Cool Drink of Water

The chicks that have been inside for the last few weeks are almost ready to make the move out into the pasture and the chicken tractor that Ryan finished today.  The nights are warm enough, and the chicks are just starting to develop true feathers.  It's amazing how much food and water twenty-five baby chickens go through on a daily basis, and I'm sure they'll be much happier on a diet of fresh grass, clover and bugs.

Summertime

The calendar may have noted the turning of the seasons a couple of weeks ago, but here on the farm summer doesn't officially start until the first hay is cut.  We've had a stretch of beautiful weather, and (as you can see) the hay is ready.  Ryan took Fred and Clark out for a few trips around the upper pasture in the morning, and then used two of the Fjords to finish things up in the afternoon.  To make things easier for the smaller horses, Ryan has modified a No. 4 mower with a shorter cutting bar which doesn't take as much power to cut through the tall grass. 

In the Garden

"You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another.  There is nothing free except the grace of God."

I've thought about those words now and then while pulling seemingly endless strands of quack grass from the garden.  Weeding is the unavoidable price for fresh and healthy organic produce, and sometimes I think that the western Washington climate forces us to pay a bit of a premium.  Along with the hated quack grass, we get burdock, chick weed and buttercup popping up almost as soon as the ground is turned over in the spring.  Once the weather and the soil start to warm up, the lamb's quarters, shepherd's purse and those spindly things I don't know the name of (but there are lots of 'em) take over.  And there are always the stray blackberries and volunteer crops from the previous season to deal with.

The horse-drawn cultivator and the wheel hoe (in the picture) keep the rows clear, although you still have to go back a rake out the roots that have been turned over.  Anything that isn't completely removed from the garden will take root with the next rain.  For the beds, we have a wide variety of hoes of all shapes and sizes, but inevitably it comes down to getting on your knees and pulling out the really stubborn weeds by hand.  Sometimes while I'm down there, I do some praying that we would get a little less rain.

Before the Deluge

With some dry weather this afternoon, Ryan hooked up the three Fjords and took the spring-tooth harrow down to the winter loafing yard to get it ready to plant with oats.  By the time spring finally rolls around, the horses have stripped the loafing yard clean of anything even vaguely edible, and have left it bare and muddy.  The oats, in addition to holding the soil in place, give the horses something to eat when we go back to the winter schedule.
 After dragging the yard with the harrow, I walked along broadcasting seed while Ryan followed with the disc.

Let it Grow

We finally got a break in the weather last weekend that lasted long enough to do some planting.  We planted eight long rows of mangels (since they proved to be such great feed for almost all the animals), as well as a few rows of carrots - for both the animals and the people.

All this is being done in the "new" part of the garden, which is the field directly adjacent to the fenced-in "old" garden.  The additional space comes at a bit of a cost though: part of the field has a fierce quack grass infestation that will have do be dealt with (by hand) right away.  Fortunately, the plowing and harrowing have left the rhizomes laying on top of the soil where they can easily be pulled out.  Next to the "new" garden we're planting fields of oats and wheat.  With the seed drill, which has a six foot span, it takes Ryan less than a day to plant it all.  When the ground warms up a little, we'll plant the rest of the garden, and move everything that's now in the greenhouses outdoors.

Milkcow's Calf Blues

We separate Lilac and her little steer calf every night so that there is milk in the mornings.  He was a bit upset about the situation for a few nights, but has adjusted to the routine and is happy now as long as he has some grain and hay.  He also gets a little milk in the mornings since Lilac holds back some unless she knows he's getting his fair share.

Around and Around

Here's Ryan out in the rain spreading manure with Fred and Clark. We'll cut hay in this pasture sometime during July so that we have feed for the horses over the winter.  The horses will then make more manure for us to spread in the same pasture next spring.

Ryan says we're making hay. I claim it's a manure production operation. Fred and Clark call it working for their supper.

Time Changes Everything

After a long winter in the barn, we changed the horses over to their summer schedule last night.  That means days inside, and nights out in the pasture feasting on the new grass that is coming on strong.  Here are Sven and Ole who've just come into the barn and still expect their mangers to be filled with hay.  I would guess that we used about two-thirds of the hay we put up last summer, which is a pleasant surplus after running dangerously low last winter.  And now that all the animals are out of the barn for the summer, I have enough time for that second cup of coffee in the mornings...

Follow the Plow

I can probably count on one hand the number of sunny days we've had since the beginning of the year. OK...maybe I'm exaggerating a bit...but I'd only have to take off one shoe to get the right number. On those few and far-between dry days, Ryan and I have been trying to get things ready for a spring that has to arrive eventually, even if it's in July.

We started tomatoes and onions inside a couple of weeks ago, and last week I planted the Walla Walla onions and shallots in the garden.  The garlic is looking good, and is already in need of its' second weeding of the season (weeds don't care about the weather).  Next to the garden, Ryan has been preparing fields for the oats, wheat and mangels.  Fred and Clark pull the plow, and the three Fjords usually follow up with the lighter work.

The old land sales pitch was "Rain Follows the Plow."  We're hoping it's the other way around this spring.

Pig in a Pen

The cute little Berkshire weaner pigs we got last August are now full-grown eating machines.  They've had a steady diet of grain, hay, mangels and, of course, table scraps for the last six months, and now are somewhere in the 200-225 pound range.  Ryan and I have both commented on how different they are from the other pigs we've raised, both in appearance and disposition.  We've had pigs that leave huge craters in the ground and general destruction in their wake, but these Berkshires are much more sedate, if that word can be applied to pigs.  They seem content to wander around the barnyard without tearing up fences or gates, and hardly ever dig more than a couple of inches deep while rooting.