Fancy New CSA Poster

We're stepping it up around here. Our first advertising investment; let's see if it works!

pics for market

Chickies; Big is Beautiful

Hooray for the fluffy ladies joining Bluebird Meadows! We picked up eight gorgeous, just feathered out chickies on Valentine's Day from a woman from town who had ordered too many for her backyard flock. We have 2 Light Brahmas, 2 Golden Laced Wyandottes, 2 Black Jersey Giants, and 2 Buff Orpingtons. They're 2 months old so we have a while before we get any eggs, but they are definitely entertaining.
We have an old pile of horse manure sitting around on the farm waiting for when we get our blueberry beds ready and it has a nice full covering of chickweed and henbit, perfect greens for the little biddies. And no roosters which is nice as we have them right outside our bedroom for the time being.
I spoke with a local creamery owner this past Saturday about the possibilities of acquiring a Jersey milking cow to milk for ourselves and some friends. She said we would want 'an old lady' to start out with. We would be more tethered to the farm than ever with a twice a day milking. Goats or a cow, goats or a cow? And I need to figure out how to make elementary cheeses and butter. Yogurt. Time to break out some books and call some experienced friends! We probably won't tackle a milking scene this year, although it is so tempting, and sometimes you just have to dive right in. We'll see.
Regarding the Ruth Diaries----we had to share the picture of her naked beateousness. We think it qualifies for ESPN's bodies we want, 2012. Right? Which, in case you haven't checked it out already, here is the link. You can thank me later. We forwarded them her picture saying looks like they forgot someone; we haven't heard back from them yet, but we're thinking we'll get a call today.
At market yesterday I had quite a few customers come up and say,"About those flowers I got from you last week"....and then a long pause....long enough for me to run through all the horrible scenarios in my head....but then comes...."they were AMAZING! And they still look fabulous! So I don't need any this week, but I just wanted to tell you that".....and then they walk away, flowerless. And I throw around a few expletives in my mind. Hmmmm. Love to hear that, but c'mon people, fresh is the best!

Cold Daze

My brain has gone numb with this weather. Two days of night temperatures in the teens and I get all addled, the puzzle pieces of the season that had begun to come together drift to the ground like snow and I want to cover my head with a pillow and have a long deep slumber.
But there is no time for slumber around here! Especially not with a milk addict like Ruth who wailed for 45 minutes her first wake up last night, slowly and successfully breaking her mother while her father shakes his head at me as I lift my shirt and she quickly finds a taut breast equally as ready to let go of milk as she is to drink, and instead of sobs we hear a contented sucking sound and sighs. Finally!
I am a strong woman, but in the face of my crying daughter I am reduced to submissive puddles. MUST BE STRONGER! NO MEANS NO!
But I digress. Back to the farm--I seriously want a couple milking goats and am trying to figure out how we can keep up with them. Stuart and I are coming up with so many great ways to grow our farm we really need to be careful and cautious about how we do it. And wicked smart. We're getting chickens tomorrow. Only 8 to start with. The next step after that is obviously milking goats, right? Is having two milking goats wicked smart? Hmm, something tells me no.
I just finished The Dirty Life about the crazy ambitious farming couple up in New York. Makes what we do look easy. I recommend it; it's a fast read and gives so much insight into the wild ride of farming and has given me quite a bit of food for thought.

Some things are best in pairs

Now What? Oh, sclerotia.

So I finished 1Q84 this past week and have been in a bit of a stupor ever since. It feels as if I've spent a few intense weeks with a newfound friend and all of a sudden the friend is gone, having vanished even in the imaginary space we did share. I walk around the house scanning the books we do have on the shelves (admittedly, embarrassingly, most of our books are still in boxes from when we moved two Novembers ago. yes, i'm serious.) and nothing will do. I wasn't even that crazy about the story, but there is something so enthralling about the way Murakami writes that I am all his when I read his books. He blurs the line between different worlds so successfully you forget which one is real. A true magician with thought processes.
We've been dealing with lots of tulips around here lately. Unfortunately they aren't my best and I'm beginning to get a complex about what the hell am I doing wrong. I wish I was a soil whisperer; I would pick up a handful of soil, blow some of it in the air and right before my eyes it would form sparkling constellations telling me what I need to add to make my flowers grow to perfection. Instead, I go into the hoophouse and watch sclerotia spread like wildfire. What is sclerotia you ask? No, it's not some obscure male body part lurking in rarely visited sweaty creases. Sclerotinia Stem Rot, more commonly called 'white mold' or 'farmer's nightmare' or 'what the *#^* and I supposed to do with this'.
It is a nasty business that is wreaking havoc in our hoophouses. We have NO IDEA what we should do about it. It goes crazy during wet, wintry conditions but also rears its ugly spores anytime it wants. Can live for seven years dormant in the soil. Wonderful for us. I guess I should count our lucky stars our flowers have done as well as they have. But enough of the sadness.
I'll end this on a positive note; baby Ruth is now laughing out loud in earnest, but only when we try very very hard. She doesn't laugh at just anything, it's gotta be real cray cray to deserve her giggles. She's making me and Stuart stay on our toes I tell ya. And she is loving her toes. Cutest girl. We are so lucky.

Fun at Grand-la's house

You know your dog is your baby when you brush her teeth. And I just can't help myself from posting pictures of Ruth. She seems to be close to crawling already!!!!

Trim, in perspective

It's official. We now have trim on our windows and doors! I had become used to the look of half inch gaps filled with jagged and crumbling sheetrock all around the doors and windows. It was like a daily shout out to all the voices telling us NOT to move in until everything is done, otherwise it won't get done. But c'mon people, trim doesn't make you any money, right? Atleast that would be what our farm mentor would say. (but point in fact: he still has unfinished trim in his house after fifteen years!!! ssshhhh!!)
So yes, we could have put that money towards something ever so valuable for the farm. Blueberries, another hoophouse, the big section of peonies we want, all the woody cuts and perennials in the catalogs that look at me yearning for a good place to live (it's as bad as looking at those weekly shelter ads for adorable pets that need a home!). But what about feng shui and living in a balanced abode? That must count for something. We must not always put the farm first, which is so often the case.
Having the trim up actually feels like we just took a big deep breath. Like there is progress in more than one avenue of our lives. I was just recently discussing with a close friend and fellow flower grower the ever so important question of how to maintain a good quality of life while running a farm. Because there is always, ALWAYS, something urgent and pressing to do, something to weed, or plan, or start, or order.
Balancing that personal and intimate self-rejuvenation that we all need to live a fulfilled life can easily get neglected. I think a hammock and some wind chimes are in order. And not just those one inch diameter wind chimes. Oh no. We're talking five inches wide so that there is a symphony of the elements where we can go whenever we need to recharge. We have a friend who has these massive wind chimes on her farm (complete with hammock nearby) and I tell you, it will rock your world. Metaphorically speaking that is. Epiphanies and let-it all-go's galore.
How long before we make that happen? What will we prioritize first? Ruth is still for more milk and cream. We have to think about her needs too.
But back to the trim. First we had to sand and seal the windows and put one more coat on our big room (where we spend 95% of our time). Actually, I had no hands on here, I was busy being mom the milkmaid. Ruth and I had to go over to Grand-la's house for the whole process so she wouldn't be breathing bad fumes (another blog for that!). So thanks Skye, Adam, and especially Gerard for all the hard work.
Gerard had the awesome idea to place a sliver of black walnut from some leftover flooring under the top piece of trim. It really gives the trim a unique and, in my opinion, masculine look. Like I can almost smell a whiff of cologne when I look at it. Maybe that is what black walnut is all about. Seduction and intrigue. Such a beautiful wood. But now we're bordering on this whole conversation turning lewd. Anyhow, we love the trim and it's done and we're so glad we did it. There.