Frost and Father's Day

Happy Father's Day all!

I will start this post with an updated view from the milking stand.  No combine in the way - it's been moved to the hayshed.  It was pretty cloudy this morning but we ended up with some nice sun.

What a difference a week makes - in the buckwheat field anyway!   This was last Sunday:

 

And this is today!

 

And did you know that buckwheat sprouts are a tasty salad green?

 

 These sprouts will join the lettuce from greenhouse in my bowl for a few days until they are too big.

Just pretend you don't see the weeds in there.  Actually, some of those are edible too!

I hope that 2019 will be known as a weird weather year;  hopefully this is not our new normal! Thursday morning the thermometer read 33 degrees and we had FROST!

It was mainly on the rooftops and vehicles at our place.  We were fortunate - nothing killed in the garden or out in the pumpkin patch.  Some of our farmer friends did sustain damage, some quite extensive.

So, it's about time for a garden update.  I have indicated before in this blog that the garden is getting a make-over.  I just do not have time to maintain it and by the end of last season it more resembled an unmowed lawn than a garden.  I cannot give it up entirely, and I did not want to lose the footprint of good soil that I have built up.  So, we covered it up.  It's not done yet, but here is a photo from the south side.

The south fence was in need of some repairs, so it has been removed.  Kevin got in there with the big tiller behind the tractor and made short work of that grass.  Then we rolled out 3,600 square feet of landscapers fabric and brought in garden circles, straw bales, and containers.  Most everything is planted and the next step will be getting some mulch down to cover up the ugly black plastic.  There is a temporary fence up on the south side to keep the chickens out, and eventually the wooden fence will be put back up.  I have never gardened with straw bales before, so will update you later on this summer on how that goes.

Speaking of the chickens - the hens were confined to the summer coop-yard but the wind let them out one day and they now have the run of the place again.

I got a good photo of Cornish today.  Her legs reveal her age and I would say she is the oldest hen I have and in my opinion, the most beautiful.  Some of my old gals will be have to be culled this fall to make room for the pullets, but not Cornish, Rocky, or Barak.

The roses are just starting to bloom - and no beetles yet.  I wish you could smell them!

The wheat is getting pretty tall.  This is the winter wheat that was planted last fall with the no-till planter. 

We seem to have lost one poult; Peanut still has eleven to keep track of though.  She had them up in the winter coop-yard this morning - they are growing fast! 

I guess this is called a photo-bomb??? Getting pictures of the young goats is getting more and more difficult!

Until next time, be well friends!

June 9, 2019

Just a quick farm update this evening.

The buckwheat that Kevin and Rollie planted just last weekend liked the heat this week.  I enjoy the corduroy look of the field.

The little turkey flock is doing well but we aren't crazy about how far from the house Peanut takes them.   

Several times we have gone all way out to the woods to herd them back; closer to the farmyard please!

  

No comment for this one - just a kind of funny photo -

And from the goat pen.  Goats enjoy tree leaves and twigs as much as deer do.  Winky is the most agile at getting to the higher branches.

 

 "Up on your toes now!"   Mom Echo and little sister Tulip seem to be impressed!

Until next time, be well friends!

Welcome June!

Hello all,

We have had a pretty busy week and weekend here at Ole Lake Farm.  It was the second farmers market weekend of the summer season and much of the week (outside of our day job hours) were spent organizing and getting ready.  This will soon become a routine and not be so rushed. 

The view from the milking stand is solidly green these days - yes, including that big John Deere that is still in my way!

 

I have made some progress on the garden make-over but am not done yet and haven't planted anything out there.  Kevin and Rollie continued with their planting this week - buckwheat, sunflowers, and the cornmeal corn are now in the ground. 

I guess a highlight of the week has been the little turkey family.  Most of the photos I have taken so far have been of their fluffy little backsides as Peanut moves them away from us.  She is a good mama and very protective of them.  She has taken them pretty far afield on a couple of occasions but has been bedding down in the hayshed with them at night - sometimes on her own, and sometimes with a little herding persuasion from us.  We are very pleased that all twelve are still with us. 

That is all I have for you this evening.  I will be back next week though, and until then, be well friends!