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.