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Tag Archives: farm stories
Bates Farm Bonanza
We would like to say thanks to all the people who came to celebrate with us this weekend in body and/or spirit. If you couldn’t make it, or don’t live anywhere near us and didn’t know about it, here’s the scoop. Continue reading
Posted in Farm
Tagged bonfires, farm stories, going away party, homesteading, moving the farm
12 Comments
Farm Sitting and Cute Baby Goats
Last week we had the opportunity to farm sit for some wonderful friends so that they could take a little vacation. I know I’ve mentioned these friends before because we have swapped farms on several occasions. We’ve traded farms at Thanksgiving and Christmas for the past two years as well as watching over things for each other for a weekend here or there throughout the year. It has been such a blessing because as anyone who has ever managed or lived on a farm knows, it’s nearly impossible to get away. You can’t exactly ask just anyone to “please check the mail and, um, could you milk the cow while you’re at it?”
Continue reading
Posted in Farm
Tagged bottle feeding baby goats, Farm Sitting, farm stories, homesteading
4 Comments
Beekeeping- How to Make a Super
It’s been a while since I talked about our little apiary, probably because once a hive is established, it seems to require very little attention, so long as it remains healthy. You can read about how we got started with beekeeping in the Hobby: Beekeeping post. Today though, I’ll share a picture tutorial of how to build a Super.
A Super is one of the layers of a hive. It’s essentially a box with no top or bottom, and into the box you place frames. A hive usually starts with two Supers and as the bees fill the frames, new supers must be added or the hive will swarm. Continue reading
Posted in Farm
Tagged beekeeping, farm stories, homesteading, how to make a super, organic farming
4 Comments
The Circle of Life
Well, our Angus cow finally had her calf. Sadly it did not survive. I’m not really sure what happened. My best guess is that the birthing process took too long and he did not get enough oxygen, or did not get it soon enough. The reason that I make this assumption is that he (it was a little bull calf) looked healthy, was fully developed, and it was cool enough that heat shouldn’t have been a problem. He was born during the night on Sunday night. On Monday morning my son and I noticed a black mound in the pasture. I glanced around and did not see any cows nearby, nor did the mound appear to be moving. My heart sank. Continue reading
Posted in Farm
Tagged being thankful, farm stories, homesteading, the circle of life, what are you thankful for
9 Comments
The Sounds of Spring
I hear dogs barking at each other through the trees, guarding territory, or perhaps exchanging good squirrel chasing stories. The music of a hundred song birds surrounds me as they call to each other, and warn each other, or maybe they’re warning me. A flock of hens clucks softly, their calm conversations punctuated every now and then by the full-throated crow of a rooster reminding us that he’s in charge. Continue reading
A Beautiful Weekend
I was hoping to have some pictures of a new calf for you today since two of our cows should be giving birth any minute now, but we’re still waiting. Instead I have several pictures to share of our beautiful weekend at home. We seem to be experiencing a very early spring, which has actually been more like summer, and we are taking advantage of the lovely weather.
Continue reading
Posted in Farm
Tagged a beautiful weekend, catching toads, climbing trees, farm stories, living the life
8 Comments
Time to Start Garden Planning!
For the last two years my target date for direct seeding has been April 15th. This is a little later than most people around here, but far earlier than my raised-in-Northern-Michigan mind thinks that spring should arrive, so, April 15th it is. That means that right now it is time to order seeds!
My favorite seeds come from Seed Savers Exchange. I prefer to browse the catalog, but they also have a website at www.seedsavers.org. Seed Savers Exchange offers organic and heirloom variety seeds for virtually every herb, flower, and vegetable that you could ever want to grow. Continue reading
Posted in Farm
Tagged farm stories, garden planning, homesteading, ordering organic seeds, organic gardening, Seed Savers Exchange
2 Comments
Too Many Roosters
The only problem with hatching our own baby chicks last summer is that we now have too many roosters. When you order day old chicks from a hatchery you have the option of ordering all female, all male, a straight run (which means whatever you get- like hatching your own), or any combination of hens and roosters that you choose. How anyone is able to tell the gender of a newborn baby chick is beyond me, but that’s how it works.
According to several of the books I’ve read, it’s best to have one rooster for every ten to twenty hens; if you want one at all. You don’t need a rooster to get eggs, but you do need a rooster to get fertilized eggs. The hens are also happier with a rooster around. A good rooster will help protect your egg layers…until you get too many. Continue reading
Posted in Farm
Tagged farm stories, homesteading, how many roosters do you need, ordering chicks, organic farming, too many roosters
10 Comments
My Least Favorite Chores
1) Clearing the Fence Line- Imagine that it’s summer, a sunny ninety degree day, the humidity a stifling eighty-five percent. Imagine that you are working in this heat in jeans, a long sleeve shirt, gloves, and knee-high farm boots, all to protect you from the gallon of urushol that waits patiently for you to brush against one of the many reaching vines of poison ivy. Now imagine that you have a thirty-five pound child strapped to your back. Are you there? Continue reading
Some Unexpected Visitors
Don’t you love it when a great story falls into your lap, or, in this case, walks into your yard?
Sunday morning I woke up before the sun, made my green tea with honey, and started editing my newest novel.
Not too long after this my husband emerged. He had just settled down on the couch with his coffee when suddenly he leaned forward and made a noise that let me know that all was not right with the world. Continue reading
Posted in Farm
Tagged farm stories, homesteading, how to lure horses, unexpected visitors, wild horses
8 Comments
