Our farm house

This is our "farm House." We bought a reconditioned small motorhome where we can sleep over, get out of the rain and get warm in the winter, and get cool in the summer. We have what amounts to a full hookup at the farm. AND, we can use it to travel when we want. We're really enjoying it.

Chickens are happy in their new home

We have 24 hens of at least six varieties. All are brown egg layers. They have a nice new hen house with plenty of room and a 40x40 ft pen in which to roam. They seem to be extremely happy to be outside and able to take dust baths, eat grass, and chase each other.

Garden mostly planted

June 9, 2011 -- The garden is mostly in for this year. Strawberries, shell beans, summer and winter squash, pumpkins, lots of green beans, corn, onions, shallots, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, leeks, fennel, and more that I can't think of right now.
The weeds are also doing great. This weekend we need to do lots of weeding and then mulch with last year's dried grass to help control weeds and conserve moisture.

We have renters

We advertised the farm house on Craig's List and got interest right away. We have signed a lease with a young family looking for a country home for their two lovely daughters, chickens and possibly milk goats. We're looking forward to working more closely with them. I have already broken sod for a new 40x50 ft garden in the former south pasture.

Spring is here

Last weekend we spread 15 cu yds of 'hog fuel' in the raspberry patch. 'Hog fuel' is freshly ground up wood material which makes good mulch. Often hog fuel is full of green branches, metal (soda cans), etc. This stuff was pretty clean. Cheaper than 'mulch' but just as useful.

Peep peep peep

That's what I hear when I answered the call from the post office this morning at 7:00 am. 26 day-old chicks were calling me from a dream in which I was dreaming about trying to corral bunches of baby chicks. But it wasn't a dream. They are now all safely bedded down in our green house, eating and drinking greedily, in a race to see who gets their feathers first. They will live in town with us for a month or so until they are old enough to sleep in their new house at the farm. We have fixed them a nice area in the middle of the green house. Hope they don't keep keep the seedlings awake at night.

Strawberries

Today I planted 75 strawberry plants. 25 each of Tri-star, Shuksan and Benton. It was cold (about 40 degrees) and my fingers were pretty cold by the time I finished. There are freeze warnings in effect for later in the week. The strawberries will probably be OK but the bare-root fruit trees we planted last weekend might need some mulch.