Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The end of 2012

Another year is over. I just went back and read my last two or three posts and realized that quite a bit has happened since then. Here is some of the things that have happened and what I am dreaming about these days. Earlier this Spring I got my chickens and they turned out just fine. Just as I had planned, all of the roosters except a couple were processed for meat. The processed roosters resided in my freezer all year but as of now, only one is left. They were a little tough, not like the chicken you get in the store, and not as much meat but much more tasty. After a little trial and error I learned to slow cook them in a my cast iron dutch over with lots of garlic and onion. I add potatoes and carrots at the end of the long cook to make a one pot meal. This is some of the best chicken I have every had. The hens have all survived. I have not lost one to coyote or hawk although I did have one unsuccessful arial attack by a small hawk. The big rooster stepped in and put a stop to that nonsense. The other day I saw a huge Red Tail Hawk circling above but my Crow friends managed to drive him away. I was getting about 10 eggs a day from my 12 hens but now that it is the dead of winter, I am only getting about three a day.
I also added ducks to the mix this year. I found Kahki Campbell ducks for sale on Craig's List and got five of them. They are suppose to be excellent egg producers but not so good for meat. I really like my ducks. They are the most entertaining critizens on the farm. When they are babies you can't tell their sex so had been wondering for 12 weeks or so what they were as they all looked identical. All at once two of them developed dark heads, and curled pin feathers indicating that they were drakes, which is what male ducks are called. The females are called ducks! Now we have all heard that ducks like water and they really do. They really liked swimming in the creek when they got old enough. I had always wanted a pond and that was on my list of things to do in the future but now I had a reason to dig it. I got Jerry over to dig a pond and of course, like every project, turned into more than I had bargained for. Jerry did a wonderful job though and we all love the results. We is Jerry, me, and the ducks. The pond is still not filled with water as we thought it would be best to let the dirt surrounding the pond settle this winter and fill it in the spring. I am looking forward to swimming with the ducks this summer.
Three lambs were born this year too. Rachel, the older ewe had twins and Suzette the young lamb surprised me with a single lamb. All three were males and in case you don't know, it's not a good idea to have more than one ram in a flock that small as they tend to fight, sometimes to the death. Two of the lambs were slaughtered for meat and the third is being traded for another ewe. It was a sad day when it was time to do the inevitable but I am now enjoying and sharing with others the fine tender cuts of lamb chops that they provided us for our sustenance.
I am now reading Sepp Holzer's Permaculture and it has given me a ton of ideas for the newly purchased five acre tract on the north side of my property. Sepp is a permaculture genius that lives in the Austrian Alps. He has managed to create a garden of Eden in this hostile environment and has provided many ideas for my mountain side. That project alone would be one to last me the rest of my life. I am looking forward to it.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

March at the Farm

Cosmo leading the way
Rachel
It's only mid March but seems like Spring is here.  The weeds are growing in the garden amongst the onions and sweet peas that I planted a couple of weeks ago.  It's time to start seedlings as well, as a lot of other tasks, but have been busy these last two months completing the hi tensile fence in the back pasture.  That will be the new digs for the sheep.

Baby lamb (Suzette) is doing fine, getting big.  Rachel, the momma sheep, has not dropped her new lamb yet and looks like a barrel on four little sticks, she is so round.  My neighbor had his cousin look at her yesterday and he said it looked like she has three more weeks to go.  That was based on his experience with goats, so take that for what it's worth.  Big boy sheep, Omar, is also good, head butting the others around when they don't move fast enough for  him.

I am preparing myself to shear them in a couple of more weeks by watching YouTube videos.  I had one attempt at flipping the lamb which is what you have to do to shear them and it didn't go so well.  As soon as I put my hand on her she bolted.  It was like trying to hold onto a bucking bronco.  I am trying to psych myself up for the next attempt but now she won't come anywhere near me.

On the chicken front, I have completed the chicken trailer which is going to go out in the pasture so the chickens can free range. 
 
The chicken trailer
The 25 chicks arrived yesterday.  There are 21 Dominiques (Dominickers as they are known around here), and 4 Silkies.  The Silkies, though smaller show superior skill in foraging and aggressiveness.  I always thought of Silkies as sissy chickens.  If you know what the adults look like, you'd understand but I now have new respect and admiration for them.  The job of the Dominiques will be to provide eggs and meat while the Silkies will be for hatching eggs.

There favorite snack, over worms, (they hate slugs), is crickets which I find under rocks and feed to them.  They go crazy chasing which ever chick manages to grab it first.  It becomes a game of steal the cricket until the poor thing is torn apart and several of the chicks get a piece.  The smaller Silkies are always the first to snatch it up and usually get the lions share of the treat.  The Dominiques kind of stand around watching like they are not sure what is going on.  The runt of the flock is a tiny Silkie.  I was not sure she'd survive because of her tiny size and the fact that she has a deformed foot but she is one of the best foragers in the lot.

Scratching and pecking
Today was their first forage out in the chick play pen, a 6 x 6 pen out in the grass where they can practice their pecking and foraging skills.  They were a little unsure when first released but in a few minutes where running around grabbing bugs and scratching at the dirt, like they knew exactly what they were doing.  After a few hours out in the big world they returned to the safety and warmth of the brooder only to collapse from exhaustion.

First day out

Next on the list of things to do is get the garden in order, inoculate some more Shiitake mushroom logs and I am now considering a couple of brush goats to manage briar along the creek banks.  I saw some baby goats on Craig's list and they sure are cute!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Catching Up

 I am taking advantage of this very cold 17 degree morning to build a fire and stay indoors as much as possible.  After a short walk to break the ice in the sheep's water tank and to check the temperature in the well house, I made it back to the comfort of the fire.  The little Jotel stove is keeping my house very cozy on such a cold day and now that it's almost 10 am the sun is streaming in through the southern windows. 
Three and a half sheep (the Ewe is pregnant)  have been introduced to the farm recently. They are Gulf Coast Native breed which was introduced to the Gulf Coast by the Spaniards in the 1700's.  They are an endangered breed so I am happy to try to help them prosper.   I was told that sheep do not need shelter, that they have their shelter on their backs.  The wool sheds water and keeps them warm but I found it hard to believe that any animal would not want to duck in out of the weather on such a cold and windy day.  I built them a little shelter to get in out of the rain and snow and to block the wind.  It also keeps their hay dry.  They took full advantage of it and were huddled inside when I approached them this morning.

Leah had her horses, Rabia and Kira, here for the summer.  It was nice to see these majestic animals out grazing and occasionally running through the pasture.  They are now back in Weaverville where Leah can better winter them.


In other news, my sister Lisa and her husband Everette came out this fall for a visit.  It was great to have them here for some family time.  Here is a photo of them levitating at the end of their visit.  We did get to see the Blue Ghost Fireflys that are only in this area near Dupont State Forest.

My buddy Jerry held his annual hog killing on one cold day this winter and I was lucky enough to be invited.  It was done in the traditional mountain way involving the elders as well as the younger members of the family.  In exchange for my scant participation ( I did get to cut the head off of one of the carcases) I received some sugar cured bacon and two packs of homemade sausage.  Leah made some really good New Year's Day Hoppin' John peas and some Collard greens with some of Jerry's bacon to go along with a garlic and lemon pork roast.  The meal was topped off with Key Lime pie.  That's how a new year should begin.

Other projects in the works are fencing in the back pasture for the sheep to graze and setting it up for the intensive rotational grazing method.  I am also getting very interested and have been reading about the possibility of growing vegetables and greens year round with the the use of an unheated hoop house as outlined by Elliot Coleman.  Chickens are still in the plan for Spring.

All in all, I am having a great time on my little farm and am really enjoying my new house.  If you are in the area please stop by for a visit.