They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
With so much to do outside, I wonder why I spend the few hours I have to work on the farm on a workbench in the shop. Well, the answer to that in the last couple weeks has been mostly circumstantial. It has been cold, wet and rainy, and the kids have had colds. When… Continue reading Work bench
We are still trying to get water run out to the pature before we get the fences set up. Joel Salatin (and the Dougherty's and basically every other rotational grazier on the planet) says to have water and fencing figured out and in place before you start bringing home animals. So Ryan is working on… Continue reading Digging in the Dirt
The cold snap has broken, somewhat. It has not been below freezing in the last few days, but it also has not been above 37, so while things are not exactly frozen, they are also not exactly thawing either. The galvanized riser that supplies water to the garden did not get drained before the cold… Continue reading Cold Weather Problems
We had a few hours after work last week (before Christmas) to get some work done on the farm. Not enough time for a major project, but enough to tackle a small eyesore that has been grating on our nerves long enough. Stockpiling is a reality on the farm. It's just part of the nature… Continue reading Odds and Ends
We got out to the pasture after school was finished on Monday. Determined to get the trench finished this time. Only 40 feet to clear, but this part was tricky because it had to go over and around the weird extended leg of the septic system (yes, that's right. They ran the septic line all… Continue reading Beating the Sun
One of the major projects on the farm --- in fact, you might almost say the major project on the farm --- is finishing the perimeter fence around the pastures. This is the major project because without a perimeter fence there is no pasture. To do intensive rotational grazing there are two things you absolutely… Continue reading Racing the Sun
Adam and Ryan got out onto the pasture this morning, digging trench for the irrigation system that still needs to go in. 28° out, the ground was quite frozen, and of course it was a little over an hour before sunrise. But you dig when you have the time, not when the weather cooperates. Besides,… Continue reading Early morning digging
Yesterday was a busy day, with a little bit longer hours at work than usual for Daddy, and 4H in the evening. This made the already short afternoon farming window even shorter, but we still managed to get things done. A friend who is an electrician came by to evaluate the electrical panel for the… Continue reading Almost Ready…
We now have gates on the paddock that is going to be the pig yard starting on Saturday. Seppi was the first to run through it, just to make sure it worked. Winnie discovered dirt. It’s pretty fun stuff Almost as fun as loose hay. We had to work in the rain a little bit,… Continue reading Paddock Gates
Well, it seems no sooner do we get rid of one set of pegs, then we pick up another. This time we are picking up three weaned piglets of the Meishan breed, which we are interested in seeing if it will be a good fit for our farm. The Meishan breed is a heritage breed… Continue reading Getting ready for pigs
Little Farm in the Big City 