Jamming With Jill

Our friend Jill has been staying with us for the last week. The three of us pooled our collective intellect and attempted our first canning exercise. The result was eight lovely jars of strawberry jam. We of course borrowed all the supplies from my sister in law, Jenny. Which was amazing, since she had received all the canning supplies last Christmas and had not even removed the tags yet. We traded a small bowl of strawberries for the equipment loan.







This will not be the last batch of jam since the small patch of strawberries my mother planted two years of ago is pumping out strawberries like mad.

A Quick Chicken Up Date

The chickens are about three weeks old now. We have lost two turkeys, however all of the chickens are healthy and happy. All of the literature I've read cautions against raising turkey's with chickens because chickens are carriers of diseases that are more harmful to turkeys. Our friends have raised the two together and suggested that the turkeys would be useful for fighting off snakes and weasels when the flock was older. I wonder if we had medicated our turkey's if they would have survived. We really wanted them to be organic, but now they are just dead. Oh well, "so goes the livestock business", Papa Steve said during his postmortem consult.

And then there was Marty

Bryan and I had discussed rescuing a dog from the pound when I returned from Florida in August. Bryan had said that he would like to find a lab or larger mix that would function well on the farm. With that conversation in the back of our minds we headed out on a farm forging trip. A trip where we go to all the farms that surround us and pick through junk piles to find wonderful things like old chicken waterers. As we left that afternoon I had just told Bryan that instead of buying supplies we should just wait and see if the universe (another farmer really) would provide for us.

And then while at my brother's farm there was "Marty". Marty is an abandoned stray dog that had been living on my brother's farm for a few days. After a trip to the vet we believe he is a lab husky mix. If you look closely you can see that one of his eyes is partially blue.

Marty has some severe emotional problems which manifest in separation anxiety. However, when you are home he can be an extremely loving companion. He came without any basic training, and now after three weeks and a quick neutering Marty understands many commands. The first week we learned NO and OFF. Then week two we worked on Wait (at doors and roads) and Come. Then after a few chicken/pig incidents we learned LEAVE IT. Now we are working on establishing the boundaries of the farm and heeling on the leash. Honestly I've given up on sit and down. We are also struggling with leaving him in the house with out him tearing everything up (or breaking his metal crate for that matter). Marty hates treats, and won't eat any thing but his dog food. If anyone knows any tricks for training a dog who won't even eat a hot dog lying on the kitchen floor please let me know.

In short we love Marty and are happy to have him in our lives.

Super, crazy, cute chicks

Our friendly mailman delivered twenty eight darling chicks and three bratty turkeys to our farm last Thursday. Everyday they seem to double in size and produce more feathers. It is delightful to watch them test their wings and hop around their little enclosure.

Be warned, if you are naive and allow the hatchery the select your mixture of chicks, you might want to inquire about the price before the chicks arrive. $108.00? Seems a little high in my book. The owner of the hatchery is rumored to say " you'll really like these chicks!" I feel like there was most likely a wink attached to this statement but we will never know.

And in case your wondering what kind of chicks these are, I have absolutely no idea. A mixed batch of egg laying chickens is how Bryan ordered these little guys.

Reposting the Baby Chicken Montage