baby cows, turkeys on zucchini, and other stuff

The chickens don't know what to make of the oversized zucchini in their coop.We couldn't get close enough to the baby cow to spray him/her with an all-natural fly spray -- maybe tomorrow.

Doing the right thing even when it isn't easy.

New calf! What a treat. Still don't know the gender. It was born while we were away. It is very cute and as always Giddy is a great mama. She always births with no help from us. There was a lot to do to catch up from being away for a week. We had moved the waterer closer to the pasture gate for our house sitter, so I moved the cow waterer and fences around to the original configuration, then

Turkeys are here -- 3wks old

stone walls

My husband Bob is a very busy man. He leaves for work very early and takes care of his patients until late. When he comes home, he eats and does a bit more work on the computer. Often though he'll get changed from work slacks and his oxford shirt to stained shorts, a ripped tee, and a bandana, rolled and tied around his forehead.Then I know he's going to build stone walls. He's out there in the

changing plans and turkeys

The turkeys are coming today! Matt Proft had lots to say about where I could house them, what to feed them, and when they'd be ready.I was very worried about placing them somewhere we've already had the chickens due to blackhead disease. He said that's mainly a problem with large scale operations and not to worry. I was worried that I needed to grow them to 22 weeks minimum or else they wouldn't

The Swiss chard, lettuce, and spinach from the garden has been wonderful. Now the cucumbers and zucchini are coming in. Soon the green beans will be ready. I even picked broccoli today. While I watered this morning, I nibbled on blueberries from one of the garden bushes. Those were really good!The meat chickens are growing fast -- 25 of them are eating 30lbs of feed a week and they are only 3

remember winter!

On a day like today, I think we should all take a moment to remember winter.

Instructions

It may be a sign of age, but I've reconciled myself to following instructions.I used to skip reading the manual and try to wing it. Eventually I'd have to go back and read up on why the cream separator wasn't working right, but it seemed like a time saver to avoid the instructions and just try to figure it out for myself.I'd add all the liquid to all the dry ingredients and stir it all together

Monday, July 5

It's going to be very hot today, so I got up early and watered the cows and made sure the reservoirs for the bell waterers were filled for the chickens. I put a fan in the chicken coop to keep the layers cool. I led the cows up the hill to the shaded field and let them in the gate. I was up so early the chickens hadn't all laid their eggs yet. That rarely happens! I watered the vegetables, the

Grilled salad, grilled plums and salmon

Last night we tried something new. I wanted to cook most of our dinner outside instead of heating up the kitchen. I'm new to gas grilling, so I thought I'd experiment a bit, and luckily it worked out.First, I marinated a 3lb side of salmon and thick slices of firm tofu separately in a combination of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and canola oil. (Proportions: 1/2 cup canola oil, 1/4

Surprise Jacket knitting project

I started a baby sweater and I learned a lot. I learned how not to make a stitch -- that's a term of art "Make" -- I was adding a new stitch in the knitting and leaving a big hole. Simple thing to learn that the yarn you pick up has to be twisted by the needles first. See the holes in the yellow version? I also learned that if you hate the insipid yellow of a baby yarn, you need to give up and

chickens and bell waterers

Well, we finally did it. My sister said we wouldn't be sorry, and we're certainly not. It was easy to do and not that expensive. Phew.We finally set up bell watering systems for the stationary chicken coop with the laying hens, and for the chicken tractor with the meat chickens. We had an olive barrel that had been transformed into a rain barrel, with a faucet at the bottom and are using that as

Tonight we're roasting a leg of local lamb and I'll serve some chard from our garden sauted with olive oil and garlic, with crumbled feta and toasted pine nuts added before serving. Yum! I wish we had fresh raspberries for dessert, but the kids don't want to drive up to the farm up the hill, and I don't either...but tomorrow I'm definitely going. I've already made raspberry jam from the Mad Tom

the cows are still pregnant, still playing.

The garden is sprouting!

the new chickens are here!