When it rains, it pours. Saturday was a pretty rough day for us. Sunday was cold and rainy, but Mike managed to finish the inside of the new coop for our laying hens and roosters and we got them all moved over. He made an amazing nest box, his carpentry skills are really improving. The [...]
Yesterday was one of those quintessentially New England spring days. We woke up to a raw, cold, cloudy day, but by lunchtime the sun was shining and the day was warm and lovely. Mike woke up early and returned the trailer while the kids and I took care of the animals and tried to tidy [...]
Mike and Jackson took a serious road-trip today, driving about four hours north to Newbury, Vermont. They brought home our two Dexter heifers who are due mid-May from a breeding with a Belted Galloway bull. [A little aside to define some cow-related terms. A calf is a baby cow. A heifer is a female cow [...]
This weekend we will be planting our mushroom crop. We have ordered three kits from Gourmet Mushrooms and Mushroom Kits, the outdoor Shitake kit, the outdoor Oyster kit, and the Morel kit. They also have indoor kits, for those who may be interested in growing their own mushrooms on a small scale. In honor of [...]
Jackson and I are taking a wee bit of a road trip in the AM. We’ve got alarms set for 6:30 and we should be out of the house by 8 o’clock. Google puts the drive (to Newbury, VT) at just under 4 hours. At the other end are our two Dexters, Pansy and Petunia. [...]
Today was very exciting. We spent the afternoon at a neighboring farm watching our friends flock of sheep get shorn. If you have never seen it done by a professional shearer, you should really try it some time. It is hypnotizing. When done properly, the fleece comes off as one big piece. The sheep are [...]
It’s hard to even know where to begin. This week was so intense. On Sunday our new steer was delivered. We were told to keep him in the stall in the barn for a week or two until he knows this is his home. A few hours after he was closed in, we saw him [...]
Say hello to our Hereford steer, Brisket. He’s a 15-months old steer we got from a local farmer. Come this fall, he will be filling our freezer with 600-700 pounds of pastured beef. Anyone who thinks they might want a share can let us know.
It has been a busy week. Yesterday was a nice spring day, we did a number of small chores, but nothing major. The absolute highlight of the day was having Mike take us on our own personal wagon ride around the property. Ever since we started dating, even back before we had [...]
Today after work we went next door to pick up our tractor: a 45hp 4WD diesel with a bucket loader. Best I could do was sit on it for a little while for long enough for Jamie to take some pictures. No immediate work to be done with it, but I am getting [...]