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