Spring has arrived officially by the calendar and as I noted in Hens Walk About , we can see the signs here in Central Vermont. We have put away this year’s winter slideshow and are now posting spring pictures from our farm. We will keep adding to this slideshow all season so you can see […]
Stories from the Farm
Hens on Walk About
March 21, 2009 – 8:23 am
Clearly, spring has arrived here in Central Vermont. Signs are everywhere: the sun has warmth and strength, snow is melting, the sap is running, new birds at our feeder, the brook is rushing, Geese heading north, muddy roads and our chickens are venturing out from the hoop house. Spring, at least early spring in our […]
Doodle is Back
March 13, 2009 – 9:53 pm
Doodle, our first sow, is back from breeding camp. We sent her off to Hogwash Farm, where we got her, to get pregnant since we don’t have any boars here. Boars can look a bit scary, they are big and they have tusks. When Mari saw Bruce the boar she noted, “we don’t need one […]
Sometimes Farming isn’t Glamorous
March 11, 2009 – 9:23 pm
Bedded pack is the handy euphemism for hay and/or wood shavings mixed with animal poop & pee that builds up for several months, generally in the winter. It is quite a convenient method and ensures we capture those nutrients for compost. Well it is convenient until you have to remove it. One day recently Mari […]
Happy Hens
March 5, 2009 – 9:34 pm
Our hens love the sunny days. Today, it was definitely spring in the hoop house (their winter home) and possibly even summer by the temperatures at least. The hens roam in the snow-free hoop house all winter. In addition to organic grain, we give them hay and some vegetable scraps for entertainment. In the photo […]
Learning to Plaster
February 23, 2009 – 9:36 pm
Renovations in our barn are well underway. The end result will be a wonderful guest retreat, complete with a full kitchen and views of the farm. Last week, we learned about plaster. We added color and texture to the event space and finished the new wall. We used plaster as a finish coat, and it […]
Perfect Ski Day!
February 22, 2009 – 9:18 pm
Saturday was just a perfect ski (that would be cross-country, but it might have been a great alpine day as well). We had sun and the previous few days had left us with about 8 inches of nice snow on top of our impenetrable crust. Our neighbor Kati joined us for a brilliant morning ski […]
White Pine Needles, Yummmmy!
February 20, 2009 – 12:53 pm
Well, the goats think the white pine needles are a delicious snack. If I hadn’t watched them choose twigs, thorny raspberries and tree bark at points this summer, when they had access to tasty grasses, I might think it was just out of winter desperation. Of course, that is probably also true. When the meals […]
How much do those pigs weigh?
February 14, 2009 – 2:36 pm
The pigs’ weight is often a curiosity. Any guesses? We track their weight as a guide to how much to feed them, their overall health, estimated finishing date, and for fun. This batch is growing like weeds as they say. When we brought them home from Hogwash Farm, the Redcoats were 6 weeks old and […]
A double yolk
February 8, 2009 – 10:34 pm
This photo of our eggs — well, our hens’ eggs, shows both the nice dark yolks and a double one. We aren’t sure which hen is producing these mammoth eggs, but every once in a while they appear. It is always fun to find them. I wonder if there are recipes which benefit from double […]