November

November

Another month has whizzed by and things are slowing down in the fields.  We are still cutting Kale, have some chard, spinach, turnips, kohlrabi, parsley, potatoes, apples and pears.  The cider sold out even after starting to ferment.  The 25 new chicks from last spring are starting to lay plenty of eggs, up to 2 dozen a day.

We took a young lamb ram to butcher this week and will have some lamb roasts, chops and ground lamb next week at the Farmers Market.

The Guinea fowl hatched out a few weeks ago and we have gone from six chicks to two.  We are keeping them in the Barn to protect them from predators and have only lost one in the last two weeks. 

The garlic will be planted this week for next year.  We are cleaning up the garden beds esp. around the blueberries, red raspberries and asparagus that should be producing enough to sell next spring.

The weather changed before we could gather any honey this fall so we will continue to feed the two hives (a water and sugar mix) to give the bees energy to continue to make honey for the winter.

We had a small scare last week as Jasper the new pup was limping around (as he continues to find ways to get out of the field) and one of our older ewes was limping terribly also.

I took Jasper to the vet and he was given a clean bill of health so we put him back in the field. 

We were afraid the Ewe had foot rot that had extended up her leg.  We have been checking them all regularly and a few had to be treated with topical Copper Sulfate for the infection.  Sometimes the infection can become contagious and the entire flock needs to be put down.

Gratefully the Ewe’s feet were fine.  Rocky is just getting a bit rambunctious as the girls are in Estrus at this time and he is getting a bit rough with them all…. as well as protecting them from the new pup!   Within a few days everyone was walking and running with out any issues and I can relax.

The main projects for me these months are to look for receipts for tax purposes. I finally hired a bookkeeper…. I know my limits and organization is not one of them anymore.

The other project is to finally get started on the Federal grant we received to replace a large part of our perimeter fencing.  Dan and I, with some additional help pulled out the older perimeter fencing last weekend. We should have the first phase completed by Thanksgiving.  New Cedar posts and four inch square Tencel fencing, complying with organic standards to help us when we apply for Organic Certification in coming years.

Hope everyone out there is well and enjoying the season!   Best wishes from the Farm.   J