Big Pink Farm

 
We all fall down 11/20/2009
 
<knock knock knock> Anybody in there?

It's like I fell off the planet or something.  Roger reminded me that I haven't posted anything new here in over 3 months.  Oops!  We've been busy, of course, so this entry is going to be more like a string of random thoughts with accompanying photos.

The garden is just about spent, and I am glad for the respite.  Despite the summer being rather cold and wet, we managed to put up a lot of tomatoes and other garden goodies.
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After the cool summer, we're being spoiled with a warm fall.  We still have lettuce in the garden!  I've lost my enthusiasm for weeding the garden this late in the year, but the good news is that the weeds have lost their enthusiasm for taking over the world.  We're peacefully co-existing for awhile.

We also had quite a challenge this summer keeping the poultry from being eaten by various predators.  We lost a huge number of chickens - both layers and meat bird - and almost all of our turkeys before we finally won the battle.  Hard lessons were learned and we're planning steps to take now to avoid a similar repeat of tragedy next year.
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Why is that coop empty?
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Perhaps the best proof I can offer that the year is winding down is that we've let the CHICKENS IN THE TOMATO GARDEN!  That, my friends, never ever happens unless there's nothing left to harvest.  Roger guards that plot of land ferociously.  Chickens love to peck at ripe tomatoes and that is strictly not allowed while there is yet one tomato left on the vine. 
In other news, we had a little bit of a water shortage scare here at the farm that prompted us to get off our duffs and do something really simple.  Finally, we're collecting rain water.  It's almost the easiest thing in the world to do, yet it took us years to do it and now we feel a little bit foolish about our hesitation.  We installed gutters on both sides of the barn and connected reclaimed plastic tanks to each downspout.  It takes less than 1/2" of rain to fill them both up to the top; 550 gallons of water collected just that like!  In fact, a 1 minute moderate downpour yields at least 20 gallons of water that would have otherwise gone into the ground.  Doh!
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Collecting rainwater has become my new passion.  Now instead of seeing cute little houses when I drive around the area, I see under-utilized gutters begging to be used for water collection.  I'm full of zeal!  Do it!  It's easy!  And eco-friendly!  Here's how.

I'll see you next month!  Meanwhile, I'm going to go stack firewood.  Hahahaha!  No, of course not; I'm going to have my minions stack firewood.  Just as soon as I can find them.
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 Can you guess what this is?
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That was the scene in front of my vehicle one morning a few weeks ago.  I'm not sure what processing facility those thousands of chickens were headed to or which large-scale, climate-controlled, factory poultry operation they came from, but I think it's safe to assume that the ride on the back of a flatbed trailer provided them with the most fresh air they'd ever experienced in their short lives.
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The stench outside those poultry "houses" is unreal.  I smelled them even before I saw them as I was driving around Amish country one day in June.
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I think the differences between those birds in the truck and the houses and our birds in the grass are compelling.  I have no other deep thoughts than that.  We're so thankful for our local customers who purchase and consume our pastured whole chickens.  I think they find the differences compelling, too.
 
 

Last year about this time I posted a photo of two silly Romeos, mugging for the camera with their blackberry-stained faces.  I had kind of forgotten about that incident, until they reminded me with this.  Yes, they thought it would be a real hoot to paint the baby. 

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In other news, we hired a guy with a backhoe to knock down our dilapidated old garage that served no purpose other than being a safe haven for wasps.  It was creepy and ugly, and we're glad to see it go.  There's nothing in its place just yet, but we are envisioning a day when we have a quaint farm stand there.  In the meanwhile, it's just a crater.  But, oh the possibilities!                      
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We've had a lot of trouble with raccoons this year.  I suppose it's about what you'd expect after two relatively peaceful years of the predators leaving our birds alone.  But it doesn't make the losses any easier to bear.  According to my friend Avis, hell hath no fury like a chicken mourned.  She's right about that! 

Never fear, the cat will protect the chickens.  See?  She means them no harm.
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Oh, now here's something new to tell you all!  Yes, we have bees now!  If all goes well (and so far it has), we should have honey soon!  Thanks to the Don Meyers Eastern Ohio Apiculture Project (you can google it because I don't have a nice link), we have two beehives in place and a little bit o' learnin' under my belt.  Keeping bees has long been a dream of mine.  The learning curve is very steep, but I'm really excited to be doing this.

Finally, I'd like you all to observe a second of silence to remember our pet duck who died tragically last week at the claws of a raccoon.  We never set out to have a duck for a pet (I mean, really, who does that?), but this silly duck managed to wiggle his way into our hearts.  Poor thing seemed to be confused about his species.  When our dog was in the yard, he would run full tilt to chase him, nip at his neck, and kind of bark like a dog.  When the turkey was his companion, he would follow his every step.  When it was just him and the goats, he would cuddle up to the kids.  And the chickens always made room for him at the feed trough.   We miss him.
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Merry Christmas! 12/25/2008
 

All of us are full of the Christmas spirit here at Big Pink Farm.  The Lord has blessed us with so many good gifts that our hearts are overflowing with gratitude.  I hope you know what that feels like.

It's been cold and windy here.  I know Winter is one of the Four Seasons (and as a farmer I am thankful for all of them), but I must confess that winter is not my favorite season.  But in some respects winter is easy.  The gardens have been put to bed and all the produce has been preserved.  The livestock are in their winter quarters - no more moving them around to fresh paddocks - and parasites are mostly dormant.  All we have to do is maintain the herd (or flock) and plan for spring.  Now is the time to bookmark the pages of seed catalogs and daydream about the future.

So in that spirit - looking forward to the new year with gratefulness for the old - here are my wishes for you:



May your garden be well watered.



May your workers be tireless.



May you keep the weeds at bay.



May you have eyes for the hidden treasure in your fields.

 
 

I should post updates more often.  I really should.  I mean, lots of interesting stuff happens here (or at least, it's interesting to ME).  I should stop playing that really addictive game on Facebook and start a new blog post.

So here you go. 

It's most definitely autumn here on our beautiful mountain.  I wish the fall colors would last all winter.  That would be a mood-brightener!

We're going to be processing the last batch of meat chickens for the year in a few days.  Maybe Friday?  I hope it will be warm and sunny by then because right now the weather forecast says SNOW tonight and tomorrow.  SNOW!  It's still October.  We're still on Daylight Savings Time, for crying out loud!

In other news, the baby is still cute.  See?  She likes to stand in the field and help us move goats around to fresh pasture. 

Soon there won't be any fresh pasture to move them to, and we will have to move them to their winter quarters and feed them hay.  We have bred a handful of goats - two dairy and four meat - for January kids.  Those goats will get to live in the barn because having kids in January is stupid.  So we'll be ready with heat lamps to keep those kids warm and dry and alive.  The rest of the goats are going to be bred for April kidding, which is much more sensible.  So now you know.

Can I go back to that addictive game now?

 
Summer's gone? 09/09/2008
 

How did that happen?  Seriously, how?  Just like that, the nights have become chilly.  Autumn is hovering nearby.  I'll tell you, I would like fall a lot more if it didn't lead ultimately to winter.

<clapping hands over ears> La la la la la I'm not listening!!!

So this has been the Summer of the Tomato.  Of the 30 plants we started with this year, 29 survived the guineas.  No, they didn't just survive; they thrived!  Consequently, I have been buried under an avalanche of tomatoes from the abundant harvest.  (The green ones were picked by an overzealous 3 year old boy, but that's okay because we love to eat fried green tomatoes.)

I have either canned or frozen many gallons of salsa and tomato sauce.  I have dehydrated pounds and pounds of tomatoes.  I have canned tomato quarters and even tomatoe puree.  We have eaten dozens of tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches on fresh-baked whole grain bread.

Apparently, we are not the only creatures on the farm that love tomatoes.  Roger discovered a squatter who lives in the tomato garden.

That is the biggest, grossest spider I have ever seen and is the sole reason why I will never set foot in the tomato garden again.  Do you know what kind of spider that is?  I don't know and would like to find out, but that would require a Google search and the potential of looking at dozens of photos of icky spiders and I just don't think I have that kind of fortitude.  So if you know what this spider is and if my children are in imminent danger, please email me.  Ok?  Thanks.

 
 

It has been and still is my intention to get it together enough to write one more post  - this time about the county fair -  before the month is over.  I still have one more day!

I'm nothing if not a procrastinator.

But!  While you're waiting (and you are waiting, aren't you?), please go to this blog and read as much as you can.  It's hilarious, and just the thing to waste time on after a morning of strenuous chores outside.

Finally, I leave you with a photo of the world's most adorable baby frolicking with the world's most camera-shy goat kids.  Yes, it was taken on a camera phone.  But at least I uploaded it right quick to share with you!


 
 

What did you do to celebrate the 4th of July?

Despite weather that looked like it didn't want to cooperate with our plans, we spent the afternoon and evening at our friends' house.  They throw a big party every year, and this year there were lots of kids.  We played (or watched everyone else play): volleyball, baseball, water balloon fights, and various board and card games. 

Somehow the water balloon fights degenerated into squirting each other with the hose.  You skip the middle man that way.  Funny thing is, only my kids ended up being soaked from head to toe.  Why is that?  I thought I was raising kids with more sense.  But no, I guess not.  So they shivered their way through the rest of the evening because I neglected to bring dry clothes for them.  Actually, other mothers stepped in and offered towels and clothing for the wet kids, so they didn't suffer all night.  (Note to self: bring dry clothes next year.) 

At dusk we did the requisite sparkler and smoke bomb igniting.  Honestly, I hate that part.  To this  mom it's an accident waiting to happen.  But the kids love it, so I tried to be calm and rational, taking deep breaths the whole time and not shrieking, "STAND BACK!  BE CAREFUL!  ONE AT A TIME!"  Okay, maybe I shrieked once, but I think it was more like a holler which is not as hysterical.

Here's my patriotic baby.  Awww.

In farm news, the kids are gearing up for the county fair which is next week.  I'm not ready.  I know from prior experience that I will not get much sleep that week and it will be too hot to breathe.  But the kids are really excited about the fair, so I am, too.  Ben's turkeys are enormous.  All he has left to do is figure out which one he wants to bring to the fair and then give it a bath. 

Have you ever bathed a turkey?  You should.  It's hilarious.  You will get very wet.

We also picked some surprise blackberries last week and should be able to pick more this week.  They were a surprise to me because I thought all the blackberry bushes had been devoured by the goats last year.  But no!  We have a few surviving bushes!  Hooray! 

The kids are pretty good berry pickers.  The don't eat as much as they put in the buckets, so that's good.  The do complain about the thorns and they do throw the rotten berries at each other and they do paint their faces with the rotten ones and pretend they're warriors, but for the most part they get the job done without too much hassle.

Do you know how long it takes for berry juice to wear off your skin if you take too long before you wash it off?  At least four days.  File that useful tidbit away for future reference.

 
 

The first of the meat chickens arrived a few days ago.  It's a real joy to have wee birds in the brooder again.  Speaking of wee birds, Ben's turkeys are growing and growing and growing.  Only a few more weeks and they are ready for the table.  Oh, and the hens are laying eggs like their very lives depended on it (which, you know, is true).  Spring has sprung and summer is new on the farm.

(I won't talk about the havoc that the guinea fowl have been wreaking on our gardens because we will have that under control very soon and thinking of those birds dust-bathing in my pepper plants makes me grouchy.  We keep the guineas because they eat ticks  by the thousands and keep snakes at bay, so it's just a matter of finding an equitable solution.  Equitable in this case means good for us, and because I'm the human, it also means good for the land that God has given us.) 

 

Meanwhile, you must read this.  Rising food prices are only the symptom of a much larger problem.  http://thedeliberateagrarian.blogspot.com/2008/05/roots-of-current-world-food-crisis.html

"My point in relating all of this is to underscore that Big Ag is not Good Ag. And being dependent on Big Ag for food is national folly. I believe it is also personal folly. Powerful, arrogant, self-serving, and foolish forces are at play in the world. We as individuals have little control over them, yet we will all, to one degree or another, eventually pay for the consequences for their wickedness."

Eat local!

 
Ahhh...Spring 04/06/2008
 

Today was the kind of day you daydream about in the middle of January.  The sun was warm, the winds were mostly calm, the mud was drying up, and the pastures were green.  Green is very good.

 

We got a lot of spring cleaning done this afternoon.  Max tended the fire.


Olivia helped clear debris out of the garden.  Note her stylish attire.  She's a very classy little girl.

The duck harrassed Frodo, which was, I suspect, the highlight of his day.  Poor Frodo endured the humiliation with great patience. 

Here's the very next photo in the series, in which Frodo gets his revenge.  Best Friends Forever!

There's no such thing as perfection here on earth,  but today was a really good day.  Roger and I and all the children will go to sleep tonight with pleasantly worn-out muscles and sun-reddened faces and the faint fragrance of pollen and moist dirt...Spring's lullaby for us.