New Peeps for Spring of 2012 and Other Goin' Ons

Last Sunday we picked up our peeps at the post office.  This is not the first set of peeps that we've raised (we've had plenty of peeps on the farm), but they ARE the first ones that we ordered and picked up ourselves.  We ordered from McMurry Hatchery based on their excellent reputation, as so far, couldn't be more pleased.  We got the message that they were shipped on Saturday, I was beside myself.  Glad we got that brooder done!  First thing Sunday morning I checked their tracking to see how far they had traveled.  They at one of the main post office hubs  in Pittsburgh!!  We live about 35 miles outside of the city, but I was willing to drive in if I could pick them up.  My first thought was, "It's a Sunday!  No one will be available!"  But we called all the same, and a return phone call gave us the answer we'd been waiting for, "Come and get 'em!"  And that we did.

Newly hatched chicks can survive for about 72 hours without needing food or water.  For mama hens, hatching her own chicks this is important.  She must patiently sit on her chicks until they have all hatched.  And this can take 48-72 hours.  So these little guys and gals absorb their yolk sac just before hatching to provide them with the nourishment to survive those hours before mama hen can take them out looking for food.  Pretty darn creative, don't you think.  This allows chicks to be shipped in the mail. However, warmth is another consideration, therefore typically they are shipped in no less that groups of 25 so that they can keep each other warm.  Larger birds, like ducks or geese, can be shipped in few numbers.  I'm happy to say that every last one of our birds arrived safely, and all seem to be happy, healthy, and thriving.

On another note, the weather here has been crazy.  Definitely an uncharacteristically warm winter.  I'm not really complaining.  I checked the weather this morning when I woke up (as I always do - I'm a weather junky) to find that it should be nice and sunny and warm all morning and into the first part of the afternoon, where then it will turn into rain....and then more rain....and then thunderstorms....followed by a wind advisory!  I had to laugh!  Folks, on any given day we have a wind advisory up here on the farm!  Don't believe me?  Stop by for a visit; I guarantee it will blow your socks off.  Guess I better get my outside chores done soon then.

This semester has seemed to leave a lot less time to blog.  So bear with me folks!  I'm trying to return to a bit of normalcy.

Another Season Gone

I realize that we are technically in the middle of autumn, really I do.  But Halloween, for me, marks the end of a season.  A season full of gardening and harvesting, sowing and reaping.  I can't help but to close my eyes and imagine what it might have been like for people a few hundred years ago - possibly even a thousand years ago.  And not just here, but in countries abroad.  My ancestors came from Scotland and Ireland mainly, though sadly, I have to admit I don't know much about them.  All I have is this information passed to me by my parents, grandparents, and other relatives.  Yet I feel haunted by the past.  I past that wasn't mine, than belonged to those ancestors I never knew.  In a new age where we take most things for granted, it's hard to fathom that there was a time when there were no grocery or other convenience stores existed.  People were thankful for the bountiful harvest, as it meant that they and their families would be fed during the colder months.

So, every year during this time between Halloween and Thanksgiving my thoughts wander to the ancients.  Yes, Thanksgiving is a relatively 'new' holiday to this country.  But I've read that the Native Americans before us celebrated their own form of 'thanksgiving' to mark the end of harvest, and with the arrival of the Europeans, these traditions sort of intermingled.  Regardless, history is full of stories of celebrations that mark the end of the harvest.   A time to be thankful for just simply the abundance that will allow them to survive another long winter.

November 1st comes as a reminder that old man winter is just around the corner and could reach out his icy fingers any moment now.  Heck, we had our first snow this past weekend!  Not a lot, mind you, but it was snow that covered the landscape, even if for just a few brief moments.  And while I feel that we could have accomplished more to store for winter, I do have two bushels of butternut squash and a few baking pumpkins in my basement to cook up throughout those cold winter months.  I had hoped to have some canned tomatoes, at least, lining my shelves, but that just didn't happen.  Our tomatoes seemed to rot before they were ripe for the picking.  Every year is another learning experience.  Last year we had jars of pickles and sweet potatoes.  This year it is squash and pumpkins.  Maybe next year I will have all of those plus the tomatoes!  The goal is to one day be able to grow and harvest enough to provide at least 75% (or more) of our food for the winter.

So stop for a moment and think.  What final preparations you will be making for winter between now and Thanksgiving?   For some of you, it might be just as simple as making sure the snow tires are on and the car is tuned up.  For others it may mean stocking food not just for yourselves but for all of your livestock.  Admittedly, we are somewhere in between.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

{oh the colorful eggs - I particularly love the green ones}

It's hard to know when we transitioned from winter to spring.  Sometimes I question whether or not we have.  It was a balmy 45 degree today.  And yes, it rained.  If there is one thing we have seen A LOT of the past few months, it's rain.  We've had so much rain in fact, that none of the farmers around here have even been able to turn over their fields to prepare for planting.  Last year at this time we already had new corn peeking out of the soil.  This has many people concerned as the rain is supposed to continue all the way through summer.  So says the Farmer's Almanac, and they've been pretty close to right on this past winter and into spring.

Our garden sits on an incline and much of the soil has been washed away revealing many rocks and pieces of glass.  We planted on a corner of our landlords fields last year.  I'm curious as to why all this, for lack of a better term, garbage is in the fields.  If we're lucky, our compost pile will cover what we've lost.  I've also been putting the rabbit droppings over the soil.  It's funny to see that where I raked it over, is now growing greenage.  I am guessing that greenage is left over or spilled grain from their feed.  Either way, I'm letting it alone for now.  It's holding what's left of the soil in place.  I've still not decided if it is going to be worth attempting the garden this summer.  We're hoping to find and move onto our own property this summer.  It would be so disappointing to plant a garden only to leave it wasted.  Yet at the same time, if we don't find our 'dream farm' this summer, I will be disappointed that I didn't plant.  I can't stand the thought of not growing my own food this summer.  I'm considering some potted plants, but nothing's growing yet except my Bleeding Hearts (which I am so happy to see survived the winter).

The girls (meaning the hens) are also confused about the weather.  We had a week about a month back of warmer weather which got them laying pretty regularly; maybe 6 dozen eggs per week.  Since the rain and cooler temps returned, their egg laying has backed off again.  Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 60s and sunny; at least for the day.  It should do us all some good to get out and enjoy it.  It's not supposed to last for long.

Cold

It always seems like there are a few days just as the new year gets underfoot that tease us with the thought of spring. I don't mind the snow, I really don't. It is welcome to come in November if it wishes. But once the Christmas and New Year holidays are over, my mind starts to wander towards spring things. And as if Mother Nature is echoing my thoughts, along come a few warm days. Warm enough to melt the snow and make me ready for flowers and life to start popping up out of the frozen ground. We had a couple of those days last week. My thermometer read 67 degrees Fahrenheit at it's warmest. You sure could smell spring in the air, and everyone seemed to have a little more spring in their steps. The chickens absolutely loved it! They hadn't been much for coming out of the coop the past month, but this certainly got them cluckin' around the farm. Even the cows dared to meander out from the barn. Then just like that, before you could say "Jiminy Cricket" it was gone. In it's place were the familiar subarctic temperatures. Once again we are in the throws of winter.

Still it has got me pondering this year's garden. Last year most of my support went to the local garden supply stores. This year I want to get my seeds ordered (soon) and start them inside. If you're into gardening, you're sure to know how buying 'pre-grown' (or sprouted) plants can add up quickly. So this year I start my own! The next step will be to SAVE my own seeds to replant the following year. The progress is slow, but I AM getting closer to becoming more self sufficient. Even if closer comes in baby steps. I wandered across a website that calculates you global footprint today and was shocked to find how many Earth's it would take to sustain our world's population if they lived like I did. I can't even admit how many, I'm so ashamed! And I do so many things to lessen my footprint; I can't fathom how many Earth's it would take if I lived less frugally.

We're Expecting!

Okay, so maybe not it the way you think "expecting". Meet Bracken! The newest addition to our 'farmily'. She comes from one of the many beautiful animals at Highland Alpaca. And she is expecting her second cria in September of 2011. The gestation for an alpaca is about 11.5 months. Her first cria, Blayberry, is a gorgeous bay black. We can't wait to see what this cria will bring. Her herdsire, Enzo, is pictured below. He's such a handsome boy. It's really going to be hard waiting another 9 months to see who pops out.

Life on the farm hasn't been dull. It never is. Each weekend is always packed full of something. Last weekend I plucked both of my angora rabbits. I'm getting much better at it. Poor Mr. Buns no longer loses ALL of his fiber. And I've finally figured out how to keep all the fibers going in the same direction; just in case I want to sell some of my angora in the future. It's a learning experience. And if you expect to go into it knowing how to do everything perfectly, you'll be sadly disappointed. It's certainly not rocket science, but it does take a little practice.

In my 'spare' time, I've been working on knitting a shawl that I saw posted on another blog that I enjoy (it is also available as a free download here on Ravelry). I've been using the alpaca fleece below to spin and knit it from. It's the fleece I picked up at a fiber festival in Ohio this summer and is absolutely wonderful to work with. I'm hoping to have it finished by Thanksgiving so I can wear it. I'm down to the last set of rows before I start the border. I will need to spin up some more fiber for it though, so it is taking a bit longer than I had hoped. I'll post pictures once it's done.

It's been hard to believe that winter is upon us as we've had a late Indian Summer. This weekend has been beautiful (except for today's rain) and the temperatures unseasonably warm. I have a feeling that this isn't going to last too much longer. I'm okay with that. I don't mind that changing seasons. Sure winter can hang on longer than we like some years, but it's a nice time to rest, slow down, and focus on the things that really matter.

In the Icy Grasp of Winter

Well, Old Man Winter has definitely wrapped his icy fingers around the landscape here on the farm. It's barely gotten into the teens these past few days. We ran all our errands on Friday, bought groceries for enough meals to get us well through the weekend then hunkered down at home for the rest of it. I don't mind the snow, really. But what I do miss is the sunshine. We got a little break from all the snow showers yesterday when I snapped this picture looking out across the fields and pasture. Sure was nice to see the sunset and the blue sky. The lack of cloudy insulation made the night especially cold though, but I'll trade it for the view! Talk around here is that it's supposed to warm up over the next few days.....I think that only means upper 20s! It's nights like these I'm certainly glad I'm not a chicken! They seem to be fairing the weather okay though. Well....all but Rose; we lost her last week. I think she was older than I realized.

Tomorrow I start back to work officially. Where did the break go? I've gotten a lot accomplished however. I purchased a second hand spinning wheel and have been spinning up a storm, and I just learned how to knit this past week (compliments of YouTube)! I didn't get to do much sewing, but I'm hoping to finish up a bag for my laptop this evening. And on that note, I will bid you goodnight and wish you warmth and good rest.

Who wouldn't want to pick up a chicken?

Good morning from the farm! Another cold day, but not nearly as cold as it was last week. The chickens seem to be adjusting well to the colder weather. Of course, no eggs since Thanksgiving, but I realize that is to be expected. In fact, some of my chickens are still molting. Pumpkin, for instance, looks like death warmed over. I'm glad someone warned me beforehand that they can look this bad or I would have been quite worried. She is after all my best egg layer. I love the chickens in the morning, though! They are so fun to watch pop out of the coop when I first open it up. Moses, my large red rooster, is always the first out. But I think my favorite to watch hop around are my three silikies with their little 'pantaloon' rumps!

What have I been up to?

As winter hangs on, I find myself with a severe case of 'cabin fever'. I'm desperately ready to get outside and start to garden! I have all sorts of plans for this year (hopefully some of those will actually come to fruition). It never hurts to dream big, and that's what I'm doing. As the ground is beginning to thaw, you can smell spring in the air. Though it is only 55 degrees out today (really a far cry from the -10 wind chill we had a few days ago) I've opened the windows to allow some of the stagnant air out of the barn and the cool 'spring' breezes in. So what have I been up to? I'm always looking for new hobbies, crafting ideas and the such. Usually I have about 5 things going at once, and this winter has been no exception. Along with launching my Etsy site (mountainmud.etsy.com - this has been an endeavor in itself since I'm teaching full time this semester), I've become addicted to spinning! Fibers, that is, mostly wool. I love it! Looking for ways to wind down, relax? Needing therapy? This is it! I've been spinning for about a month now, and I just can't stop! I've been spinning with a homemade drop spindle, made from a 10 inch paint brush handle, small tea cup hook, and two CDs, and a turkish drop spindle purchased from a the new aquaintance that got me started with spinning. Such an easy DIY project, and dyed and carded wool is easy to find through Etsy! Perhaps someday I will afford an actual spinning wheel, but for now, I'm really enjoying the simplicity of a drop spindle. See my before and after pictures above!