Didn’t get much time at the farm yesterday, spent about an hour in the afternoon, getting a new paddock set up for the cows and the sheep in the Orchard, and prepping the legume to be planted to wheat, hopefully today. Math. Still needs to get done. One of the things we needed to set… Continue reading Clearing the legumes
Author: Ryan Kraeger
Catching up
Last Thursday was a catch-up day on the farm. Daddy and the three youngers finished school quickly and got over to the farm to get some work done. Mommy and Evie stayed home to finish Evie's school and then went out to run some errands. Including dropping off a picnic lunch for the hungry farmers.… Continue reading Catching up
Browse Damage
Apparently the sheep like fig leaves. My poor little survivor I was so pleased about! Might have known. Shouldn’t be an issue once they get establish and are pruned higher than sheep can reach, but they have to survive long enough to get there.
Mantis
These guys are all over the farm this summer. End of Summer. Almost fall. Whatever. What is that? Ellie was the only one brave enough to pick it up. Even she got a little nervous when it started climbing toward her face. This one ended up getting fed to the chickens. That's okay, there's plenty… Continue reading Mantis
My view
My view from inside the barn this morning.
Eats Shoots and Leaves
We stripped this willow trunk bare feeding to the cows and sheep. They go crazy for it, gobbling it up like candy. They even prefer it when they are on grass, and the sheep peel the bark off the larger branches and eat that. Within a week or two it is already sprouting a ton… Continue reading Eats Shoots and Leaves
Installing the Pump
Tuesday was the day we installed the pump. It was not a particularly smooth process. As the saying goes... Measure once, Cuss twice. When I measured for the box I was planning on using a simple sheet of plywood for the walls, then halfway through building the box I decided to make them out of… Continue reading Installing the Pump
Building the Pump Box
Measure twice, cut once. The pump for our rainwater catchment system is an inline RainFlo MHP75A Automatic Booster pump. The idea is that it will pump water from the catchment tank to the water lines that feed the pasture. Obviously, this means that the pump needs to be mounted on a sturdy surface, and additionally,… Continue reading Building the Pump Box
Back on Grass
With the rain that has been falling semi-regularly for the last month our pastures are starting to green up nicely, but not really putting on the height like they did in the spring. I am afraid we may have overgrazed them a little this summer. That's okay. We are learning what the carrying capacity of… Continue reading Back on Grass
Me-Me do!
Miss Winnie is now two years old. As a newly minted two-year-old she feels that she should be directly involved in all the major tasks on the farm. Whatever Mommy or Daddy are doing, Winnie wants to help with it. She won't hear any of this nonsense about, "No, you're too little." What do you… Continue reading Me-Me do!