Getting the barn ready for Winter

 

   As we go through this rainy, chilly weather pattern it makes me realize that a lot must be done in the barn, duck, and chicken houses to prepare for winter. My winter hay supply will be arriving in the barn, so I must reorganize and make room for the neatly stacked bales of hay which will dominate the first room of the barn. Where will everything go? Why do I always end up putting gardening tools and supplies in the animal barn instead of the garage designated for the garden paraphernalia? Well, everything will have to be put back into place and the hay will arrive to feed the animals.
   The animals are all doing well. The vet paid her visit for yearly exams and shots, and declared all are healthy. It is always a relief to hear that from your vet. Annabelle, our 4 1/2 month old Jersey heifer, has now been weaned off of her twice a day bottles and has been mooing her protests but has finally resigned herself to only eating grain and hay. Poor Annabelle! The sheep are getting their winter wool and are beginning to look like a flock of cuddly teddy bears. Oh, so cute!
   I recently had another small harvest of lavender and was able to make one more batch of lavender oatmeal soap. I have my fingers crossed that the 24 lavender plants I planted in the spring will winter over. I will mulch them with straw for protection and hope for the best. So far, they seem very well established and have grown more than I thought they would have in their first year, and I had three generous harvests from which I could make soap, lip balm and dried lavender sachets. I am already dreaming about all the lavender products I will make next year.

dried lavender sachets

 

 

home-crafted lavender oatmeal soap

 

return of winter wool

 

Poor Annabelle, no more bottles just hay and grain.

 

Fair Days

   My good intentions of blogging once a week have once again taken a backseat to the chores needing to be done around the farm. I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post.  Soon the gardens will be done for this season and that will free up lots of time for indoor pleasures such as writing. The gardens were quite successful this year with such perfect summer weather. My flower gardens all did beautifully and I was able to enter a lot of flowers in the Tunbridge Fair this year in the cut flower category. My entries included sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, and celosias. I had sold so many bouquets of cut flowers in the past few weeks that I was really in a panic trying to find enough blooms for the arrangements for the fair entries. Luckily the flowers were in top condition and all received blue ribbons! My greatest honor was receiving the "Best of Show" rosette for a potted geranium I entered. This plant was bestowed with the "Libby Dodge Award" and was such a huge surprise and honor for me. It felt like Christmas when I was a kid!
   The animals are all doing well and the young chickens are finally laying eggs every day now. Unfortunately discovering that we have two roosters in the mix has left us without two laying chickens that we had counted on. I must say that the roosters are truly beautiful to look at though and delightful to hear crowing "Good Morning" each and every day. It's also nice that the chickens, ducks, sheep, and calf are all in the barn and chicken house earlier and earlier each night with the shorter days. That means my day has been ending earlier as well.
   I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely early fall weather.

Cosmos entered at the fair

Sunflower entry

Celosias entered at fair

Zinnias

"Best of Show"

 

For the Love of Yard Sales

   I admit it, since I was 15 years old I have been a yard sale aficionado. Luckily for me, my husband really loves a good yard sale as well and is more than happy to go out on Saturday mornings on the hunt for a great bargain. It seems the interesting yard sales are becoming fewer and fewer, so we really didn't go out that many weekends this year.
   My first rule is to read all the newspapers on Friday and Saturday and look for yard sale ads especially with the words "antique" or "vintage" in them. Be there at least 15 minutes early and try to line up a few sales in the same general geographic area, and then the hunt is on. We only go out for a couple of hours since the really "good stuff" goes quickly and then it is usually a waste of time and gas driving around for hours. Often the best items are over-priced in the morning and the sellers are willing to take a lot less later in the day, so sometimes with a trip back late in the day you may just be lucky enough to find an item you really loved but couldn't afford is now going home with you for a song!
   This year I can't say I went to any one great yard sale. It seemed to be a really bad year for yard sales. Yet, I did manage a few fun purchases this year. I have been mainly looking for garden and vintage garden items and did find a few things I really like. This past weekend we went to a moving sale and I think I may have found my best buy of the summer yard sale season. I spotted a concrete Japanese pagoda garden decoration for $50. Since I have a few concrete garden embellishments, I know that any is worth $50. I was sold, but being a yard sale veteran I knew I had to ask if the seller would take less. When she said $30 I was ecstatic! So I now have a three tiered Japanese pagoda that is over four feet tall in my yard. Of course I looked it up on the internet and found the same exact one by the same manufacturer for $350. That's a yard sale score I would say! Next year I am planning a shade garden for my pagoda in a shady corner of my yard. Feng shui?
  

Our new pagoda ($30)

1940s Rain King lawn sprinkler ( $4)

Vintage gardening tools ($1-$2 each)

1906 lawn mower ($20)

wheel to lawn mower-Worcester Mass. Lawn Mower Company

 

 

Rusty 1940s child's wheelbarrow ($10)

 

Let it Rain!

   These couple of days of much needed rain have given me a break from the gardens and a few hours to catch up on some inside chores. I even spent Sunday afternoon in my sewing/craft room planning this year's Christmas presents to be made.
   My beets have all been just about harvested, maybe a dozen left in the ground to mature some more before pulling them out. They have been tender and sweet and my husband and I have really been enjoying them. One got away from me and became a giant. I don't know how I missed pulling this one up sooner, but now it is way past the suggested eating size of "slightly larger than a golf ball", as stated on the seed packet. It is now the size of a large turnip and probably pretty tough to eat. You can see from the picture next to the quarter it is past it's prime, but a gigantic root crop just the same.

 

 

   My gardening nemesis, the Japanese beetle, arrived in full force in July doing devastating damage to my roses and fruit trees. Oh, how I hate them! I don't use any pesticides in my gardens and the beetle traps you hang in trees seem to import more Japanese beetles to the property. My grandfather used to pick each and every beetle off of his roses, in his extensive rose garden, and throw them in a glass jar with kerosene in it. Well, I guess that killed them! There are so many Japanese beetles here this year it would be a nine to five job for me to hand pick them off. One lucky break this year has been no sighting of tomato hornworms. Those I do pick off by hand to save the tomato crop.

Another rose ruined. 

 

   I hope everyone is enjoying this rainy day, I know the gardens are! Maybe not the animals that are confined to the barn, look at the faces on the sheep who were summoned to the barn when  a thunderstorm was approaching yesterday.



The Ups and Downs of a Farm

   Last week was a stressful week for me. When I went out to the barn last Tuesday morning for morning chores I was greeted by one of our silver laced Wyandotte chickens savagely killed. Feathers were all over the ground and her head was totally gone. This is nothing anyone wants to see at 6 a.m. to start their day. She was one of our young chickens who was being kept in a large dog crate with her little flock at night, because they haven't yet learned to go into the chicken coop with the older chickens at sunset. Whatever got her tried to pull her through the spaces of the wire cage, pretty successfully. The rest of these little chickens are now living in the chicken coop with the big chickens at night courtesy of me chasing them and personally putting them in the coop each night. What a workout! I hope they get the idea of going in on their own soon.
   To further add to my stress Annabelle, our then 2 week old calf, needed to be dehorned. A job I hate. All dairy calves should be dehorned so as not to injure themselves by getting their horns caught on something, injuring other animals on the farm, and especially their handlers. Although a simple process if done at a very early age ( it involves shaving a spot where you can feel the horn buds coming in and then applying a caustic paste to the area the size of a quarter) it does really burn the poor calf for about an hour after applying the paste. After that they forget about it and the result is no horns. Annabelle was a wonderful patient with hardly any complaints. She held up better than I did. I actually didn't sleep well the night before, anticipating the deed. How silly!
   This week seems to be going much better, all the animals are happy and healthy. The gardens are doing beautifully with sunny days and weekly rain showers. We have even enjoyed our first beets and are still picking strawberries. The cut flowers are abundant, with different varieties coming on each week. Homegrown rewards for all the hard work of gardening!

At 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Annabelle drinks one 1/2 gallon bottle of raw milk from a local farm

And oh how she loves that bottle of milk

She also loves grass and clover

Our new barn star

Strawberry Time

   Saturday morning my husband and I had our weekly ritual of hitting a couple of yard sales, coffee and a decadent Danish at King Arthur Flour's café, and then on to the Norwich farmer's market. The farmer's market did not disappoint since I went for local strawberries for making jam, and strawberries they had at nearly every vendor.
   Sunday morning it was jam time! I started at 7:30 a.m. and was totally done by 9:30 a.m. The most time consuming part was of course clean up. The filled and canned jars must sit for two weeks before trying them, to allow for addition time to complete the jelling process, but so far all looks well.
   The recipe is simple and I encourage anyone who would like to try canning to make strawberry jam as their first attempt at canning. So here we go!

 You will need, in addition to a stove, measuring cup, spoons and pots the following items:

a colander
strawberry huller ( a sharp paring knife works fine)
potato masher
jar funnel
jar lifter
bubble remover/headspace measure ( also not mandatory, a butter knife slid along the side of the jar will remove air bubbles)
water bath canner with jar rack
canning jars
jar lids
screw bands

1. Wash jars, lids, and screw bands in hot soapy water, rinse. Place jars in your canner filled 2/3 with water, bring to a simmer. Let jars sit in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in a small saucepan of water and simmer ( do not boil lids).
2. Wash strawberries and drain in colander. Pat dry on paper towels. Hull strawberries, then crush strawberries with potato masher one layer at a time. Measure out 5 1/3 cups crushed strawberries and place in saucepan. Slowly add 6 Tablespoons of Ball brand "Real Fruit Classic Pectin". Bring mixture to a full rolling boil. (a boil which cannot be stirred down) Then add 4 cups of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return to a hard boil and boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
3. This recipe yields 8 jars of jam 8 ounces each. Ladle jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, use bubble remover to remove any air along sides of jar. Wipe rims with clean damp cloth and position lids on jars. Apply screw bands and adjust to just fingertip tight. Do not over tighten.
4. Place filled jars back into jar rack in canner with 1 to 2 inches of water covering tops. Place lid on canner and when it comes to a boil, begin timing and boil for ten minutes. Then turn off heat and remove lid. Let jars sit in canner for 5 additional minutes before removing.
5. Place jars on table or countertop and check seal in 24 hours. Pushing on the center of lid should not yield any flexing for a tight seal. Tighten screw bands and store in a dry, dark cupboard for up to 1 year. Refrigerate your jam after opening the jar.

It's a real indulgence to have a bit of summer in a jar on a cold day in January!  

jar funnel, magnetic lid lifter, bubble remover/headspace measure, jar lifter, potato masher, and strawberry huller

the completed jam

 

A Calf for the Farm

   Already we are at the end of June. After a slow start to the growing season in the vegetable and flower gardens everything has suddenly taken off at once, especially the weeds. So it's weed, weed, weed every early morning and every evening. I have even been able to harvest some lavender in the new lavender garden and there is much more to come. My only regrets this year gardenwise is not having planted more lavender and strawberry plants. Oh well, there is always next year.
   I avoided a regret I knew I would have and brought home a one week old Jersey calf to the farm on Monday. She is just adorable, and we have named her Annabelle. Of course all of the sheep are terrified of this tiny calf, since sheep are pretty much scared of anything, but they are getting used to her ever so slowly.
   All of our little "birds" are growing up way to quickly. Our Wyandotte chicks are now pullets, the next step before becoming laying hens, and our little duckling, Beatrix, is almost full sized. How does this happen so fast? So I am staying put on the farm this summer and enjoying all my lovely farm animals and especially our little Annabelle while she spends her first summer as a little calf.

Annabelle taking a rest after her first bottle at her new home.

She really does look like a baby deer!

Beatrix getting bigger everyday.

 

Beatrix is Here!

   Our new duckling has arrived and is just as darling as can be. We have named her Beatrix and she is now a tiny yellow duckling but will soon grow to be a large white Pekin Duck. Our plan is that she will be a companion to Francesca, our Rouen Duck, but we will have to wait and see when introductions are made.
  Francesca originally had two companions when we got her two years ago, but now occupies the duck house alone at night and during the coldest winter days. I ordered three Rouen ducks from a local feed store- two females and one male. I had hopes of little ducklings from this grouping, but it was not to be. I ended up giving the male duck away because he was so abusive to the female ducks, and even worse to me. I had constant bruises on my arms, where he bit me every time I gave them food or water, for the few short months I had him. Francesca's constant companion, Jemima, was killed the first summer by what we believe was a fox. Francesca was seriously injured as well, but survived by staying in the water in the center of a small livestock trough behind our barn, so apparently the fox could not reach her. She limped for a long time, lost quite a few feathers, and suffered a broken heart always looking for her friend Jemima. Since then she was adopted by the sheep, and thinks she is a sheep. She is always by their sides during the day when they are in the pasture. We thought she might like this little duck for "duck" company when she is alone in her house, but I fear she will probably just teach Beatrix to be a sheep too!

Beatrix- one day old

Every duckling should have it's own claw foot bathtub on the back porch!

Last week's bee inspection- the bees are thriving!

Our "not so baby" chicks

Garden Treasures

   After over a month of not blogging it feels good to sit down for a few moments and write down all the farm happenings. Our sad news is that we had to put our beloved 14 1/2 year old black lab, Millie, to sleep. It was time, but that didn't make it any easier for us. She was a great dog and a loving, faithful companion and we miss her more than words can say.
   On a happier note, it seems Charlotte our two year old ewe is indeed pregnant. If you read a previous post you know we were told by the vet she probably wasn't. A sonogram was done  and the vet saw nothing. She said her wool was so dense that the Doppler was not picking up any signs, and if she was pregnant she wasn't that far along. So April 20th, her expected due date, came and went. When the sheep shearer came to shear our flock, it became apparent that Charlotte is expecting. We have anytime up until June 5th to expect the little lamb or lambs. So exciting!
   The gardens have taken over every waking hour of my time the past few weeks. I have hand turned all the soil with a pitch fork in the existing gardens, raked, hoed and planted some seeds and plants. On Mother's Day my son, as part of my Mother's Day gift, rototilled the new lavender and cut flower garden. Now comes the planting! The garlic, onions, beets and carrots are all up and growing in the vegetable garden. I seem to be weeding all the time.
   While digging in my gardens in past years I often unearth a treasure or two. Usually in the form of an antique glass bottle, a marble or two, and plenty of shards from broken dishes. This year my hard work was rewarded with an antique child's size iron and a commemorative coin celebrating the return of Admiral Dewey and his ship the Olympia to New York on September 28-30, 1899. They don't have very much monetary value, but it really is a thrill to find old artifacts on one's property. So keep digging all you gardeners and I hope you find a treasure as well.

   

Front of Commemorative Coin

 

Back of Commemorative Coin

 

Antique Child's Iron

Glorious Spring!

   I refuse to complain about the pot holes in the roads and the mud just about everywhere because it's Spring, it's Spring, it's glorious Spring!! I can hardly believe the snow is almost gone. I can finally see where my gardens go. It's been soooo slow coming but spring is here.
   The baby chicks arrived on Thursday and they are just as cute as can be. Now I have to worry. Are they too cold? Are they too hot? I seem to be constantly raising and lowering the brooder light to get the temperature just right. They are in their brooder, a small livestock tub, with a brooder lamp on them to keep them warm, and all seem content- eating, drinking, and napping. What more could a baby chick want?

                                                                      Our new babies.

                                      Day old Silver-laced and Gold-laced Wyandotte chicks

   My first beekeeping class was Monday night at the Randolph Tech Center, and it was really informative and fun. It was not too "technical" and our teacher answered all our questions and emphasized to have fun with this new adventure. He was very laid back and now I feel more relaxed about getting my bees and setting up my hive, and very, very excited.
   With the warmer weather and longer days, our older girls are really laying eggs! So with the new "Fresh Eggs" sign finally completed, we will be setting up our roadside stand on nice days. The price of the eggs are still $2.50 a dozen. I also have a limited amount of cultivated French pussy willows for sale as well. These are the big pinkish-gray pussy willows that I grow in my yard. They are $5.50 a bunch.

The new sign for our eggs.

 

Pussy willows- a sure sign of spring.

 

   Finally thanks to everyone who has contacted me for orders for the Lavender-Shea lip balm. Although I included the instructions and recipe for the lip balm in a previous post, most people do not have the time to make it. I am going to be making the lip balm for sale, and you can contact me at thefarmatmillvillage@gmail.com with orders. The price is $3.50 per tin plus mailing.

   I hope everyone is getting outside and enjoying this fabulous weather. We finally made it to spring!

No Baby This Year

   It is with much disappointment that I write this post to say that Charlotte my two year old Old English Southdown Sheep is not pregnant, nor was she ever. My veterinarian was here on Wednesday to give her a booster shot for the impending birth of her lamb, so that the lamb would receive antibodies from the mother sheep to protect it from some fatal diseases. We decided to do a sonogram just to make sure that she was pregnant and no baby! Nothing! No baby, no enlarged uterus, no placenta, nothing. Apparently her increasing girth was a little weight gain do to her recent increase in grain consumption necessary at the end of  a sheep's pregnancy, and mostly her thick wool due to such cold temperatures this winter. I am so disappointed, but slightly relieved since I was getting nervous and stressed about assisting with the birth. Then, when I emailed the farm where I took her to be bred with the news, I found out they had successful live births where the lambs then succumbed to hypothermia and died do to this frigid spring weather we have had. My disappointment of no lamb this year would not even compare to the devastation I would feel if I lost a lamb after being born. I guess this was meant to be. I will try again in the fall during breeding season, and will also have Martha and Francis to breed as well, since they will be old enough too. I will look into breeding with a ram closer by though since the drive to New York State was just too stressful for the sheep (and the owners).
   On a happier note, I saw two bright yellow goldfinches at my feeder this morning. Seeing them in their spring plumage was so uplifting. The birds are really singing in the morning while I am doing the barn chores now. It is just so great to know we made it to spring! Now we need to get rid of the snow and mud and we will have something to celebrate. The barn has had a bit of water coming in this week due to the snow melt, but as long as we don't get any heavy rain we will manage. Have a great weekend, thanks for reading the blog!

The sheep, and their duck mascot, have made a path through the mud and snow to their favorite spot, but no grass yet to their dismay!

Although the ground is frozen, the chickens still love to look for bugs and worms.

Lavender Lip Balm

   Friday I tried my hand at making lavender lip balm. Many of the books I have been reading in preparation for beekeeping have chapters in the back of the books with recipes for cooking with honey and also crafting with beeswax. If you are thinking of only beeswax candles, you are missing many other cosmetic uses for beeswax, as I found out. Since my plan is to plant a large garden of lavender plants this spring ( when the snow finally dissipates ) I looked for recipes using beeswax, honey and lavender. This recipe for Lavender-Shea lip balm was easy to make, and the final product is amazing. Not too greasy but really soft and lightly scented. My weather beaten lips became softer with just one application! The only down side was the clean-up, since the beeswax hardens so quickly. I  recommend having measuring spoons and measuring cups reserved just for this project, because the oils are strong and tend to linger on the spoons and they needed numerous washings. Tins, tubes or pots are available online for a few cents a piece at numerous sites. I ordered all my supplies from Rose Mountain Herbs and Bulk Apothecary because I wanted organic ingredients, but there are other great sites for supplies for this type of craft. I'm looking forward to making other lip balms in different flavors. I can't wait to be able to use my own farm's beeswax though. If you feel adventurous and want to try making this lip balm, here is the recipe for Lavender-Shea lip balm.

1 Tablespoon Shea butter
2 Tablespoons Sweet Almond Oil
1 Tablespoon Organic Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Beeswax
15-20 drops organic Lavender essential oil
A few drops of vitamin E oil

Lip balm preparation- I used beeswax pastilles, so I did not have to grate beeswax off of a block of beeswax. Much easier! Place Beeswax, Shea butter, Olive oil, and Sweet Almond oil in a glass Pyrex measuring cup and place in upper half of a double boiler. Gently heat these ingredients until melted. Remove from heat and add vitamin E oil and Lavender essential oil. Pour this mixture immediately into your tins or whatever containers you decide to use. When entirely cool, put lids on your containers. This recipe makes 1.5 ounce lip balms in a quantity of 10 containers. Once you use this lip balm you will never go back to store bought chap sticks again, and most importantly you know you are using pure products on your lips and no chemicals!

Everything needed to make lip balm

The finished product

Let There be Bees

   There is no turning back, the bees have been ordered! As of Tuesday morning The Farm at Mill Village will officially be getting a package of Italian honey bees the first week in May. Italian honey bees are what is most prevalent in home gardens in the United States, and also a gentle bee recommended for beginner beekeepers. Oh, that is so me! My beekeeping class has been moved up to the first week in April and will be ending on April 28th, so I decided to order the bees this year. Why wait? The class was originally going to commence at the end of May, and with the bees arriving the first week of May I was hesitant to have the bees before completing the class. I ordered the bees and supplies through the Vermont Beekeeping Supply and they also offer numerous free beekeeping classes throughout the whole year, so I am feeling way more confident and excited about my new venture. Maybe this will be the year we get peaches on our peach trees if the bees do their job of pollinating the peach blossoms. I have high hopes for a greater abundance of fruit, vegetable crops, and flowers in the gardens with the help of the bees, not to mention the honey and beeswax the bees will supply us with. We are getting a small English garden hive with a pitched copper roof which I think will look charming in the garden.
   Our new bunnies, Patrick and Peter, are growing by leaps and bounds. It's so amazing how baby animals grow so quickly. They are enjoying their warm little spot in the house for now. They love cuddling up and sleeping together and I am so glad we decided to get the two of them for company for each other.

Peter and Patrick now 10 weeks old

 

And speaking of babies, our baby chicks will be here in two weeks. When I ordered them from the feed store weeks ago it seemed like forever before they would be here. So I guess spring should be arriving soon as well. Charlotte, our pregnant ewe, is also growing by leaps and bounds with the impending birth of her lamb on or near Easter Sunday. Less than a month to go! We still have so much snow here, but the sun is getting brighter and warmer and the days are getting longer. Spring must be right around the snow covered corner!

When will the snow go away?

 

Needle felted baby chick I made this week.

Please check our website for more needle felted birds at www.thefarmatmillvillage.com

 

Meet Patrick and Peter

   The Farm at Mill Village has two new babies to welcome spring. Meet Patrick and Peter.

They are brothers who are nine weeks old and just as cute as can be. We went on St. Patrick's Day to pick up our first bunny, hence the name Patrick. By the next morning I felt it would be a lonely life for Patrick, so we went back to pick up Peter, named after my Grandfather and coincidently "Peter Rabbit". The only complication is that in order to keep two males together they will need to be neutered at four months old, or run the risk of them fighting. Male rabbits will also spray urine like a male cat if not neutered. So it is off to the vet for Patrick and Peter in a few weeks. We have always kept rabbits, but this is the first time we have decided to keep two together and opt for surgery. For now they are very happy to be together and enjoy each others company. These are by far the friendliest bunnies we have ever had, loving to be picked up and cuddled and I am more that happy to indulge them. Who could resist? When the warm weather arrives, if the warm weather arrives, they will be going outside to a large rabbit hutch where they will have plenty of room to run back and forth all day long. For now they are in an indoor rabbit cage in a corner of our living room enjoying the activities of family living.
Happy first day of Spring and thanks for reading my blog!

Patrick enjoying his breakfast

Peter trying to take a nap but Patrick wants to play