Don’t Worry, Bee Happy Our friend Kathy (beegirl!) has moved her hives closer to our ‘house area.’ The previous site was too shaded, and it was time for a change. So now the hives are behind what we call the Big Bird pen, which used to house peacocks but now just houses two little golden […]
Coming to a CD or MP3 Player Near You…. I must take a brief detour from farming to promote something that keeps me sane when the farm overwhelms me: writing romantic adventure novels. I’ve done three, and would love to do more, but probably won’t have time until next year. Anyone out there listen to […]
What’s for Lunch? I’ve been a little fixated on food lately, since I’m trying to eat less of it. I’m not starving myself in any way, and feel full and satisfied, but I’m eating fewer sweets, more protein, and fewer carbs (but I’m not doing the extreme low-carb diet. No thanks.) My goal is to […]
A Nameless Ram and Four Bucket Heads We bought a new ram last week. (We sold Erik in the fall because we needed some new genes.)This guy, recently sheared, is 3/4 Corriedale, 1/8 Arcott-Rideau, and 1/8 mystery sheep. He has a sweet face, and we hope he’ll enhance our already lovely fleece. Anyone have ideas […]
A Weird SpringIt’s the middle of May. We should be busy lambing. We’re not. In a few weeks the pasture should be alive with baby lambs scampering everywhere. It won’t be. Sigh. I know we made the right choice; I just didn’t think I’d regret it so much. Because Melissa had been scheduled for neck […]
This Farm’s Secret There are two members of this farm that few people have seen. They tend to hide in the grass, or run behind a building whenever anyone new approaches. Call them shy, elusive, anti-social. It’s just very hard for visitors to see them. They’ll show themselves to Melissa and me, and often make […]
Calves and a Head’s Up Here’s the “Calves” part: The two Jersey calves are doing great. Then Melissa brought home twins. They’re half Jersey, one quarter Swedish Red, and one quarter Holstein. After working with them, I think they’re 100% Holstein—pushy and stubborn! But also cute… And here are the Jerseys, now old enough to […]
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There Be Calves Here I love the line from Star Trek IV: The Journey Home, when Scotty beams two humpbacks into the Enterprise’s cargo bay and is overcome with joy: “Captain, there be whales here!” As an experienced writer, I will steal this line and make it my own. “Captain, there be calves here!” First, […]
Story of a Book This is a writing tale. A few years ago (yikes—four years ago!) I realized that while I chose to move into the country and start a farm (even though I had no idea what lie ahead), what about a kid whose parents pore over the Murray McMurray Poultry catalog and dream […]