Gone, but not forgotten..

We lost Willow, our Anatolian shepherd, one year ago today. It was unexpected and tragic, and I still miss her all the time. I wish I had more pictures of her, I wish we had taken more walks, I wish that I had worked more on her fear of being in the car.

I try to remember the good stuff, though. That dog could laugh, she invented games to play with you, she could run like the wind. She was a budding archaeologist, she would dig stuff up in her lot and put it on display. I have an old mule shoe that she found, and a old glass seal for a mason jar. She was a junkie for belly rubs. She once 'rescued' me from a black snake that I was trying to rescue from her, poor thing. She was a ferocious napper.



When we went to breeder to pick her up, we got to meet many of her family members, which was so wonderful. Her grandfather, mother and father, her brother and sister.

This was her brother, as a puppy.



Her sister Calypso's puppies were born Jan 07



I hope that wherever she is, there is a lot of fun to be had, and warm sunshine to snooze in.



Willow, 'Briar Patch Farms Montana' 12/11/04- 12/27/07

Update on Maybelle..

She's still cute. But, she ate my glasses up, and that is extremely naughty. Especially because she must have carefully removed them from my sleeping face first.

Beautiful Mushrooms

Hey, at least the ridiculous volume of rain that we have had is good for something. We have been happily consuming mass quantities of wild oyster mushrooms, and then there are these:

Phyllotopsis nidulans, such a beauty.

Just for fun..

Manifesto:The Mad Farmer Liberation Front
by Wendell Berry
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to die for profit they will let you know. So, friends, every day do something that won't compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace the flag. Hope to live in that free republic for which it stands. Give your approval to all you cannotunderstand. Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold.Call that profit. Prophesy such returns. Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years.
Listen to carrion -- put your ear close, and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are to come. Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. So long as women do not go cheap for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy a woman satisfied to bear a child? Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields. Lie down in the shade. Rest your head in her lap. Swear allegiance to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos can predict the motions of your mind, lose it. Leave it as a sign to mark the false trail, the way you didn't go.
Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.
"Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front" from The Country of Marriage, copyright ® 1973 by Wendell Berry, reprinted by permission of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.

Miss Maybelle

The holidays are always a stressful time of year. There is so much to be done, and the days are so short, and people get so crazy. Wal-mart stampede? So, so wrong.

So, what do you do when you're broke, and tired, and short on time? Well, if you are wacko, you go to your local animal shelter, and get you a Puppy!!!

I really can't say why, exactly, but when I 'accidentally' looked at the Person County Animal Control website, this wrinkly little face just kinda got me. Miss Maybelle is around five months old, a Shar pei crossed with something tiny and speckled-beagle, maybe? In fact, she is so little, she hardly counts as another dog, even, so there.

In all seriousness, it was time to either get a puppy, or forget about it, as the other dogs are now twelve and fourteen years old. They are still spry enough to deal with the kid, but poor Otis has already thrown his back out whipping around to snap at her. He will be just fine with some rest and good biscuits, but I wish he would quit looking at me with that "What have I ever done to deserve this?" face. Really, it will all be all right though, as she is perfectly sweet, and a darn good pup.

Turkey shoot

Photo shoot, ha, ha

I tried to get some brilliant shots of the little guys, now around three weeks old, but it is impossible. Twitchy little brats! Oh, I love them-here are some turkey-like blurs:


Steve tacked up the cardboard on the walls of the brooder to provide extra draft protection on the recent 20 degree nights. When I went to check on them tonight, however, they were all roosting up on the windowsill like a row of tiny vultures. Ay, kids, what are you going to do? They can get back down under the heat lamps if they want to, I suppose-you know that's where I would be!
I took a few pics of their moms and dads, anyway. This is our most gorgeous hen, Isabella.



With the turkeys, guineas, and geese-the boys usually get along really well, darn reasonable of them.

Of course, if they are ever naughty, I can simply tell them that Sarah Palin is coming to pardon them!

Nooooooooo!

And, this is Bar Code and Spot, not turkeys, but so handsome.

When life gives you lemons..

Feel a little smug that you got lemons.

I haven't blogged in a while. Honestly, it is hard this time of year, to haul your cranky self out of bed in the morning, in the cold and frost, and try to cram a full day's work in before the sun sets on you at 5:00. Obviously, I am not a winter person.

There is a golden lining to the cloud over my head today, though. Our little lemon tree in the greenhouse has gifted us with 14 lovely lemons (not counting the ones that have already been consumed in the form of whiskey sours). So what does one do with such sumptuous, sunshiny orbs? Why, one makes limoncello, of course.

Thank you, little tree.

One thing about farming the way we do-when you are tired and sore and filthy, and you have been slaving away with snow in your face and cold wind blowing through every dern layer you have on, and your lips are chapped as heck, there is always something to warm your heart. Lemons work. I have a young hen who is just like her mama, who I adore, and that's pretty cool. Things of this nature keep me going. I think if everyone really understood where food comes from, and how it gets to their plates, the world would be a very different place.

We are also still harvesting apples. Apples are such individuals in the fruit world. There are so many different types, and the potential for many more. This Lady Williams apple waits until the winter to ripen.

It is so thoughtful, she waits until everything else is dead and gone, and then makes the best apples you can imagine, a perfect balance of sweet and tart. They are best enjoyed right off the tree, in my opinion.

While I am being opinionated, may I suggest you add Michael Pollan's 'Botany of Desire' to your winter reading list? He explains so well the fascinating history of apples in America. Also, pick up a copy of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. I thoroughly enjoyed it, except that I felt she insinuates that chickens are dumb, a popular myth that I wholeheartedly disagree with. But, that is a rant for another day...

I'm feeling good about stuff..

This time of year is hard to beat for sheer spectacle and pastoral splendor. I have been taking lots of pictures, the light is so golden.



I am real pleased about the results of the election. Check this out:

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. & ORLAND, Calif., Nov 05, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- This evening, Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal protection organization, celebrates a landmark victory for farm animals: the passage of Proposition 2 in California. The YES on Prop 2 campaign was run by Californians for Humane Farms, a coalition headed by Farm Sanctuary and the Humane Society of the United States. This law phases out some of the most restrictive confinement systems used by factory farms -- gestation crates for breeding pigs, veal crates for calves and battery cages for egg laying hens -- affecting 20 million farm animals in the state by simply granting them space to stand up, stretch their limbs, turn around and lie down comfortably. This evening, Farm Sanctuary's President and Co-Founder Gene Baur released a statement on the Prop 2 victory:
"The passage of Prop 2 in the country's largest agricultural state marks a monumental victory for farm animals. This campaign did an amazing job of raising public awareness about the cruel treatment farm animals endure at the hands of an industry that has consistently fought meaningful change for animals. Farm Sanctuary supporters and campaign volunteers have seen California voters respond with reason and compassion agreeing that all animals deserve humane treatment. Today marks a significant change in the way we view and treat farm animals and falls closer in line with public sentiments and values of compassion. We look forward to seeing these confinement systems phased out nationwide."

Awesome! Now, if everyone else will follow suit, I will be so proud. Also, it is time to work on making foie gras production illegal everywhere forever. I am going to work on it.

I think Djali's going to give a stump speech.

Elberta enjoys the flattering Autumn sunlight.

The chickens want to thank y'all for voting!

All Soul's Day

-and it's 70 degrees. The air is full of ladybugs, swooping around. Not that I am complaining, it feels lovely, but it can be very confusing for the plants, especially the fruit trees.

We had more seasonally appropriate weather earlier in the week. Amy and Bea came out for a visit, and we put them right to work!

They helped us break up garlic cloves to prepare them for planting. It is never to early to begin training future farm workers, folks.

We made a couple of scarecrows, as well. This is a dual learning opportunity-it could be that Bea has a future in the fashion industry!

The critters were all a little wary of this tiger, though. Even if it was just a tiny and sweet little tiger.

We got 40 pounds or so of garlic planted and mulched, which was about 600 row feet. The strawberries will be planted soon, and we still have 6 plum trees, and some blueberries and grapes to be planted. Then it's weed, weed, mulch, weed, mulch, mulch, mulch.

Things are at last starting to slow down for us, though. The short winter days are kind of a bummer, but we all need the opportunity for a rest. It is soon time to spend hours by the woodstove, reading books, knitting, looking through seed catalogs and planning for next year, sippin on a whiskey.

We have plenty of outside winter projects to keep us busy. Steve has worked hard on 'renovating' the pastures. They have been harrowed and reseeded in orchard grass, alfalfa, red and white clover, canola, and buckwheat, and I must say they do look fabulous. Now, we need to get some good paddock fencing up so that we can work on our rotational grazing system.

Steve is also planting barley in some of the farther fields. Feed costs are absolutely killing us right now, and they just keep on going up. We plant to cut and bale the barley when the seeds mature, and heap it up in the chicken paddocks. We did something similar earlier in the year with sunflowers and corn. The chickens pick all the seeds out of the pile, and then the vegetative material becomes a hospitable environment for crickets, grasshoppers, worms, etc, all wonderful and delicious sources of protein for the ladies. The critters crawl in the pile overnight, and the hens scratch up their breakfast in the morning. When the pile breaks down it creates a nice mulchy layer which adds to and improves the paddock soil. In certain paddocks, you can walk in, and your feet will sink an inch into the spongy, humusy, rich soil. Delightful!

We are looking forward to next season, and hope to have everything cleaned up, lookin good, and running like a well oiled machine when the light returns in the Spring!

Tiny Turkeys

They're here! Yes, October is a weird time to hatch turkeys. These little fellas are from our Black turkey flock, one of the oldest breeds in the world of heritage turkeys. They are genetically important, and, we just like them a whole lot. So, why hatch now? Well, unfortunately, our turkey hens took a hard hit from predators this year. We lost a couple to dogs and raccoons this spring, then we were down to six. Recently, we lost two more small hens to a barred owl-it left an incriminating, eau de skunk soaked feather at the scene. Also, our breeding flock isn't as young as they used to be. So, since one of the ladies was still laying, we decided to go for it.

So far, these five have hatched, and there are another four eggs in the incubator that we are expecting to hatch over the next couple of days. It is so cold out now, that these tender sprouts will be living in our laundry room in their big tub until they are feathery and vigorous enough to be relocated to the brooder room.

Black turkey chicks are especially cute-they remind me of little mimes.

It is pretty difficult to get a good shot of them, though, as they very rarely hold still for a second. Unless they are napping-then you can get a good picture of a massive pile of fuzz!

Speaking of tender sprouts, even with the chilly weather, we are planting away. The hoophouse is already half planted with cool weather crops. I decided to use all our old feed bags to hold down the grass in the aisles. It works great, maybe covered with a little straw it would be more aesthetically pleasing. The rest is waiting to be planted with overwintering crops, such as onions.

Mushrooms and Turkeys

It is starting to seem like October here on the farm. The little guineas are getting bigger-they are getting pretty well feathered and are trying out the whole flying thing.

Our shiitakes are still coming in. The logs we have are so old and crumbly, it is hard to believe they are producing anything anymore, but the weather is just perfect, and they keep on coming.




This one's a nice one




Most of the birds are in some state of molting, growing in a fresh new set of feathers for the cold weather to come. For those of you just dying to know, this is what a turkey looks like when molting.

Yark! This is an extreme case, actually. In my perfect world, there would be an on-farm spa for molting birds, with herbal wraps, meditation, warm towels and tea.


"I feel like a porcupine!"

"You're not a porcupine. Just relax, and focus on your breath...."


Then, when they are all done, they look like this.

Whoa, Mama!

using your noodle, or, What the @#*! is he up to now?

...is what the neighbors might be saying. So, our packing shed is surrounded by large oak trees, and for weeks now, we have listened to acorns hitting the roof-it is so incredibly loud: ker-POW!wacka wacka wacka. They have started piling up under the low side of the roof. Well, it got the old gears crunking along, and we recalled that in the old days, folks used to let their hogs roam around in the woods and feed themselves on acorns. With the high cost of feed and all, we thought it might be a good opportunity to supplement Babe and Lyle's diet. So, Steve came up with the idea of shopvacing them up. Did it work?

Yup!

But, would our piggies like acorns? These piggies that have been spoiled on corn, apples, peaches, and the occasional chocolate chip?

Yes. Yes, they would. With some pears on the side.