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.