It was the day after Christmas

December 26, 2012

It was the day after Christmas

It rained; it snowed and was nasty all day. We are grateful for our family, friends and a warm fire to rest by.

We had a great holiday literally going over the river and into the woods, cutting downed trees, clearing trails and cleaning up the house we have sort of abandoned for the farm.  Amanda managed the farm and the animals for a few days.  Judy’s brother, Bill, visiting from Houston and JJ, came out to help with the work.

Christmas eve we opened gifts and tried our first “Filet Mignon” from the beef we butchered a few weeks ago.  The fact that the fat is minimal makes it a bit trickier to cook.  The recommended cooking is on secondary fire (not grilled) with marinades, rubs or bacon.  We just broiled them with some salt and pepper.

We had a small “Charlie Brown” tree that was planted on Christmas Day across the driveway where we planted one about 5 years ago.  Bill headed home and we headed back to the farm.

The dozen sheep got to go to the pasture by the pond, basically after a few crawled under the fence we decided it was in our best interest to open the gate and let them through.  Amanda took the electric fence down to fence off some of the fresh dirt that was put around the pond re-enforcing the Dam site, as the vet warned us last summer that parasites can infect the animals from freshly turned soil. 

People have asked me frequently the last few months whether the sheep are as dumb as they hear.  I really do not think any animal is stupid, but do like to watch animal behaviors.  Sheep definitely seem to think in a crowd mentality, reminding me so much of humans.  As Amanda opened the gate for the remaining sheep yesterday they rushed to the corner the gate and fence formed and took a few minutes trying to figure how to get around it.  Then they all calmly went through. 

Except for one.  She had been grazing and not paying any attention.  When she realized she was alone in the field she panicked and started to ram her head against the gate until she realized the way to go around it.  It was fascinating and at times painful to watch.

The Chickens are doing great. We are getting at least two -dozen eggs or more a day recently, the most all year…. Green eggs from the Aracuna, Brown from the Marans and the big white from the Leg Horns. 

The four guinea fowl continue to patrol the property and have learned that food is

given twice a day, then they are on their own.  They are roosting in the barn.

We got a new feral cat from the Athens Humane society a few days ago.  A beautiful gray cat that I have named Grace.  As recommended we kept her in a crate a few days with food and water, and then let her loose continuing to leave food and water out.   The Humane Society has problems with finding homes for wilder cats.  By taking them here at the farm….they are already given shots and neutered they have a home and help us to keep down the problems with mice and moles, especially around the barn and feeding areas.

We continue to go to the Athens Farmer’s Market on Saturday, with Lamb, Beef, kale, carrots, eggs and more to offer.  Gratefully the beef is selling quickly with

at least a quarter of our original amount sold in less than a month…. No Antibiotics and all grass fed, gives very lean meat.  The lamb is tender and sweet as well.

If you cannot make it to the market and want to come to the farm or have it delivered, please contact me at 740-541-4190 or at judyljenkinson@me.com

November 30, 2012
We have Lamb to sell!

We hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday.  We enjoyed our family gatherings and some quiet time for a few days but are now back in the work mode.

The hunters are around us with the sounds of guns aiming at the deer bouncing around the valley as the shot seems to echo in the cold, dry air.  A few turkeys survived so far and were seen last week in a field on Baker Road in the mid day sun as they scavenged the field for lunch.

We took the cows and six lambs to the butcher a couple weeks ago. 

Having raised them as humanely as possible we looked at a variety of butchers before making a decision.  We ended up at R & C Meat Packing, a small operation in Gallia County.  They allowed Amanda to come in and actually be a part of the process. 

The cows have been with us for nearly 18 months and had a great curiosity.

The last few months being bulls and steers, they seem to behave like the teen age boys they were just learning how to use their strength to break through fences and do what they wanted. They had an intense curiosity and were all best friends

when they were together.

The sheep we acquired in May after the owner, a friend of Amanda became too ill to farm and his flock had to be sold.  We still have a dozen sheep left and hope for some lambs in the spring.

We will be selling the lamb meat at the Saturday Athens Farmers Market this week, and next week the beef will be available.

If you cannot make it to the market and want to come to the farm or have it delivered, please contact me at 740-541-4190 or at judyljenkinson@me.com

Seasonal Changes

November 8, 2012

Seasonal Changes

The building and improvements continue while Amanda, Dan and I continue to take care of the animals and farm the fall crops.  The sweet potatoes have been picked; we have greens, a few cabbages, celery, kale, turnips, radish and carrots for the market.

Farm Buildings

October 9, 2012

Farm Changes

Wow where does time go? The frost is literally on the pumpkins this morning!

We took a break blogging about the time Amanda took a much needed vacation to Canada, Daniel started back to college and the construction began on the farm. I took a few days off and we also hosted a few painters from the Ohio Plein Air Society who were in the area one weekend in September. The vistas continue to take our breath away regularly as we work and walk the dogs around the fields.

In the big barn we now have a beautiful cement floor, windows, a second small chicken coop, and stalls to bring the animals in as needed.  Doors and windows are being installed, with a new coat of paint to the roof. 

Additional work completed thus far is the reinforcement of all the perimeter fences and the wall of the dam of the farm pond. We took down the lean-to that held our extra tools, hay, woodpile, Scott’s car and more.  It was moved and all the metal was recycled to create an even larger one in an area closer to the barn. 

In its place is going the final building we have been dreaming of.  Scott is getting a real garage for his car and truck, then the office and bunkhouse for the farm hands, freezer/cooler and the dream of a lifetime a heated greenhouse.  We hope to be able to offer kitchen herbs year round as well as getting an earlier start on the summer gardens.

Additional items will be a wood burner to heat new office and greenhouse, and a cistern to catch and filter rain water, to water our gardens catching the rain from the house, barn and all the other buildings we now have.  We are finally getting off the grid….at least  a bit. 

Our two bee hives have been inspected and deemed healthy by the state agriculture bee inspector.

We hope to be selling some honey next spring.

The two surviving Guinea Fowl are now free ranging and enjoying surveying the construction and harassing the construction workers.  Guinea are great for eating bugs (esp. Ticks!) and being sentries for other animals for predators.  Their calls are hard to explain, except loud and obnoxious...

The portable solar electric fences are doing well as the sheep and cows are now being moved regularly to keep them in healthy greener areas for their best nutrition.

We have started going to the Wednesday Farm Market as well as Saturdays.  Our mixed salad greens are doing well, we have small decorative pumpkins, green peppers, turnips and more.  We have set a date for the butchering of the lambs and bulls in the next few weeks.  Fresh lamb meat will be available by Thanksgiving and the beef will be coming in December after it ages a few days.  We appreciate your support and are looking to offering even more pesticide free food to you in the coming years.

If you cannot make it to the market please feel free to call me at 740-541-4190 and arrange a time to come to the farm and get your food or we can also deliver. 

Wishing you all Sunshine and Happiness, Judy

August 23, 2012

Harvest Time

We are starting to pick items almost daily at this point.  Our late plantings and regular watering are starting to payoff.  This week we seem to have an abundance of patty pan summer squash, tomatoes and cucumbers. 

Amanda and Dan are helping me to preserve some of the harvest.  Yesterday we canned 6 quarts of whole tomatoes, froze 8 pints of tomato sauce (with basil, olive oil, cheese and a variety of herbs), and canned 13 pints of mustard dill pickles.

The Purple Chopstix of Richland Avenue has started purchasing some of our fresh vegetables to go with the eggs they have been buying for several months.

The Aracuna pullets (36) are starting to really lay their eggs (up to 10 a day!)  We purchased them less than a week old in March.  The eggs are small and a beautiful aqua blue.  We will be selling them at the Athens Farmer’s Market for $3 dozen starting on Saturday. They are fed Non Genetically Modified layer feed, with a mix of grit and oyster shells (to keep the egg shells hard). 

Last summer we forgot the oyster shell for a few days and had some eggs laid with out a hard shell.  They were fascinating.

We continue to move the sheep and cows from pasture to pasture to keep from overgrazing the fields from the drought earlier this summer.  It is almost time for another cutting of hay in the two front fields then we reseed with orchard grass this fall, to give an even healthier feed for the animals next year.

The barn renovation planning is moving along with scaffolding up to start getting measurements for all the new building we will be doing.  The current barn has no doors that close on any of the four sides and seems to be built into the side of a hill with one corner being almost 3 feet lower than it’s opposite side…..no wonder it is a muddy mess in the winter!!

If you have any special requests for large amounts of vegetables, for canning or freezing, to be held for you or you would like to come to farm and pick your own give me a call (740-541-4190).  I would be happy to work something out around your schedule. 

This week at the Athens Farmers Market we will be having Squash, beets, kohlrabi, okra, green beans, garlic, cucumbers and radishes.  We will try to remember some of the fresh Sunflowers this week also.  See you at the Athens Farmer’s Market!

August 17, 2012

Life and Death on a Farm

Monday afternoon while Amanda was setting up our new Solar Panels for the portable electric fences she found a dead ewe lamb.    It was in the brush at the back of the pond where the sheep have been getting away from the sun.  I had feared that we would lose a lamb to the coyotes like the previous owner did.  While we are not sure about cause of death, it seems to have been the stress from the heat, nutrition and a rise in the parasites (which is common in sheep and many animals).  We had just recently gotten the medical records from the previous owner for the flock. 

We did some quick research and found out the regulations for disposing of a dead animal on your farm.  Grateful for the front loader of the tractor we dug a deep enough hole and transported the lamb.  After a thorough sterilization of the front loader with bleach, so as not to contaminate any soil, we used some of our older hay and mulch pile to cover it keeping it from smelling and bringing in any carrion.  

It was a late day and we were all discouraged. 

Even Amanda’s roving rooster took out his feelings and bit her in the foot as we finished up the evening chores. 

By Tuesday we did our research and got a vet that was not on vacation to schedule a farm visit to see the animals.  We got some specimens from both the sheep and cattle to check out the parasite count.  Amanda and Dan rigged up a portable chute with extra fencing and by the end of the day the sheep were all caught up on worm medication and had most of their hooves clipped and checked.  Amanda was limping around from a sore foot and rooster bite.

Wednesday we received word that our parasite counts were ok, for both the sheep and cows.  The cows have not had any medications since we treated them when they arrived 18 months ago. Amanda’s foot was on the mend and we felt the mood improving.

Another lamb who had been isolating itself from the herd and even seemed to be on the mend.  We had been really worried about her, she was one of the twin orphans we bottle fed and raised before we got the rest of the flock. By Thursday the lambs were all moved to a new pasture with lots of green glass and did well through the night.   Even the dominant ram seems happy in the new field.  He gave me a nip on the arm and a head butt in the backside Tuesday morning letting me know he was upset about losing one of his girls. I should have been prepared but am still amazed at animal behaviors which seems almost human when you look at the whole picture.

Our honey was checked by the local expert last Saturday at the farm market and pronounced to be of good quality, being low on water content and having pollen in it which is significant.

We have received another half inch of rain this week and with the cooler temperatures the vegetables are looking better and better. 

This week at the Athens Farmers Market we will have squash, beets, kohlrabi, okra, green beans, garlic, cucumbers, and onions.  We will try to remember some of the fresh sunflowers this week also.  See you at the Athens Farmer’s Market!

August 10, 2012

Water and Honey!

What a difference a week can make!  We have finally gotten some rain.  Using our rain gauge here we measured a total of 1.85 inches since last Friday: compared to a total of zero rain for several weeks prior.

The repair crew have arrived and started making some starts to getting some house

and general maintenance done: painting, staining, roof and gutter repairs, fencing repairs and new gates up. 

The cows got to literally go to a greener pasture since we got the new gates in and some fencing. We have been practicing intensive grazing in their last field and it was brown by the time we moved them.  The sheep seem to be ignoring the fresh hay bale we put out for them and continue to stick their head through the fence for all the green they can find.  We will be moving them from the pond area next week.

The big news is we harvested our honey.  We purchased and set up two bee hives in April and spent most of Tuesday collecting and extracting the honey.  Gratefully Amanda only had one bee bite through her costume. (See Pictures!)  Sorry to say while we got plenty honey it will not be available for sale this year ( just for personal use) but next year with two chances a year to gather we should have some to share with our customers. 

An interesting note is that it is the fructose of the honey which makes it taste sweet.  Local honey from hives in your part of the country are said to be extremely beneficial to people with allergies and more.

Another fun moment and always a surprise was finding a praying mantis while watering the porch plants early one morning.  I think it looks a bit like ET!

As for market this week we have picked some of our Red Delicious apples, squash (Patty Pan, Raven, Costa Romanesca, Blue Hubbard and Zephyr), beets, kohlrabi, okra, green beans (Provider),  garlic, cucumbers (Marketmore and Poona Kheera), onions (Alisa Craig),  tomatoes (Peacevine, Cassady's Folly, Orange Banana, Pink Brandywine and Amish Paste) and four types of radishes.  We will try to remember some of the fresh Sunflowers this week also.  As always remember we use no chemical insecticides, herbicides or pesticides.  See you at the Athens Farmer’s Market!

August 3, 2012

Drought on the farm

I have been passing an older couple by the side of the road on my way into town the last few weeks and finally stopped for a chat this week.  They have been coming to fill two water troughs with water each morning  for their Angus herd of cattle.  Apparently their pond dried up a few weeks ago.  Their son owns a beautiful herd of Holsteins and a dairy farm on down the road.  I think I may have a source now for more young steers after I butcher a couple of my “boys” this fall.

We have had to give the four boys (Tre, Par, Even and Steven: two steers and two bulls) another bale of fresh hay this week and also are giving hay to the sheep that have been grazing at the pond.  The ground is so hard and dry the quality of nutrients for them is minimal at best without the supplements.  

The new enclosure for the cows is now finished and we will be moving them tomorrow and next week have electric fencing coming in so we can also move the sheep to somewhat greener pastures.  The solar powered electric fences help keep the animals in and the coyotes out. 

I saw my first coyote in daylight this week on a back road of south Franklin county. If they are this bold now next winter will be tough.  I am still dreaming of a donkey to help to protect my flock.  Jade the Pyrenees can only do so much.

So much for my rambling about the farm…and it’s trials.

Today we have picked summer squash, okra, roma type tomatoes for sauces, garlic, onions, beets, yellow and blue/gold fresh potatoes, and beautiful green beans. (If the beans don’t sale I am canning them myself.  )

Amanda and I will see you all at the Athens County Farmer’s Market tomorrow at 10!

July 27, 2012

Wow! July is nearly over and the fall planting season is here.  We are putting in

green and wax beans, peas, cucumber, radish, beets, kohlrabi, carrots, spinach, kale, chards and collards.

With the rains and cooler weather we have finished the weeding and cleaning up the

vegetable beds for now and are still trying to get the mulch down.  The garlic is drying and smells amazing on the front porch.

We harvested our first zucchini, green beans and okra this week.  The tomatoes are turning their respective colors…

We are planning more perennial beds to go with the red raspberries, horseradish, blue berries and asparagus.  These new beds will be lined with chicken wire buried in the ground to keep the baby bunnies and larger rodents out.  The fall garlic (7 kinds) will be planted there as well as more brassica  (cabbage, broccoli and brussel sprouts) and some greens.

For the farmers market we will have garlic, onions, potatoes, beets, okra, kohlrabi, green beans, and zucchini and a few sunflower blossoms.  

I am new to cooking okra so any favorite okra recipes will be appreciated.

Amanda and Dan completed the run for the guinea fowl this week and they are slowly trying it out.   They were in a small cage on front porch for a couple weeks.  We are enjoying watching their growth.  We are trying to decide our long term plans for them at the moment.

July 20, 2012

Another week on the farm.  The temperature has definitely dropped in the last few days.  We finally got a little rain yesterday afternoon and last night after watching storms go around us for several days.  We are finally putting up a rain gauge to keep a more accurate record of what is happening here.

We hired a couple extra hands to help with the weeding that was becoming overwhelming.  With the weeds pulled we can now go back in and finally mulch, mulch and mulch….which will keep the new weeds from coming in and the moisture we do get near the roots.  The beets, kohlrabi and squash are starting to look good. 

The new Aracuna chicks we purchased in March (36) just started laying their eggs yesterday so we will be having eggs to sell next week.   The new eggs are a beautiful pale green-blue-grey which compliment the chocolate brown of the Maran hens that are still around from last year. 

We will be selling more garlic, potatoes, onions and beets at the Athens farmers market on Saturday @10.

This week we also were able to finally brush hog the middle field for future pasture and Amanda continues to check on the bees in hope of honey soon.

We are also stumped by an interesting moth that seems to arrive in the mornings.

These moths are about two inches tall and four inches wide and are usually near the front porch and plants there. 

Farming is so much about enjoying the little things…. A cool rain. An interesting new moth.  A farm cat that likes to bring gifts like dead mice…..

Another week to celebrate!  

Life on the farm

July 13, 2012

The heat has finally dropped but the drought pretty much continues. Crops are slowly coming in but the quality and amount are dependant on our watering schedule.

Two weeks ago.  With temperatures above 90 most of the week we started earlier than usual with our daily chores and watering and weeding.  We can almost see the plants growing in front of our eyes from morning until evening, with the weeds as always seemingly winning the race.

Two weeks ago on Friday Daniel carefully picked our Lodi apples, our earliest breed, which are green and tart but seriously are so ripe they are (were) bruising on the limbs of the trees. 

We packed for the Saturday morning Athens Farm Market and early in the evening

the derecho storm arrived.  Going out to the porch to bring in the light weight cushions and what ever we could grab, Scott and I ended up running for the cover of the house as the lighter weight porch chairs became projectiles aiming at our heads.

As the winds twisted and turned the trees, seemingly every apple left bounced on the ground and covered the grounds with all the apples missed in our first picking.

As of last night the raccoons have discovered the ripe and ready apples and were driving the dogs crazy in the middle of the night….as the raccoons in the tree munched to their hearts content.

Products available this week at the market include: early potatoes, radishes, green onions, beets, and two kinds of garlic.

Hope to see you at the market on Saturday.

June 28, 2012: Summer on the Farm

Jade and Bandit (one of orphan lambs)

 The last couple weeks have been busy on the farm.  Amanda took a much needed break while Daniel helped me to get the hay bales stacked and covered for winter.   When Amanda returned they both went to “Grazing School” offered by the local Soil and Water Conservation District to learn about good grazing practices including best nutritional grasses which will help us give the best possible nutrition to the 19 sheep and 4 steers currently chomping away in the fields.

Saturday at 10 am Amanda and I will be at the Athens Farm Market finally with a few items including: radishes, green onions, beets, two kinds of garlic, eggs, apples (for applesauce) and more flower and vegetable plants to sell.

We are currently awaiting three new guinea fowl to add to our poultry collection of 36 Arucana Chicks  and five Maran laying hens.  

The sheep seem to be doing well with their new home.  The cows are now being helped with their normal summer issue of fly swarming in the most organic method we can find…Diatomaceous Earth.

We are now looking at new plans for the grazing pastures and also finishing up planning for the up and coming Barn Re-Model.

Hope to see you at the Market.

Lambs on the farm

In early April on Judy's first day of vacation Amanda (our farm Manager) adopted a pair of twin orphaned  
lambs.  Bottle feeding them around the clock and hauling them back and forth across the county for weeks she finally agreed to leave them at the farm in the field with our Pyrenees Jade.

This week she somehow got Judy to agree to purchase the rest of the flock.  We are now proud owners
of 19 sheep, including a ram.  With 10 lambs and plans to find a butcher this fall.  Lamb recipes are now being collected.