Monday, August 22, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Just Ramblin'
As we approach the end of our first year as farmers, I've been reflecting a lot on the past year.
It's amazing how living this life can change you. A little over a year ago, I had regular pedicures and manicures, visits to the salon every 8 to 10 weeks. Now, my nails are always dirty and my hair has that hippy woman, frizzy gray highlighted look. And I love it. I've spent my whole life heading to this place, and I have arrived! :)
Looking back on the past year, here is a nice little list of lessons I've been smacked over the head with:
-I can't do it all.
A huge garden and a billion animals looks so white picket fence on paper. I've never had a garden. I've never owned a chicken. I've been smacked in the head with the fact that I need to slow down, and listen and learn.
-Books can lie
There are some really awesome books on the market that have played an enormous part of my learning process.
We've met some of the nicest people in this area, and they are always more than willing to stop and talk and answer just about any question I have, but I catch myself thinking, "That's not what the books say".
They've been doing this a lot longer than me, so I need to zip it and listen.
-Squash bugs are the devil
I know we're not supposed to hate any living creature, and I'm trying. Those things are of the devil himself. I was spending hours everyday picking those little buggers off of my plants, and they were breeding faster than I could drown them. I'd get it under control, and along would come a good rain, and BOOM! There were a million of them again. In the end, they defeated me. I lost all of my pumpkin plants. Devils...
-Chickens are the bomb
I love them. Really. I think I've become addicted. I can never read enough about them. I could sit out and watch them for hours. They each have their own personality, and are quite entertaining if you just sit quietly and watch them. Chickens get a bad rap. The polish breed we have are nut cases, but because we sit with them everyday, they are used to us being around and respect our space. I have another one who apparently didn't get the memo that she isn't of the canine variety, and jumps up in my lap and stretches her neck out for a good chin scratching. Who knew?
-Don't judge a book by its cover
Ducks are cute. Turkeys are not. Ducks are nasty, noisy, ridiculous animals. Turkeys are not. They're very graceful and shy. Turkeys communicate with their eyes. It's very sweet really. Ducks just yell at you. I swear they curse me at least four times a day. The other day the biggest one yelled something at me that sounded very similar to the synonym for a female dog. Just goes to show you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, or the early bird gets the worm...or one of those cute catchy phrases...
-There are things creepy crawling EVERYWHERE
I'm still stuggling to get over the shock of coming up on a snake. Or a little mouse scampering out of the barn.
Everywhere you look, there is some little creepy crawly thing lurking around. There are perks though. My son and I have an awesome bug collection to study and dissect for our upcoming school year. A few months ago, we came across a royal walnut moth, and put it in a jar. I'd never seen anything like it, and it turns out to be a pretty fascinating creature. She laid eggs in the jar, so now we are watching her babies grow through every stage of their lives. Pretty cool indeed.
Check her out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citheronia_regalis
I'd like to close this ramble session by sending a shout out to a few dear friends who are individually starting up their own thing. Here's to the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Peace and rice cakes!
It's amazing how living this life can change you. A little over a year ago, I had regular pedicures and manicures, visits to the salon every 8 to 10 weeks. Now, my nails are always dirty and my hair has that hippy woman, frizzy gray highlighted look. And I love it. I've spent my whole life heading to this place, and I have arrived! :)
Looking back on the past year, here is a nice little list of lessons I've been smacked over the head with:
-I can't do it all.
A huge garden and a billion animals looks so white picket fence on paper. I've never had a garden. I've never owned a chicken. I've been smacked in the head with the fact that I need to slow down, and listen and learn.
-Books can lie
There are some really awesome books on the market that have played an enormous part of my learning process.
We've met some of the nicest people in this area, and they are always more than willing to stop and talk and answer just about any question I have, but I catch myself thinking, "That's not what the books say".
They've been doing this a lot longer than me, so I need to zip it and listen.
-Squash bugs are the devil
I know we're not supposed to hate any living creature, and I'm trying. Those things are of the devil himself. I was spending hours everyday picking those little buggers off of my plants, and they were breeding faster than I could drown them. I'd get it under control, and along would come a good rain, and BOOM! There were a million of them again. In the end, they defeated me. I lost all of my pumpkin plants. Devils...
-Chickens are the bomb
I love them. Really. I think I've become addicted. I can never read enough about them. I could sit out and watch them for hours. They each have their own personality, and are quite entertaining if you just sit quietly and watch them. Chickens get a bad rap. The polish breed we have are nut cases, but because we sit with them everyday, they are used to us being around and respect our space. I have another one who apparently didn't get the memo that she isn't of the canine variety, and jumps up in my lap and stretches her neck out for a good chin scratching. Who knew?
-Don't judge a book by its cover
Ducks are cute. Turkeys are not. Ducks are nasty, noisy, ridiculous animals. Turkeys are not. They're very graceful and shy. Turkeys communicate with their eyes. It's very sweet really. Ducks just yell at you. I swear they curse me at least four times a day. The other day the biggest one yelled something at me that sounded very similar to the synonym for a female dog. Just goes to show you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, or the early bird gets the worm...or one of those cute catchy phrases...
-There are things creepy crawling EVERYWHERE
I'm still stuggling to get over the shock of coming up on a snake. Or a little mouse scampering out of the barn.
Everywhere you look, there is some little creepy crawly thing lurking around. There are perks though. My son and I have an awesome bug collection to study and dissect for our upcoming school year. A few months ago, we came across a royal walnut moth, and put it in a jar. I'd never seen anything like it, and it turns out to be a pretty fascinating creature. She laid eggs in the jar, so now we are watching her babies grow through every stage of their lives. Pretty cool indeed.
Check her out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citheronia_regalis
I'd like to close this ramble session by sending a shout out to a few dear friends who are individually starting up their own thing. Here's to the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. Peace and rice cakes!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
The Ugly Face of Farming
We are quickly learning that all things farming aren't streets paved of gold. I try to keep my posts light and cheerful, but in all fairness to those who are dreaming of living this life, I feel the need to share the dark side. Yes Luke, I am your father.
I've written before about the batch of baby Americauanas we lost. The first few were heartbreaking. After that, the effect of finding a dead baby wasn't as stinging.
Last week, Tom the turkey got sick. If you've read my previous blogs, you know how much we love that goofy, handsome boy. I was scared, because I realized that if we lost him, I'd have one of those "can I really do this" moments. I also knew I had to suck it up, so I quarantined him and got him on some pretty potent antibiotics. I am very happy to report that he fully recovered and is back in the great outdoors being his studdly, happy self.
The heat over the past few weeks, it's been almost unbearable. Most days the heat index is around 110. Try walking 8 acres in the blaring heat of the day and not break a sweat. Go ahead, I dare ya.
It's been really rough on our birds. We are constantly replenishing fresh water and food. I wash the waterers everytime I give them water to keep yeast out of their systems. I go out and sit with them so they know we still love them and aren't trying to roast them slowly. We've lost two of our turkeys to heat stroke.
This morning I went out and found one of our Buckeye girls dead. We've had great success with them...no sickness, no deaths, nothing. Unfortunately four of the chickens we thought were girls were not.
Six roosters on nineteen girls is not a good thing. Whichever girl one rooster picks, the others all want. I'm afraid that's what caused the loss of this one. We locked four of the roos outside tonight. This will fix the problem temporarily, but unfortunately means it's time for us to cull them.
We knew going into this, that this day would come. It's the reason we set out on this journey. To humanely raise our animals for food, and to give them all the love and happiness they deserve in exchange for giving their lives for us. It still doesn't make the realization any easier. But as with the babies, it will get easier, and won't bite so hard.
This life is a lot harder than I ever imagined it would be. It's tiring, draining, frustrating, heartbreaking, and mentally exhausting. Other than being a wife and mother, it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Never in my life have I felt such a sense of accomplishing something when I lay my head down at night. I say to you, without a doubt, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I've written before about the batch of baby Americauanas we lost. The first few were heartbreaking. After that, the effect of finding a dead baby wasn't as stinging.
Last week, Tom the turkey got sick. If you've read my previous blogs, you know how much we love that goofy, handsome boy. I was scared, because I realized that if we lost him, I'd have one of those "can I really do this" moments. I also knew I had to suck it up, so I quarantined him and got him on some pretty potent antibiotics. I am very happy to report that he fully recovered and is back in the great outdoors being his studdly, happy self.
The heat over the past few weeks, it's been almost unbearable. Most days the heat index is around 110. Try walking 8 acres in the blaring heat of the day and not break a sweat. Go ahead, I dare ya.
It's been really rough on our birds. We are constantly replenishing fresh water and food. I wash the waterers everytime I give them water to keep yeast out of their systems. I go out and sit with them so they know we still love them and aren't trying to roast them slowly. We've lost two of our turkeys to heat stroke.
This morning I went out and found one of our Buckeye girls dead. We've had great success with them...no sickness, no deaths, nothing. Unfortunately four of the chickens we thought were girls were not.
Six roosters on nineteen girls is not a good thing. Whichever girl one rooster picks, the others all want. I'm afraid that's what caused the loss of this one. We locked four of the roos outside tonight. This will fix the problem temporarily, but unfortunately means it's time for us to cull them.
We knew going into this, that this day would come. It's the reason we set out on this journey. To humanely raise our animals for food, and to give them all the love and happiness they deserve in exchange for giving their lives for us. It still doesn't make the realization any easier. But as with the babies, it will get easier, and won't bite so hard.
This life is a lot harder than I ever imagined it would be. It's tiring, draining, frustrating, heartbreaking, and mentally exhausting. Other than being a wife and mother, it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Never in my life have I felt such a sense of accomplishing something when I lay my head down at night. I say to you, without a doubt, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
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