Missing Willow Farm

Edwina decided to molt right as it’s getting cold this year.  Sometimes the barn looks like a chicken massacre with all the feathers lying around.  If I could knit, I’d make her a little sweater.

Jack chewed open and killed both of his wubbas on the same day last week so he got an early Christmas present.  Hopefully he won’t be able to tear this one up.  It bounces really crazy and he’s not as protective of it as he was his prior toys but that makes it easier to get it off of him after he fetches it.  Santa is bringing him a new wubba next month.  Shhh… don’t tell him.

Today’s harvest from the raised beds inside the greenhouse included a bit of spinach spinach, tomatoes, peppers… and a hickory nut.  Since we’re not growing hickory trees in there, I blame a squirrel for it.  Probably the same squirrel who ate half of our newly planted broccoli plants before we buttoned it up for the season.

Our chicken feed is being pilfered overnight again.  This is what we’re finding in the morning.  Something’s gonna get it…

Our chickens chatter and cluck when they hear me approaching in the morning to let them out in the yard and feed them treats.  They are really lovely at ‘good morning, glad to see you’.  They’ve been showing me it’s getting colder overnight here by huddling together on their sleeping roost (said the person who scoops poop every morning).  Winter is coming…

It’s up and ready to face the winter.  Me, not so much.

One little tree across the pond waited until almost everything else was dead to give off it’s color.  Showoff!

We did it, first time ever.  Customers at the farmer’s market are always asking for tomatoes in April and October, when lettuce is available.  Tomatoes ripen around here in July and lettuce is a cool season crop.  But we’ve got a few tomato plants in the greenhouse still going, despite extremely cold weather.  To keep them producing, we are hand pollinating the tomato flowers every morning.  Considering how tasteless grocery store tomatoes are, it’s worth the effort.

We produce microgreens, which are tiny tasty plants.  Beets, garlic chives, parsley, kohlrabi, broccoli are all examples of what we grow.  These little containers anchor us to the farm more than the livestock as they are watered twice a day.  Vacations are elusive, thankfully we love being here.

Our sheep flock together for safety when Jack is around.  Hermione couldn’t care less.  He ignores the goats and visa versa.  Occasionally we’d like him to fetch our goats from the far side of the pasture but it’s not an option.  We have to resort to shaking a bucket of food.  Works every time.