August 12, 2013: A week on the farm!

August 11, 2013 In the last week so many things have happened….Saturday evening we acquired a new puppy. 

A five-month-old Pyrenees, which we named Jasper!  

Jade at age 4 is already showing symptoms of arthritis. We take our daily Glucosamine together!  I thought she might need the help and Scott was worried she did not have anyone but sheep to play with. 

Sunday mornings I usually do the chores and give my crew the day off.  I had started cooking a pot of black beans and left them on the stove to simmer while I went to the barn.  I fed the chickens and sheep, did some maintenance cleaning stalls etc and brought Jade to the dog yard near the house to meet the new puppy.  Jade started barking wildly at the backfield alerting me that two of the young bulls were in the garden. 

I came in to grab my ear protection and phone, to head into the field with the mower…. I use it as an all terrain vehicle sometimes….

The house was full of smoke. I had burnt the beans…. The smoke was overwhelming and it is a wonder the alarms had not gone off!!

I pulled the beans from the stove and went after the bulls.  I am still in awe at how they managed to get to the garden.  They are not that big yet but managed to cross two fences and two closed gates…. gratefully all the animals are like pets and they know I am the one with grain.  I use it to get them to follow me…

(Farming is like being a Mom!  Put sweets in front of the animals and they will follow me anywhere! )

The afternoon was spent with visiting family and dinner at the new Lake Hope Lodge! 

Monday is another day I have been doing the chores and giving my crew off.  Our workweek usually goes from Tuesday to Saturday.  Without interruptions I try to get paper work done, and then get to town for a few errands.  This was the week of the county fair and I made it to hear a great lecture on soil conservation from a Fairfield County farmer, David Brandt.  I got some great ideas from the lecture to start implementing on the farm.  I am going to be planting winter crops that add the nutrients back into the soil while cutting back on the compaction of the clay, which is the main ingredient of southeast Ohio soils.

Scott had a late day at work and I headed to the pond to do some brush hogging with the tractor to try to figure out the trail of the bulls.  No luck to find out how they got out of the pasture but I did slide the tractor into the pond.

Not only do I love my farm for the animals, views and wildlife.  I have great neighbors.  I called Larry across the road to see if he was home.  All he had to do was walk to his front porch and assess the situation!  He came over in his truck and decided to call in more help.  Rich who used to live across the road dropped everything to come help.  They have the equipment and the experience to make it seem easy.  They also assured me that I was the third person recently that they had hauled out of ponds!  I guess I am good company.

Tuesday the full work crew came in and we did our usual workday.  Picking for Wednesday market, check on animals, etc. We have two portable solar electric fences that we use to manage the fields.  We got them straightened out and then had a visit from the Agriculture Department that is giving us a grant for new fencing.  We walked the perimeters with him to get final numbers to finally get started on bids.

Wednesday was market day. We are trying to get to the Markets on Wednesday as the produce is finally coming in.  The rains held off until we made it home then the skies opened up. We all were rushing trying to get the end of the day chores done and animals in the barns, etc.  I try to have the workers off the property during major storms, as I am fearful of lightning strikes. 

Kelly one of my new workers, who grew up on this farm tells of the barn being hit by a tornado at one point and her father being struck by lightning as he stood inside during a storm.  I try to run a safe job site.

Thursday morning Daniel and I headed to Loudonville, Ohio with the truck fora new ram.  I purchased the flock last year from a farmer that passed away.  He was mixing the breeds for a variety of reasons…. health and meat taste.  We butchered for the first time last fall and have had so many compliments on the meat I want to continue.  My final note from him was that he wanted a Jacob Ram for the next generation.  This is an older and rarer breed.  Not too many people in the area have them. 

We made it through Columbus and got off of 71North in time for a major rainfall. Large trucks and most cars were pulled to the side of the road, flash flooding and hydroplaning was a major issue at this point.    We finally made it through and on to our destination to find a detour on the last leg.  As we followed the detour we got lost for nearly an hour.  To make matters worse…. in the middle of Ohio in that areas where there is no satellite service rendering phones useless for calling for directions.

Somehow we got to the farm, purchased and loaded the ram and headed home realizing if we had ignored the detour sign we would have been there an hour earlier! 

Rushing home was tricky.  I have a show of some of my art work hanging at the Athens Home Street library and I was due at 5:30 for an artist reception.  Gratefully arranged by Lana Galloway, an amazing textile artist in her own right.She arranges shows by local artists on a monthly basis.  With Quilt National going on I managed to get my work in all three venues this month. I made it only two minutes late.  The works are in the main library area, the two cases as you go into the stacks and more in the small meeting room. 

Thank you to all my friends that came out that night to see my work and me.

They will be up until August 29!

Friday was a humid, constant misty rain. Most of the employees came in for a short day and left early after preparing for Saturday market.  I took one of the dogs for a flea bath, and then took a specimen from the sheep to the vet by the back roads.  Angel Ridge to South Canaanville Road is beautiful any time of year.  This morning is was amazing.  I saw no less that three pairs of wild turkeys in the fields and crossing the roads, a Pileated woodpecker just missed my windshield, more young white tails than I could count and several box turtles crossing the road. Being able to see such an abundance of wildlife in the mid-late morning was such a gift.  It cheers my heart in so many ways.

The house still smells like smoke.  I missed the market on Saturday to attend a funeral…and will be missing a few more in the next couple weeks due to some other family commitments but my crew will be there. 

Current Vegetables being picked include:

Okra

Fingerling potatoes

Corn

Onions

Peppers

Green beans

Cherry tomatoes

Lemon Balm

Basil

Mint

Long Chinese Red beans

Garlic

We also are starting weekly painting class:

Introduction to Plein Air Painting

Weekly painting instruction by Jeff Risner

Tuesday Mornings, 10-12, $15

Per class September 3- November 12

Location 4283 Marshfield Road, Athens, Ohio 45701 (12 miles out of Athens)

Jenkinson Farm and Garden, is a working farm and participants are encouraged to stay after class and paint through out day.

Contact Judy Jenkinson 740-541-4190, judyljenkinson@me.com for further information and to RSVP for this program