Wordless Wednesday: Farm Additions

Two Columbia ewes Halley received as a scholarship from the Columbia Ewe Association.

200 Buff Orpington chicks to raise for meat.

A red front door and matching chairs.

Two pairs of hens and chicks.

Four chicken tractors for the previously introduced chicks.

A trailer for hauling sheep, cows and who knows what else.

Feeling Like Farmers

We reached two milestones on the farm so far this summer.  First, we cut, raked and baled our own hay with our own equipment.  Second, we used our own generator to power our necessary items during a recent power outage.  Neither of those things may seem like a big deal to those who do not live on farms.  They also may not seem like a big deal to those who have lived on a farm their entire lives.  To those who moved into the farming life, I hope you will be able to recognize our excitement and share in it.

There are many time we move about the business of our farm feeling like frauds, posers not farmers.  Putting up our own hay and dealing with loss of electricity on our own made us feel like farmers.  It's good to recognize those milestones and take note of those successes.  It's especially important to take note so we can remember that feeling on a day when we want to feel like a farmer.

Turkey Time

 Our turkey project was a success.  We were able to hatch six of our turkey eggs.  Currently we have nine turkeys, six poults and three adults, in our turkey house.  It appears that three of the poults are toms and three are hens.  We are still discussing the future prospects of our birds. 

We will be purchasing more incubators over the winter and expanding our turkey space.  We all agree that turkeys are one of our favorite animals so far.  They are engaging and interesting to watch.  Plus, the toms are really cool looking.  That they are also tasty is a big bonus. 

Commitment to Chicken

Two hundred chicks are now in residence on the farm.  We are going to be raising meat birds for sale.  For the past two years we raised chicken just for our own consumption.  This year we are expanding.  We are also investigating how to out-source the harvest.  None of the butchers in our area process chicken.  We hope the Amish community nearby may offer some good options for us. 

Our chickens will be technically free range and grass fed.  Rob is working on a new design for our chicken tractors to make them lighter and easier to manage.  The new tractors are looking great.  As soon as we have a completed model I'll post a picture.

Recognizing What Things Are and What They Are Not

This morning as I was making the rounds I was thinking back over the last two and a half years.  There is  nothing like wet grass, cool air, and animal noises of all kinds to get a person thinking.  When we bought this farm it was a bunch of empty buildings, nothing more.  We had a sketchy dream of what "being farmers" might look like.  We had fleeting thoughts of chickens pecking happily in the sunshine and lambs frolicking in the grass.  We liked the idea of a farm but we really had no clue what that meant.  We were kind of like kindergartners on career day when all the boys want to be police officers and all the girls want to be nurses.  We were clueless.

Fast forward and being farmers looks nothing like we thought it would.  Or does it?  We now have 16 chickens, two roosters, two sheep, three cows, 10 turkeys, two dogs, a cat and an undisclosed number of bees.  We experimented with planting alfalfa this year.  We ditched the vegetable garden.  Our first cut of hay is baled and in the barn.  We are doing the activities of farmers.  Our buildings are full.  We struggle with feeling more clueless now than we did when we had all those empty buildings.  There's nothing like experience to let know know what you don't know.

When we took our farm class back in early 2011 we talked about what we wanted in our farm.  The dream is still there.  Some of it is hazy, maybe hazier than it was originally.  Other parts are coming into focus, crystal clear.

In the beginning we decided that our goal was self-sufficiency.  We wanted to grow food for ourselves and our animals.  We wanted to invest in the future by raising heritage breeds.  We wanted to find a niche market that would enable the farm to support itself.  Ultimately, we hope that the farm will become our source of income.  That's a lot of dreaming.

Sometimes in the drudgery of daily feeding, catching the cow, drenching the sheep, walking the dogs, we lose sight of the dream or forget it all together.  As I said in the beginning, there's nothing like a quiet morning on the farm to remind me why I am doing what I am doing.

This morning the quiet brought a few realizations.  First, we are realizing our dream.  We now raise heritage turkeys.  Last year we purchased a dozen bourbon red poults.  Four survived.  We enjoyed one of the four at Thanksgiving and kept the other three with the wild hope that we'd have a breeding pair in the spring.  We now have seven bourbon red poults, hatched from our own eggs.  We also have one crazy broody turkey that keeps making nests but doesn't really have the concentration it takes to sit on them.  We've got a lot to learn about turkeys, especially about incubation but it's a start.  It's an amazing start.

We now eat our own meat.  We have a freezer full of chicken and beef, raised on our own land, by our own efforts.  If you'd known me pre-farm you'd have an idea of what a miracle that is.  By any standards it's a pretty fabulous accomplishment.

We have plans this year to expand our chicken operation and will be selling birds for the first time.  That a frightening and exciting prospect.

When everyday feels more like routine than celebration it's important to acknowledge the successes.

This is a more random thought, but another realization I had is that sometimes you don't have to know what something is.  You do have to know what it's not.  I think this is true of gardens, ideas and dreams. 

When I walk into  my garden, I don't have to know the name of every green shoot growing.  I just have to know what the desirable shoots look like and what they do not look like.  If I'm growing strawberries, it matters not one bit what every little thing growing in that patch of ground is called.  It only matters if it's a strawberry.  If it's not a strawberry, it's not where it belongs and it must be removed.  It might be the most rare and wonderful plant in the world but it's not what I'm after.  I'm growing strawberries and the rest matters not a bit. 

There are lots of times in life where I get distracted by a desire to know everything, do everything, be everything.  Perhaps the more admirable skill is being able to distinguish the necessary and valuable from all that is not and move forward from there.

Wordless Wednesday: A Snowy Day #4 - Landscape

Wordless Wednesday: A Snowy Day #3 - Poultry Pictures

Wordless Wednesday: A Snowy Day #2 - Cattle

Wordless Wednesday: A Snowy Day #1 - The White House

Wordless Wednesday: Guest Photographer, M8

Wordless Wednesday: Turkey Time - Thanksgiving 2012

Quigley, our surviving tom.

The family and the remaining turkeys.

Wordless Wednesday: Eggs of a Different Color

Wordless Wednesday: Jack O'Lanterns

Wordless Wednesday: @ Sweet Apple Farm Corn Maze

Prepping and Procrastination

Hurricane Sandy is getting a lot of attention right now.  I have two sisters that live on the east coast so I'm paying more attention to what is expected for them than what is forecast for us.  I am paying enough attention to our own situation to know that my tendency toward procrastination (I prefer to call it positive thinking) is catching up to me.

In June, we had a wind storm and power outage.  Afterward we talked about preparing for future events and then forgot.  To be truthful, we didn't exactly forget, we just kept moving that item down on our list of priorities.  We figured we'd get to it after chicken harvest and fall sports were over.  That would be NOW.  Fall sports ended yesterday.

Our farm is within the projected snow band.  With the leaves, branches and general fall mess, heavy, wet snow could bring problems.  The main concern, of course, is power outage.  We do have plenty of candles, flashlights, and batteries.  We have extra propane for our gas grill on the deck.  Thanks to a well that is easy to access and a cistern by the barn we have access to plenty of water.  We have a fireplace and a pellet stove but without electricity the blowers won't work.  We have a generator but it will only provide a limited amount of power and with 80 freshly frozen chickens and at least a 1/4 of a cow in our freezer, that's a priority. 

The farmers in us are actually pretty prepared.  We have plenty of food and water for all the animals, except the dogs.  Dog food is on my grocery list.  We use an electric fence for the cattle so we will either have to close them in the barn or pray they don't realize their potential for freedom.

Here are the FEMA recommendations for emergency preparedness. 

Family Supply List

Emergency Supplies:
Water, food, and clean air are important things to have if an emergency happens. Each family or individual's kit should be customized to meet specific needs, such as medications and infant formula. It should also be customized to include important family documents.

Recommended Supplies to Include in a Basic Kit:
- Water, one gallon of water per person per day, for drinking and sanitation
- Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
- Battery-powered radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert, and extra batteries for both
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- First Aid kit
- Whistle to signal for help
- Infant formula and diapers, if you have an infant
- Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
- Dust mask or cotton t-shirt, to help filter the air
- Plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
- Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
- Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)

Clothing and Bedding:
If you live in a cold weather climate, you must think about warmth. It is possible that the power will be out and you will not have heat. Rethink your clothing and bedding supplies to account for growing children and other family changes. One complete change of warm clothing and shoes per person, including:
- A jacket or coat
- Long pants
- A long sleeve shirt
- Sturdy shoes
- A hat and gloves
- A sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person

Family Supply List (continued)

Below are some other items for your family to consider adding to its supply kit. Some of these items, especially those marked with a * can be dangerous, so please have an adult collect these supplies.
- Emergency reference materials such as a first aid book or a print out of the information on www.ready.gov
- Rain gear
- Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils
- Cash or traveler's checks, change
- Paper towels
- Fire Extinguisher
- Tent
- Compass
- Matches in a waterproof container*
- Signal flare*
- Paper, pencil
- Personal hygiene items including feminine supplies
- Disinfectant*
- Household chlorine bleach* - You can use bleach as a disinfectant (diluted nine parts water to one part bleach), or in an emergency you can also use it to treat water. Use 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
- Medicine dropper
- Important Family Documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container

Since we'll be sheltering in place if the electricity goes out, I think we are pretty well prepared.  If we had to get out quickly we'd be screwed so I'm thankful there is no expectation of evacuation for us.

I will go grocery shopping today so that I don't have to go again until the end of the week.  We will also be making a stop at the library so there is plenty of reading material to keep us all busy.  At home I'll be running the vacuum cleaner and washing all the clothes and dishes so if we lose power I don't have to concern myself with those issues.  I'll also be spending time today praying for all those who are more directly in the storm's path.

What are your plans for preparing for Hurricane Sandy?

Chicken Harvest 2012

Catching the chickens.

A captive audience.

An expert chicken wrangler.

Preparing for the harvest.

The harvest.

Thank God for chicken pluckers.

Thank God for more chicken pluckers.

The really dirty work.

The harvest is complete.

Still More Pumpkin Goodness: Pumpkin Scones

Since I am absolutely incapable of following a recipe, I have to rename this recipe as noted below.  I found the Starbuck's Pumpkin Scones at RecipeGirl.com (Adapted from Top Secret Recipes).  By the adapted, I can suppose that RecipeGirl has a hard time following a recipe too.  Whether it is because of tweeking or in spite of it, these scones are a perfect blend of pumpkin goodness.  Delicious but a little less decadent than pumpkin pie for breakfast.  Not that I don't welcome pumpkin pie for breakfast but you can only do that every once in awhile. 

Almost Starbuck's Pumpkin Scones

Yield: 8 scones

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
3 tablespoons evaporated milk
1 large egg
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Either use a baking stone, parchment paper, or grease and lightly flour a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, evaporated milk and egg.
Use a pastry cutter to cut butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball. Pat out dough onto the lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick rectangle that is about 12-inches long and 3-inches wide.

Use a floured knife to slice the dough into four equal squares. Cut the squares diagonally into 8 triangles. 

Move the triangles to a prepared baking sheet, separate the triangles by 1/2-inch space.

Bake 14 to 16 minutes. Scones will begin to turn light brown. 

While scones are cooling, prepare plain glaze by whisking ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix until smooth.

When the scones have cooled a bit, or when you can't stand to wait one more second, drizzle the glaze over the scones and enjoy.

Wordless Wednesday: Pullet Egg

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Foliage on the Farm

Fall Farm Happenings

I just wanted to update a few things that have happened on the farm this fall.

We completed our chicken harvest on Friday, October 12.  Our system of butchering the chickens worked fine.  Rob says he'll fine tune it before next year.  I expect that our chicken feeding and growing operation will be much better next year.  By the end of this season, our tractors are falling apart.  After two years of growing chickens we have much better ideas of what we need and what will work and what needs adjusted.  Once we recover from the harvest I'm sure we'll have some planning and preparation to do.  I do have pictures of the harvest that I'll post later.

Rob finished brush hogging the back pasture and moved the electric fence for the cattle.  Calling two cows cattle seems a little pretentious but I suppose they do qualify as cattle.  We hope by next spring we'll have more permanent fencing for at least some of the pasture.

Several of our older laying hens are molting.  None of our pullets have started laying yet.  I am keeping a sharp eye out for pullet eggs because they should be laying anytime.

One of our turkeys died today.  I really have no idea why.  She's been looking a little off for several days but she seemed to be eating and drinking.  That takes us down to four turkeys.