It's a girl!

January 17, 13

It’s a girl!

What a week!  First thing Monday morning  (around 8 a.m.) Daniel started the regular chores checking and feeding all the animals.  We have had several ewes that looked like they were larger than usual and we assumed they were pregnant but had not seriously thought about it happening for a few weeks.

”One Ear”, one of our older ewes aptly named due to the absence of an ear had left the flock and had just given birth!  By the time I made it to the field the baby was up and nursing with the umbilical cord still hanging in plain view.

Jade our Great Pyrenees was watching over.  She then was sniffing around the placenta, which was on the ground near by.  So we decided to give her a break from the flock and let her hang out in the back yard. 

The next thing we knew Jade saw the open gate at the end of the drive and decided she wanted a real vacation.  (It is not the first time that she has bolted from the property!)  With Daniel in hot pursuit Jade takes off first down Marshfield Road then onto Lake Road and ends up at the end of the road.  Daniel calls on his cell phone telling me he was totally lost, but to come with car and bring a leash and dog treats. 

I jumped into car, with directions, a dog leash and treats to find Daniel in the middle of the driveway at the end of the road with a darling spaniel and a serious looking German shepherd.  Jade was nowhere in sight. 

There is something powerful about a dog’s sense of smell.   I opened the window and a new bag of dog treats, whistling for Jade at the same time.  She came bounding out of the woods.  We threw treats to all the dogs while we got Jade and Daniel into the car and headed home.

Jade spent the rest of the day at home tied up to the front porch while we made multiple rounds checking on Mom and baby.  By 5 p.m.   Mom and baby had crossed the field and were trying to get into the field by the pond where we had isolated the rest of the flock.   Hearing that a cold wet night was on the way we wanted the Mom and baby to be closer to the shelter and fresh warm hay we had spread out. 

We made the decision to let the flock in with the Mom and baby.  The theory was good.  I had gotten six of the eleven sheep left into the field with the Mom and baby when the ram decided that he did not want me in the field with them. And he knows that I am a bit fearful of his head butts. 

The next thing I know I was basically trapped in the field by the pond with the remaining flock.  I had shoulder surgery the week before and did not have the dexterity to undo the electric fence with my left hand to get to the house.

 

What we ever did with out cell phones I do not know.  I called Amanda to come out and help me finish moving the flock. It was her second trip to the farm on her day off but she generously came out and got me out of the field and the flock united. 

We were all so excited about the new birth.  I went out again around 8 p.m. with a flashlight and headlamp to re assess the situation.  The Mom was still keeping the baby separated from the flock but Jade was staying close to them both running the perimeter around them to keep predators at bay. 

Here is baby Venus at day #3! 

And Mom and Proud Papa (that Ram!).

Happy New Year!

January 2, 2013

Happy New Year

The sun is out and snow is on the ground.  I am so energized today.  As a rule the gray and dark days of winter drag me down (Seasonal Affective Disorder), but days like these are so appreciated. 

We have already put in our first seen order for 2013!  I was able to turn some of the compost over the weekend and it is black and beautiful!  The snow is bringing much needed moisture to the topsoil and the continued cold kills many of the bugs that survived the warm winter last year… so we are quite hopeful the New Year will be even better.

The lambs are eating our own hay we baled last summer, with a supplement of some Non-Genetically Modified grains (Non-GMO) with the grass being covered.  We have heaters for the water sources so they do not freeze for both the lambs, chickens, cats and dogs. The Guinea Fowl continue to hang out by the bird feeders until Lucky or Spot chase them out of the yard and onto a roofline.

The walls are almost finished on the new bunk house/conference center and Scott’s two-car garage.  The shed and barn are nearly complete.

Finishing touches are going on the 20,000-gallon rainwater cistern with its 3 level filtering systems. After a tour of Amesville’s Green Edge Gardens we found that we need to sterilize the rainwater if we are going to water the plants with it. Apparently bacteria might be able to grow in the cistern after the first two filters are completed.

The finale will be the green house.  We hope to get it up in time to start our plants there mid February.  We are already looking forward to hosting the Athens Herb Guild in August and are working on ideas to bring other groups to the farm for various venues.

In the meantime the snow gave us a chance to finally try out an amazing sledding hill on New Years Eve.  Several cousins came and enthusiastically researched the fastest sledding options…. plastic round sleds, black contractor garbage bags or the poly-plastic feedbags.  With all the slip sliding and rolling head over heals I think the black garbage bags won out but more research really does need to be done in the future!

Hope to see you all at the Farmers Market on Saturday!   Judy

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!