Eggcelent

 

We have eggs! 

Chickens

Our little peckers are growing up fast and man oh man,  do they love the free range bit!!! 

Huck and His Friends

Fencing Day Two

Over the weekend, we embraced our second true day of fencing. Grandma Sally came up to hang with The Bear for a few hours and we were able to get the remainder of the wire on the posts. 

In the afternoon, a kind friend of Ted's came up to help measure and secure the slats. 

We have yet to complete the gates, but Operation Secure The Dog is well underway!!

Evening at the Farm

Honey Bear was well on his way to a peaceful slumber, but I was able to catch a couple bits of the farm before the sun set. Buds in the orchard, a new whirly-gig in the garden, Huck, Wook, fence progress and stuff. 

Have a peak:

Weather Station

The husband installed a weather station on property so that we can get an accurate idea of the average wind speed, etc. This should be particularly helpful as we form our decision regarding solar and wind advances on the farm.

In light of the snow and ice storms of the week, he temporarily installed the station on the clothes line, rather than the peak of the barn. While many instruments will likely indicate lower than accurate findings (the barn blocks wind from the area), I must say it makes for one impressive clothesline feature!!!!

In other news, the chicks are thriving in the coop!

Hops are In, Chicks are Out, and Honey Bear is Loving The Dirt

Last weekend brought with it some marvelous sunshine!

We took advantage of the break in the grey to get some things done outside. We planted two new fruit trees, two grape vines and finally got the Christmas tree into the ground.

Shortly thereafter, we headed over to the chocks. They seem to be absolutely thriving in the new coop! With the sun shining, we opted to fence a small play yard for them. Our hope is that they will free range throughout the farm, but they are young and unaware of the area. In fencing a play yard, we hope they will gain outdoor access without getting into too much trouble.

Honey Bear and his Dad took a time out for a round of golf. I propped my feet up on the porch for a minute :)

Saving the best for last, we headed to the barn for the event we have long awaited... Getting the hops into some soil.

Fingers in soil rates close to fingers on steal strings for me. This is soul business! 

With the help of many donated pots, we were able to get all the rhizomes in dirt. The larger pots each contain three rhizomes and the smaller each have a single rhizome. Honey Bear shrieked with joy as the dirt was mixed and added to the pots. I think we have a future farm hand in the mix! It is our hope and plan to have them all in the ground inside of two weeks, weather permitting. Still, we hoped to offer them enough room to grow if mother nature has other plans. 

The rhizomes are all organic. We have high hopes of nurturing them with organic methods and protecting them from disease and pests by companion planting and other such measures. To have our farm certified as organic would be a very costly and time consuming matter. Should the crops take off, we may explore that route further. For the time being, we will have peace of mind knowing we are being the best stewards of the land and crops that we know how to be.

Today we were scheduled for a rich delivery of top soil, high in organic matter that will supplement our growing area. As the weather is taking a turn for the rainy and snowy once more, we elected to push back the delivery one week. Heavy, wet soil will be much less fun to work with than dry light soil. 

Josh, in Indiana, has been working with Ted on our trellis design this week. I think we are certainly getting closer to a trellis composition that will withstand the powerful winds on our farm.

The Squatters Have Been Evicted

Today the Buckeye and Plymouth Barred Rock chicks graduated from the brooder inside the house to the coop outside.

Temperatures are inching towards forty during the day, but still dropping at night. To help in the adjustment, we did bring the heat lamp out for them. This will be their first test of cold tolerance, but I think all parties will agree that it was time for a relocation!

At first, they weren't too excited about the new digs, but their tone quickly changed. I brought dead branches for them to peck at and climb on and they started to explore the increased space rather quickly.

Have a glance at the nine feathered friends in their new home:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxIQFLFGym8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Lightening McQueen and His Friends

The new additions are here!!!

Yesterday we picked up seven Buckeye Chicks and two Plymouth Barred Rock Chicks.

Here are (just a couple) shots to help you get acquainted:

We are using a large Tupperware inside the dog crate as a brooder. This keeps the chicks contained and also serves to keep the dog and cat from 'playing' with the baby chicks.

So far, we named the most outspoken Buckeye 'Lightening McQueen'. He/she us a bit of a drama diva with a prominent stripe from head to mid back. One Plymouth is named Spot, as there is a white spot in the middle of its head. The other Plymouth is 'Non spot', for obvious reasons ;)

The chicks are about three weeks old and we are hoping most are female so we will have plenty of brown eggs to share.

 

If you would like to learn more about Buckeye Chickens, here is a really nice article: http://www.betterhensandgardens.com/2012/04/01/about-buckeye-chickens/