- Freezing! Temperature was 24 degrees. It actually snowed last Friday night for about 20 minutes. Everyone inside is bundled in blankets. Everyone outside is bundled in hay.
- New Baby goat born on my birthday! Her name is Millie. She’s multi-colored. Photos to come, promise. She had a twin brother, but he mysteriously disappeared one night. No sound, no tracks, no signs. Maybe the Skunk Ape wanted a pet. That’s the best I can hope for.
- Rooster has finally perfected his crow. He now officially sounds like a textbook rooster. We were worried there for a while.
- Hens are actually still laying eggs. Have 3 dozen eggs in the fridge right now. Frittatas (see recipe area) are now a large part of our diet.
- Ordered new seeds. This year will focus more on tried and true family favorites and less on “ooh, that looks cool, let’s try that! That sounds boring, but really, do you know how many types of different beans, melons, tomatoes, etc. there are? Alot. Which is cool, but not always successful or tasty or practical. But believe me, we’ll still have plenty of variety. I still haven’t even planted all the different types of melon seeds we ordered last year! Plus since I hurt my shoulder hoeing last October, I want to put all my efforts into more compact garden areas. I’m worried I’ll re-injure it so the less ground to cover, the better. HA, right!
- Have several types of gourds in different stages of drying: 5 dipper gourds, 3 bottle gourds, and 1 medium sized bushel basket gourd. Considering what I will do with them if they successfully dry. They’ll definitely be sanded and polished. But what will they become? Ah, the possibilities.
Farm update
Categories: animals, babies, birthday, chickens, farm maintenance, planting, seeds, vegetables, weather
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Skunk Ape Sighting!
LOL…two of our favorite things:Â precious metals and the mysterious Florida Skunk Ape. Click Here to Support Your Local Skunk Ape!
Categories: just for fun, products
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I’ve gotta crow
Our rooster is just now coming into his own at almost 8 months. He’s big and bulky, and testing out his fertilization techniques and his crowing capabilities. Finally! We’ve been waiting and waiting for him to let loose. Since he is technically just an adolescent or cockarel, he may have been quietly practicing in his room in front of the mirror prior to taking it public for all we know.
Only problem is most of his cock-a-doodle-doos take place between the hours of 2am and 5am, when the sun hasn’t even though of rising yet. Luckily he’s not super loud, and our neighbors are not super close.
I thought the rooster crow was break of dawn activity. Is our rooster time challenged? Does he need an alarm clock? Was there a break in the time continuum? Turns out roosters crow all the time. Oh.
They’ll crow when they feel threatened, when a hen lays an egg, when a neighboring rooster crows, when there is lots of activity. In other words, whenever they feel like it. It’s associated with dawn as that’s when most birds are most active, and when most farmer types are waking and most likely to actually hear the crowing.
We’ll be getting a 2nd rooster soon just to keep things interesting. Something tells me we’ll be hearing a whole lot of crowing then.
I’ve gotta crow!
I’m just the cleverest fellow
‘Twas ever my fortune to know;
I give the sign and the sunlight will shine
And the forest will grow
And the rivers will flow
I’ve gotta crow!
– Peter Pan
You Can’t Keep A Good Garden Down
Despite my best efforts to ignore it, the garden just will not go away! I haven’t hoed or sown or watered in months (just don’t ask), yet still hot peppers, green & yellow bell peppers, chinese eggplant, sunflowers and even tomatoes are still popping up. Amazing.
I also have bottle gourds and one, just one, giant round basket gourd hanging on the vine. And chinese cabbage was getting ready for harvest before the goats broke into the garden and ate it all.
It just goes to show you, it really isn’t that hard to grow your own food. To paraphrase a current, trendy author who I won’t name ‘cuz although I agree with much of what he says, his (so not self-aware) arrogance annoys me: Anyone can afford “organic” food.
Categories: Activism, cabbage, farm maintenance, planting, sunflowers, tomatoes, vegetables
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Pickin’ And A-grinnin’
Our yard is once again carpeted in pecans thanks to the blustery winds of non-hurricane Ida. Dogs, goats and chickens are eating them faster than I can pick. But luckily, there seems to be plenty to go around.
I have a new-fangled contraption to help pick this year and it is Awe. Some. It’s basically just a round wire cage on wheels and it pops the pecans off the ground and into the cage. I’d post a picture, but our camera broke. There ain’t no technology in country.
In any case, get out your cracker of choice, pecans are coming your way!