Buffalo Girl's baby
Mood:  sad

Sad news. Buffalo girl had a beautiful little boy calf. Unfortunately, in the process of saving if from ole thunderfoot (Sukie) who came running across the field to see what she had, Buffalo girl stepped on her calf and killed it. So quickly, life seeped out and was gone.

Of cowbirds and life...
Mood:  quizzical

As I was weeding the blackberries, I was contemplating the state of our farm. First up, the bug situation. This past week, our neighbor to the south put chicken manure on his fields which unleashed a tsunami of bugs since the piles of litter retrieved from chicken houses are bug breeding grounds. Our poor little cows were already being attacked but this simply overwhelmed them.

What we had hoped was that we were getting a handle on the bug situation by letting nature reach equilibrium. The cattle were beginning to understand that the cowbirds were there to eat the bugs and were learning to let the birds land on their backs or walk along side. The chickens were beginning to dig through the cow patties for insect larva--interrupting the life cycle of the bugs. When the dragonflies visited in the evening, nearly every gnat was devoured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And then came the neighbors chicken litter so now we wait, again, for the balance of nature. Balance; somedays it's easy and some days not. We had to seek balance with the blackberries. Last year my mom and I went on a campaign to remove the maidencane from the blackberry patch. This involved bending down on our knees and patiently digging out each of the bamboo-like underground tendrils that had woven in among the blackberry roots.  Three months later, the blackberries still hadn't recovered but the maidencane looked happier than ever as it reinvaded the disturbed beds. This year, I pulled some and mowed the rest. The blackberries, though still having to compete, seem happier. Balance.

The thing about farming is that there is ALWAYS something that needs to be done NOW. Because of this, the house and yard are generally the last things that get attention. The growing things must come first. Today it was adding another strand of barbed wire to the fence between us and the Meltons because the fence was designed for 5 foot cattle, not 3-4 foot cattle. Today it was harrowing the earth so we could get the Tif9 seed in the ground since we FINALLY had rain. Today it was taking the chicks on a field trip so they could be exposed to grass and bugs--the diet we want them to have as adults. But I did get a batch of cookies and big pan of lasagna made. Balance.

Which leads to my second thought. We have become so conditioned by marketing campaigns that we seem to have little tolerance for houses and yards that are not the first priority. I often wish we had that beautiful little farmhouse with the lovely cottage garden that I see in my mind. I don't envision bahia grass seed heads and a mobile home. I know I'm not alone. There is something almost suspect about food that is grown on such a farm. We know from the ad campaigns that the best farms have white clapboard farmhouses and picket fences--though of course the reality is cramped and unsanitary stockyards. Intellectually I understand that having a small footprint on the earth means living as we are now--700 square feet of recycled living and grass that is mowed only because I can't stand it any longer. I understand but I struggle to balance that with the vision we have all been fed. I struggle to find my balance.

Farm babies!
Mood:  celebratory

I can't believe it has been MONTHS since I wrote anything!! Where does the time go?!

 We have been VERY busy. We are trying to stay up with the weeds (pulled by hand), the caterpillars and other leaf-eaters (picked off by hand), the garden (started from seeds), and the new fence and building construction (done by us-with occasional help from Danny and Eric.) Farming sustainably is constant and continuous work.

 But, it is also great fun! Yesterday was the birthday for this year's first batch of chicks. We are the parents to this group but we have 3 broody hens and one Dexter cow who will (hopefully) be joining us soon. I love watching the chicks grow. Yesterday was all about sleeping. They could teach us all a thing or two about deep relaxation. Today, however, it is all about running. What fun!

Spring Break--and so much catching up to do!!
Now Playing: FINALLY--the hothouse update.

Things have been hopping here at Lacefield farms.

First, I am finally ready to post pictures and video (thanks Walter!) of the hothouse raising--just in time to tell you the sad story of our hothouse experience.

Pulling hothouse Plastic

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second, we will get our cows on Friday--YEAH!! But, I will wait to tell more about that after Friday when we have pics.

 Third, the chickens are popping out eggs, we are on track for pastured poultry in April, we're getting enough rain, the greens did well this year, the potatoes are in, the fields have been limed, the blackberries, apples, and pears are almost weeded, trimmed, pruned, and the corral is ready for the cows (but needs a name. OK? )

 

Now for the hothouse update: The day we pulled the plastic was a happy (though VERY cold) day with a real sense of accomplishment.  The sad news is that the fierce rain we had in February collected in a lose spot in the plastic. The weight busted 4 supports and pulled in the end of the greenhouse. We are now working on plan B.

Maddie

This entry is dedicated to Maddie who actually reads our blog.

 It has been a tough winter so far. The citrus and pineapples have taken a hard hit but seem to be surviving. According to IFAS, it's been the longest extended cold period in north Flordia for 200 years. We will upload pictures of the hot house and tell more about that in our next entry.

We have finished the corral and loading dock. We hope to have our heifers this spring. Moo. In March, we hope to begin with the pastured poultry. We need to get some seeds started soon and prepare the ground for the potatoes. There's a lot to do and a lot more to learn but we are still having fun.

The Orangery
Mood:  on fire
The hothouse (I like to call it the orangery because of all the citrus in it and in honor of my beloved Regency romances) is coming along! I'll try to get a picture uploaded this week. The temperatures are finally starting to dip so it isn't a moment too soon!

Fall Bounty

With the HOT (think August) temperatures, some of our summer produce is lingering on. I love the colors of this fall bounty.

 That is the good news. The bad news is the heat and lack of rain is destroying our traditional fall crop of cole-family vegetables (greens, brussel sprouts, kale, etc)

John finished the chickhouse so in the spring we will be ready for grass-fed broilers. We are on the lookout for a heifer to raise up to be milked. Our big push now, believe it or not, is the hothouse because LAST October we had a freeze. While that's nearly impossible to imagine, we must be ready. Our hothouse is already loaded with citrus trees and pineapple plants. I call it the "orangery" and can hardly wait for those cold winter days when being in there will be a joy.

Another failed journal....
Mood:  a-ok

The farm blog is going the way of all previous attempts at journals and diaries--starts with a bang and then, nothing.

 BUT, I'm BAAACCK--trying again. I'm going to blame it on work.

 So, here's the update. All 3 chicks are thriving. One is definitely a rooster (bummer) but one looks like it is definitely a hen.

The processing kitchen is looking good. We are taking a break from it because we MUST finish the hothouse next but the kitchen should get finished this winter. I'll attach pics soon.

Meanwhile, I can't help but think about a blog my nephew Drew mentioned in HIS blog. The aforementioned blogger said that blogs actually hurt communication because we don't have anything to talk about when we meet up if we've already said it all in our blogs. Thus, perhaps being a failed journal-er is a good thing--I'll have something to tell you that you haven't yet heard when next we meet!!

Today is your birthday...

It's been quite a week. Still VERY hot. And, we had both our first farm birth and first farm death.

On June 30th, our first chick was born.

"Golden Girl", who initially didn't seem like an attentive mom, pulled it off. Despite our country's unofficial national breeding program designed to eliminate motherhood and replace it with incubator-hood, this hen found the instincts to be successful. Meanwhile, her colleague didn't do as well. "Carnivore Woman" as we now call her, ate 6 of her embryos. The last one is now sitting under another hen that just went broody. If it doesn't hatch in the next 3 days, her clutch will be a complete loss. But the death of the embryos is not the only death. Golden Girl had one more egg hatch yesterday. I saw the little beak protrude from the shell in the morning. We then went into town. By the time we got home in the afternoon, the chick was completely out of the shell but the hen was ignoring it and it was getting cold. I warmed it up and put it back but the hen accidentally stepped on it while keeping up with her first born. I took it out of the pen and put it on a heating pad but it was dead this morning. It was underweight and may not have been healthy--this may be why she gave it up. Or, it could be the fact that she was a new mom and her instincts aren't fully developed. This, of course, is why most farms have taken the mama out of the equation. Out of 13 eggs, and two hens, we have one chick. However, our hope is that we can selectively brood "motherhood" back into our chickens. One success story is a beginning.

 Update: After the new mom abandoned her un-hatched eggs, we put them on a third hen who had just gone broody. She successfully hatched the two eggs and now has two chicks. She's a bit confused that  a "sit" of an expected 3 weeks lasted only 3 days, but she seems to be adjusting.

Under the Tuscan Sun
Mood:  lucky

We've been working on our "processing shed". When finished, this will be the kitchen where we will process the food from the farm. It's coming along nicely and hopefully we can finish it before August when I need to be thinking about preparing for classes. Meanwhile, we've been eating most of what we harvest. Today for lunch we had a one-pot meal of basmati rice, field peas (courtesy of our neighbor, Mr. Melton), a bit of curry powder, and a dash of chili pepper, a slice of bacon, and topped with fresh tomatoes (for me, not John) and sliced almonds. It was scrumptious. It reminded me of something the author of "Under the Tuscan Sun" (the book, NOT the movie) said about cooking with fresh ingredients--it's so easy to get it right when the ingredients have such great favor!

 Update on the broody chickens:   One of the chickens has accidentally knocked two eggs out of her nest and cracked the eggs. Both had embryos in them. The other chicken has cannibalized three of her eggs. I don't know whether they were viable. There is one week left until their "due date."