Things slow down on the farm in the winter.  Nothing is growing so there is no need to water or mow.  We have been cutting down trees around the pond to use as firewood and fence posts.  The hoop house has been ordered and will be delivered this week.  We hope to put the frame up the week after Christmas.  In order to prepare the growing area where the hoop house will be, we have collected bagged leaves from our neighbors and have made compost piles at the farm that are made of leaves, hay and sheep manure.

The outhouse building is complete but we have not installed the toilet yet because we are waiting until we get the hole dug for the homemade septic tank.

The field mice seem to like the barn and we have caught about 12 mice on glue pads. Once we get some barn cats, I think the mice will decide the stay out of the barn.

Cris and I are deciding on the plans for the cabin and are working on a farm calendar to plan our weekends so we get things planted on time this year.  We were late planting this year because we were determined to get the barn built.

The bees have slowed down now that it has gotten colder. We checked on them today and they seem to be doing well.  The fish have moved towards the bottom of the pond and the pond is back up to it's normal level thanks to some rainy days.

Amazing what creatures turn up on the farm.

This weekend we planted 75 daffodil bulbs on the terrace near the apple and pear trees.  We also worked on the inside of the pimped-up outhouse and have decided that we need to work on our drywall skills before we start on the cabin.  Installing the drywall is no problem but the plastering of corners etc... that we need to work on.  We just need the right tools I think and some patience. 

We installed the trim inside the outhouse and starting painting the walls.  Next weekend is the installation of the toilet and sink and outside rain water container. 

The seeds we planted (mustard, kale, turnips) have started to sprout and the seedlings we planted seem to like the cold, damp dirt in the ground so they are doing good too. 

We started cutting down trees around the pond to use as firewood and as fence post.  It will be nice to open of the pond area to get some sun. 

I took the dogs for a run - while I ride on the atv they like to run ahead and go exploring in the woods.  Sometimes they catch the scent of a deer and put their noses to the ground just like a bloodhound and start running and sniffing.  When they lose the scent they go all the way back to where they first caught the scent and start over.  It's comical.  This weekend they were so busy with their noses to the ground that they did not see the two deer on the hill in the woods.  They also were so busy sniffing around some logs that they did not see the big rabbit that ran out of the logs and got away.  They seem to be better at catching field mice.  One mouse decided to take refuge in Alex's atv and Nugget had a fit.  He was biting the front grill of the atv trying to get to the mouse.  Before they day was over though, they did manage to snag two mice. 

We took some time out of our busy farm weekend to attend the 1st Annual Chili Cookoff in Grand Junction, which is the next town over from Saulsbury.  There were 7 entries and only one of them was something I thought was any good.  I think next year Cris will have to enter his chili.  We had a nice time.  The city park it right next to the town's cemetery.  We strolled through the cemetery and it was as if we stepped back in time.... so many young men who had died in 1944 during WWII.  So many young children that had died as newborns in the 1800's and from various diseases that were rampet then.  Some families lost 3-4 children. It was sad.  As much as I love our adventure into living a self-sustainable life, I am not ignorant of how much good technology can also do.... and how wonderful it is to have some things that help keep us safe such as antibiotics and the availability of clean water. 

We are trying to decide now where to put the cabin and which direction to face it. I'm really excited about building the cabin... I say that now.... ask me in a few months when I'm sick of drywall and painting.

We have started feeding the bees sugar water now that it is turning cold.  This will help get them through the winter.  The fish aren't hanging around the pond edge as much because of the cold and the best part is that Nugget is not swimming in the pond anymore....just too cold I guess.  Nothing like a wet dog coming up and shaking right next to you and he always managed to take a swim right before it was time to get in the car to go home. 

Cris is looking into raising worms for compost.  Basically you buy a bunch of red worms, put them in a bin, add newspaper, some dirt and sand and then feed the worms the food you would normally put in your compost bin.  Then in 3-4 months you have wonderful compost that you harvest.  The worms are saved and you just start over again. 

I am 'beet' from all the winter vegie planting.

Outhouse - Outside is completed

We even add a little deck to the outhouse. 


This past weekend (Oct 30-31) was a nice Fall weekend though it did sneak up to 80 degrees on Sunday for a bit.  Because of the rain we received last week, we were able to plant all our winter vegies....kale, mustard, collards, beets, turnips, rutabagas, etc.  Our tomatoes are still growing, though they are green and not as big as they should be.  We have been canning pickled green tomatoes.... when life hands you lemons...you make lemonade...or in this case, pickled green tomatoes!  We were hoping for a bumper crop of tomatoes for can tomato sauce this year but there's always next year.

We were able to finish up the outside of the outhouse which included painting the outside walls, trim, adding the roof and the little awning over the door.  We also added a gutter in the back to collect rain water for the toilet. I painted the walls and floor on the inside. We have not dug the hole yet for the septic tank so we aren't going to buy the toilet and sink until then. 

Now that the winter vegies are planted, we are going to turn our attention to finishing up the outhouse, adding on to the barn (another 12x24 stall), and purchasing and installing the hoophouse.  Once we get the hoophouse installed, the Dept. of Ag. will come out, inspect it and then reimburse us about 80% of the cost of materials.  I think it's going to be about 30x100 feet and Cris and I will be installing it ourselves. 

The first of the year we will start on the cabin.  In between all these projects we are also clearing out trees around the pond and bushhogging some trails through the woods.  We have found some pretty steep ditches in our inspection of the wooded areas so we plan to fence these areas off to keep Alex and friends from coming upon them unexpectedly.  I'd hate for someone to fall in them and get hurt......especially me!

Our mushroom logs are FINALLY starting to show some promise.  I did a test and dropped one of the logs a few weeks ago to simulate a tree falling.  According to the mushroom people, if you drop a log onto the ground, it makes the mushroom spores think the tree has fallen to the ground and is in the process of dieing.  This makes the spores grow more quickly.....which is what happened on the log that I dropped.  It now has little mushrooms growing, whereas the other's do not yet.  So, next week we plan to drop all the logs onto the ground, then stand them up vertically and see what happens. I think the fact that it finally started to rain around here helped too.

We plan to visit family in Maryland for Thanksgiving. This will be the first weekend that one of us has not be at the farm since purchasing the property.  I took a weekend away to go to Maryland (but Cris stayed behind and worked on the farm) in the summer but other than that, we have been at the farm every weekend.... maybe not the entire weekend but we have spent at least one day of the weekend there since about March or April.  I so look forward to the day we have moved out there permanently. It will be easier to get things accomplished then and the peace and quiet out there is so refreshing.  

Outhouse - not finished yet

Our newest "old" tractor

A puddle of water  from the rain shower we received at the farm!!

Weekend of Oct. 16-17, 2010

sunflower head full of seeds.... so neat!

The largest tomato we grew this year - did not turn red because of drought and heat.  Looks like we are going to can some pickled green tomatoes!

Outhouse - A Work in Progress

Inside of the "Privy"... will have a REAL toilet and sink...

Well, despite the weather map showing that Saulsbury received rain last week, our rain gauge and the ground itself show no signs of any rain.  There's another chance of rain...just a chance this week so here's hoping.

Saturday Cris picked up 50 small mouth bass (about 3 inches long) and 25 albino catfish (about 4-5 inches long).  We added them to our pond to help control the minnow and bluegill population so they will grow larger.  They seem to be fish food trained as well. 

Teddy has made a great recovery from his snake bites...he ran around the pond this weekend but did not spot any snakes....maybe they are all gone???? 

When were pleasantly surprised to arrive at the farm and see the 2 lower fields had been cut and the hall rolled.  Thanks Homer!!  This weekend, Cris bushhogged the 'homestead' field and the garden field (2nd field) and left the hay on the ground to work as mulch to improve the soil. 

We still were not able to plant the winter vegies....it has GOT to rain sometime!  So we watered the fruit trees and worked on the blackberry bushes by putting some of the stems in the ground to promote growth and expansion of the bush. 

We have three late growing green pepper plants that are doing great.  We were able to harvest some peppers to add to our breakfast Sunday morning. 

The tomato plants have plenty of tomatoes on them...they are just all green.  We harvested the bigger ones to make pickled green tomatoes and I think fried green tomatoes are on the menu this week as well.  They would have been beautiful red tomatoes if this year had not been so dry and hot and we had not planted them so late in the summer.  Next year we plan to grow the tomatoes in the hoop house to protect them from the heat.  

Since we could not plant, we worked on the outhouse.  We need to add a door, window, three tin roof panels, install gutters, put up some trim, then paint.  Then we will work on the inside.  The plumbing will come later when we dig a hole, install a drum in the ground and other details that Cris will take care of.  We plan to install a barrel above the toilet (on the outside) to hold rain water to use for the toilet.  The sink will use fresh water from a container.  I am not washing my hands in pond or rain water!

Please Rain Already!

Watson's Law - (similar to Murphy's Law) When we were trying to build a barn, it would rain every weekend and slow down our process.....but.... the minute we plant vegetables in the ground, (which is when we need the rain), it stops raining!  I have never seen a drought like this.  Luckily, we have access to water through our pond but still, it just doesn't so as much as what a good soaking rain would do. 

And then....let's talk about the heat..... hottest summer ever and it was in the 90's this past week (hello....it's October!). 

Ok - enough complaining.....

Our winter vegies are still in their seedling trays because the ground is just too dry to plant.  We are soaking the plowed area with pond water where we are going to plant them to try and make the ground favorable for planting.  Hopefully this weekend we will be able to plant.  We have Kale, Collards, Turnips, Rutabagas, Brussels Sprouts, Beets and Mustard.

Fish - our fish are doing great!  The bluegill are growing and there are many baby fish swimming around.  This weekend we are picking up about 50 small mouth bass to put in the pond.  This winter we plan to clear out the trees around the pond to open it up (and maybe get rid of the snakes!!).

Tractor - our Ford 8N tractor is having it's engine worked on.  Nothing major and we should have it up and running this weekend.  In the meantime, Cris found a Massey Ferguson tractor on Craigslist that has more power and was $1000.00.  It works great with the plow.  I like my little Ford 8N though so I will keep using that to bush hog. 

Speaking of bush hog - our neighbor down the street and around the corner, Homer, offered to cut our fields for the hay and will give us a couple rolls to keep for ourselves.  That works out great because we need the hay for compost and he needs it to feed his horses and cows. 

Vet - when Cris took Teddy to the vet for a snake bite follow-up, our vet, Dr. Shaw, said he's very interested in our organic farming and will be one of our first customers.  More importantly, he is learning how to treat animals using organic type treatments and is happy to assist us with our animals when we do get our cows, sheep and chickens. 

The outhouse is about 1/4 the way complete - we have not been able to work on it lately but it's not an immediate need so it can wait.  We also plan to enlarge the barn by adding another 12x24 stall area but that's not too hard to do. 

Hoop House - we got approval for the hoop house (greenhouse without heat) from the Dept. of Ag and they will cover most of the cost.  They came out to the farm to approve the area where we want to place the hoop house; next we have to purchase it, install it and then they come back out, inspect it, then we get reimbursed. 

Cabin - in the planning stage.  Working out a floor plan and hope to start on it the first of the year. 

Electric - put off until a little later.  We have been doing fine out there with the generator and propane lanterns.... of course, when it's 20 degrees and we are spending the night in the barn, I may change my mind.  But hey, if the Boy Scouts can camp out in freezing weather, so can I! 

Fall is Fruit Tree Planting Time

Honeycomb from our hive.

There's some yummy honey in there!

The Honeycomb Frame - inside there is pure honey. Doesn't look pretty now but the end result is lovely!

 

Blueberry Bushes

 

10 Apple (2 varieties) and 10 Pear (2 varieties)



Something rub off the bark so we had to put up fencing. 



Fencing to keep deer away.



Weekend of October 2-3

We purchased 10 apple trees, 10 pear trees, 5 peach trees and 5 blueberry bushes from Angel Wings Nursery in Mississippi.  We rented a post hole digger and even with that, we had a hard time digging holes due to the drought in our area.  We have not had a decent rain in months and the ground is so hard. 

It will take probably 2 years for our trees to start producing fruit but I can't wait! 

We also harvested a few honey frames from our 2 hives and it's interesting to see the difference in color each hive produces.  One hive produced an amber color honey and the other was much lighter and less 'rich' tasting.  Both are really good though! 

Teddy vs. the Snake

Teddy's Wounds - notice the redness under his neck.  That is from the blood pooling. 

The venom makes it so blood does not clot. 

The Water Moccasin - Teddy looking at his kill

This snake was going nowhere - Teddy broke it's neck.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

While Cris was working in the field with the tractor, I took the dogs down to the pond to feed the fish.  Teddy and Nugget usually run around the pond trying to catch frogs.  This time, Teddy found a snake in the stump of a tree that was submerged in the pond.  I knew from his bark that this was not a frog and it was confirmed when Teddy grabbed the snake and threw it up.  Teddy's terrier instinct kicked in and he went to 'going off' on this snake, despite being bitten at least two times. 

Me, being the chicken, jumped on the ATV and went for Cris.  Cris took off for the pond and I went to the barn to get a shovel.  By the time I got back to the pond, Cris had the snake and Teddy was relieved from killing duty.  The snake was on his way to snake heaven because Teddy broke it's neck.  Cris thought it best to finish the job and chopped off the snake's head with the shovel. 

At first, we thought it was just a water snake but a couple hours later, Teddy was showing signs of being bitten by something poisonous.  Cris took him to the emergency vet that night and bagged the snake to take along.  The vet said it was indeed a Water Moccasin and it bit Teddy pretty good in the face.  The venom makes it so the blood of it's victim does not clot so Teddy had a big pool of blood under his neck which was very painful.  He was crying in pain the poor puppy.  The vet gave him an IV of pain killers and antibiotic, along with a prescription of benedryl, antibiotic and pain killers to take home. 

By Tuesday, Teddy has returned to his usually happy self except he does still feel a little discomfort from the bruising under his chin and the bite marks seem to itch him. 

Teddy Bear is my hero.

field next to our farm

25 fruit trees and 5 blueberry bushes

put this out 3 weeks ago - not a single bird has come to feast.

field next to our farm



Nugget waiting for breakfast to finish cooking.



Our campfire at the farm

Dinner - Steak, Potatoes and Corn freshly pick out of the garden.

Spaghetti Squash Cooling - when cool, just take a fork and scrape out inside of squash and it comes out looking like spaghetti noodles.  Very delicious.

To Cook Spaghetti Squash place in pan with a little water - bake at 350 degrees until tender.

Beeswax - mashing it to drain the honey out.

Honey after drained from Beeswax

 

Yummy Raw Honey

The Gravel Driveway

Parking/Equipment Area

The 4x8 Picnic Table with Wheels



The Circle of Life

Little Bunny Foo-Foo did not make it. :(  We had hoped that we could be a surragate mom to baby bunny but it's just too hard to keep a newborn bunny healthy and alive in captivity. I'm sure this is just one of many baby bunnies we will find on the farm. 

Craigslist is the place to be....

Yesterday we spent 6 hours on the road to pick up a John Deer 2 row planter that Cris found for sale on Craigslist. It was in Huntingdon, TN which is a little North East of Jackson, TN. We had to drive from Memphis, to the farm to pick up the truck & trailer, drive through the pouring rain (not complaining....so glad it rained) and by the time we picked it up and ate dinner (note to self....do not eat at Bailey's Restaurant, Wildersville, TN ever again), we decided to just head home with the truck, trailer and planter.

When Cris went to the farm this morning to drop the truck off, the rain gauge said it had rained 2 inches on the farm.....hurray!!!! He also took a picture of one of the sunflowers I had planted long ago that is finally opening up.

The bunny we rescued ("Foo-Foo" we call him), has taken to the eye dropper and his new mommy, Cris, is able to get a decent amount of food into him. Not sure when he will open his eyes but I think he will survive to roam the farm when he's older.

Labor Day Weekend

We took the spare double bed out to the farm this weekend to keep in the barn now that the weather is turning nice. Alex went with his friend to visit his friend's grandfather's farm in Illinois this weekend so Cris and I packed up the dogs and headed to the farm Saturday.

Cris was able to work on the Ford 8N Tractor and cleaned and rebuilt the engine. The tractor ran great....that is.... until the front tire blew! So next weekend we have to buy a tire to replace it. I think the tractor is cursed. We did pick up a used riding lawn mower and I used that this weekend to clean up around the garden. I don't think I can do the entire farm with it though!

While Cris tinkered with his tractor, I planted 13 trays of fall/winter seeds: Kale, Mustard, Collards, Beets, Turnips, Rutabagas (my favorite!) and Brussels Spouts.

Our summer garden is coming to a close and all that is left is some corn (which turned out really tasty) and okra. The tomato plants may make a last minute effort to grow some actual tomatoes but I think the heat, drought and our late planting of them made it hard for them to thrive. We plan to plow over the summer squash, corn and beans and plant the winter vegies in the next week or two. The winter/fall squash is still growing nicely. They are calling for rain this week so hopefully they will get some much needed rain.

Teddy the Terrier found a nest of newborn rabbits in our garden next to the cucumbers. He picked one up and brought it to Cris. Cris took it back to the nest but the next day momma had come and took all the bunnies except for the one that Teddy has messed with. Cris knew it was the same bunny because it has a white spot on it's head. So..... bunny is now at our house. After a trip to Petco and $50 later, bunny has a cage with straw, baby kitten formula, and an eye dropper to feed bunny. We are not sure if he will make it but we will give it our best shot. If he manages to survive, when he gets old enough we will release him back on the farm and send him on his furry way. NO, he will NOT end up on the dinner table!

Cris and I built a picnic table this weekend because we got tired of eating off the back of the truck. We did eat good this weekend though.....the market down the street from us has steaks and they are priced great. $4.99 for a T-bone. Saturday we had t-bones, baked potato and some of our recently canned pears for dinner. Sunday Cris cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast (farm fresh eggs and bacon from the farmer's market) and for lunch we had crab soup that I had made and froze last month. Sunday's dinner was ribs, corn fresh out of our garden and baked beans. We have a weber grill and a Coleman's propane stove we cook with. Monday we splurged and went to Waffle House for breakfast because we had to go to Lowes in Cornith, MS.

In the evening we built a small fire and sat around it and looked at the stars. It is amazing how many more stars you can see when there are no lights around. We played cards and never missed the TV or phone (my cell phone battery died). The weather was perfect.

We bought a solar shower - which is basically a black water bag and hangs and the sun warms the water. We used the rain water in the rain barrels for the shower bag and I was able to wash my hair Saturday night. After coming home Monday though, I still know that I cannot do without indoor running water! It's so dusty right now at the farm that I was covered by the time we got home Monday.

Cris next major project is to build an outhouse. But, it will be a 'pimped up' outhouse with a real toilet. This should be interesting.

Peaches in Syrup

Pear Butter Cooking

Some of the items we have canned.

Sunday's Pickings - Lady Peas, Cucumbers, Squash, Zucchini & a few Tomatoes

Watermelon in the early stages

Corn


Spaghetti Squash not yet ripe - should turn gold

We finally received a nice day of rain at the farm on Sunday. We aren't doing much around the farm right now except picking vegies, picking caterpillars off the tomatoes and watering the plants. The tractor parts have not come in yet so we can't bush hog right now but most of the fields have been cut. Cris bought a scythe from a place in Perry, Maine ( http://www.scythesupply.com/ ) that custom makes them to your body measurements. It's quite a piece of equipment and works great on the areas we can't get the bush hog to. We plan to use it to cut down wheat when we start growing it next year. We want to grow and grind our own wheat.

Saturday we had dinner again with friends at the organic, raw milk dairy farm in Middleton, Tn. There is a group of us who get together once a month to share conversation and advice on sustainable living. We try to bring pot luck dishes made from items we have grown. We brought a stewed tomato (from the farmer's market) and okra (from our garden) dish, cucumber salad (our garden) and a pear tart. (pears we picked in MS. and the crust was made from organic, locally ground wheat). One family brought pickled okra that was really good so we made our own pickled okra Sunday to can.

It is the time of season to start canning and freezing. What we have not grown ourselves, we have bought from the local farmer's market to freeze and can. Our cupboard is getting full. Since our tomatoes were not a great crop this year, we will wait until next year to can tomatoes and spaghetti sauce.

In October we will plant fruit trees so they have the winter to take root. We will also turn under the 2nd field and plant a cover crop to help the soil get in shape for next year. We plan to use the 2nd field as the vegetable garden next year with the fruit bushes and trees on the 'homestead' tier.

We have decided to be completely moved out on the farm and then sell the house but we won't build a house until we sell the Memphis home. We are going to do some research and play with the numbers to see if we can build a small cabin to live in rather than buy a trailer. That way, the cabin can be used as a guest house or office/test kitchen when we do build the "homestead". I would rather build a cabin than have a trailer.

I think there is a change in the air....

Well, the massive heat wave that has been sitting on the Memphis area for about 2 mos. now is finally starting to dissipate. It has actually been in the low 90's during the day and less humidity. That will make the vegies happy as they have been overheated and thirsty.... especially the tomatoes.

We have been busy picking what is ripe in the garden; squash, zucchini, lady peas, okra and cucumbers. The cucumbers are beautiful but some have a bitter taste to them due to the stress of the heat and no rain. We plan to buy the stress resistant variety next season so there is no bitterness. Everything else has been great despite the squash bugs coming to pay us a visit and having to pick caterpillars off the tomato plants but we have been using organic bug spray to help with that. There is a great organic nursery in Collierville that has all the stuff we need to keep the bugs away. We have heard from other farmers who say the squash bugs have invaded their gardens as well, so I am glad it is not just us who have the problem.

We also planted a few zinnias this year and they turned out so pretty that we will plant a bunch more next year. The butterflies love them. The bees are having a great time on our sunflowers as well.

The tractor has turned out to be more work than anticipated.... it is nothing that Cris can't fix but it is just finding the time to do it. There are not too many actually parts to an old Ford 8N tractor. He fixed the alternator last week and now it is charging the battery just fine but he thinks the engine needs some work; especially after the tractor starting spewing smoke. He ordered the parts and plans to bring the tractor to our house to work on it in the garage next week. By the time he is through, the tractor will have all new parts.

We started cutting down more trees and brush around the pond to get some sunlight there and grass growing. The blue gill fish are alive and well and growing. They are used to us coming to the pond now and throwing fish food in for them. They hear Cris start the water pump for the garden and they come running (or swimming) to the edge and wait for the fish food. Cris wants to add some bass this fall.

We finally decided on a name for the farm.... we at first were going to be Watson Organic Farms but I wanted something other than our name and really didn't want "organic" in the name. We wanted Firefly Farms but it was already taken in Tennesssee (someone licensed it in July of this year..... uuuuggghhh I was too late). We decided on Renaissance Farms, LLC. We were always big Renaissance Fair goers in Maryland and I made each of us an outfit to wear each year. So as long as the State of Tn. approves it, Renaissance Farms it will be.

Due to Cris receiving a decent bonus this year, we are able to order the gravel for the driveway and barn area and get set-up for electric. They will have to install about 3 utility poles to run the electric to the barn.

We are deciding rather to have the builders start on the house in the spring before we sell our house in Memphis or just buy a trailer or mobile home to live in at the farm after Alex graduates high school, sell our house in Memphis, then start building after we sell the house. We will probably go with the 2nd option due to the economy and crazy housing market. I would hate to have to pay for two homes at the same time.

I was able to get some more butterfly photos this week and even saw a monarch. These were in Mississippi at a house were we picked pears. The man advertised on Craigslist that he had pears that needed picking so we picked 3 brown grocery bags full and have been busy making pear butter and canning pears. We are going to plant our own fruit trees in October but it will take a few years for them to produce a decent crop.