, as you can imagine there's a lot more but you can fill in the blanks. Gotta go, lots to do.

Dry Dry Dry

Mighty dry and windy round these parts. Feeling blessed we have good water. Without it we'd be in Barney...Barney Rubble...TROUBLE! Having some germination issues so we've had to really step up the watering efforts, sow a lot thicker, and replant here an there.

 

 Tater's 'r starting to go off

Flooding tater rows

 Got another range shelter built and the second batch of birds out to pasture

 Set up a sprinkler system to try an keep things wet.

 Bit of a battle but seems to be helping

 Peppers starting to set

 Squash'll be going outside soon

 Maters'r thickening out

 Progression rows coming along slowly but surely

 New deer fence out back, thanks Shawn and Joy.

 Plumping up

Just waiting for that mid-June growth spurt to hit. First CSA pick-up this week and hopefully we'll make it to the farmer's market next weekend. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the forest fires. Please be careful out there and pray for rain!

Gone, Solid Gone

R.I.P. Doc 1923-2012 Thanks for keeping that old time mountain music alive and passing it to the next generation.

 With a style all his own he was arguably the greatest finger picker to ever play.

 

Greetings from the farmstead!

 "Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching around for what it gets." -Henry Ford. Plenty of scratching going on here.

6000 onions in the ground.

New ground up top planted in taters. 

 

600 strawberry plants gleaned from the patch out back. Mulched and thriving.

Compost world

The first batch of meat birds are out on pasture.

The second batch of meat chickens and the turkeys are coming along. The chickens help teach the turkeys how to... well basically how to survive. Not too bright those turkeys.

  The new laying flock is outside in a temporary shelter while we build an egg mobile. 60 pullets. We got buff orpingtons, rhode island reds, anconas, cucoo marans, and sliver laced wyandottes... oh yeah and one

 attack goose.

Here's the newest addition to the Cacklin' Hen family trying to find his swimming legs. 

There they are!

 Geese are infamous for being shall we say a little ornery.

We're hopeful with this one as he appears to be lumbering along on the good-natured path. All he needs is a little TLC!

Muck Muck... Muck Muck Muck!

 

Never seen a columbine in May before.

Managed to snap this shot of the eclipse through my welding mask.

And we'll leave you with a poem:

I Won't Hatch!

Oh, I am a chickie who lives in an egg.
but I will not hatch, I will not hatch.
The hens they all cackle, the roosters all beg,
But I will not hatch, I will not hatch.
For I hear all the talk of pollution and more
As the people all shout and the airplanes roar.
So I'm staying in here
where it's safe
and it's warm.
And
I WILL NOT HATCH!

Shel Silverstein

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