Rock Island Farm, Orono, Maine

Bears

2012-01-29T10:27:00.000-08:00

It is worth checking watching and listening to the mother bear in her den with her two cubs, born January 16th (courtesy a live streaming web cam placed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (IF&W)): http://bangordailynews.com/link/watch-mama-bear-lugnut-and-her-cubs/

The mother bear is often sleeping, but she might be waking up a bit and checking on the cubs. I find the sounds more fascinating than the video. The first time I watched, she was making a sound that, to me, was very similar to a sound our old coon cat makes when he is sleeping, snoring and content. I can't help but think it is soothing to the cubs. She makes other gentle sounds too. When I think of bears, I tend to think of the frightening one that tried to get into a friend's barn, or the ones I was warned about avoiding as a child. I feel differently now.

More mild weather: snow, sleet and ice

2012-01-27T08:58:00.000-08:00

Winter came back spitting a mix of snow, sleet and ice. The nearby University of Maine is shut down for the day. Rain is in the forecast for this afternoon.

I like the way the front door mat looks after I drag a shovel across it to clear the doorway.

Another indicator of a mild winter so far -- the farm sign by the front door normally blows off a few times at the beginning of the season. After a little cursing, it is brought in for the winter. The sign is still there!

I just came inside from clearing the driveway and paths. There isn't much snow, but I wanted to try to move some of it before the rain creates slush, and the evening turns the slush to ice.

I cut a gentle path up to the house, and to the barn.We use a small John Deere tractor and snow blower attachment. I like that it can spread the snow thinly over a wide area, rather than making big snow plow mounds. The area looks less disturbed and quieter.

I'm in a good mood because there wasn't much wind, and that wind was heading the right way, so I didn't get a snoot full of sleet from the blower. Soaked hat and gloves are recovering by the wood snow. Hot chocolate is calling.

Bare ground January day

2012-01-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

I enjoy January thaws, as long as nothing floods too badly. But, seeing bare ground like this the third week in January, when we've had little snow so far, seems very odd.

I walked around to take pictures and document conditions, which I don't normally get to do this time of year. They will help me to plan for fixing things when the weather warms up. I am grateful this board fencing behind the sheep is still standing. Only a matter of time until it comes down, and I need to get something in the budget for replacement materials.

Also in the picture are the three ancient sheep. It is not commercial to keep old sheep around and I forever feel guilty but, well, at this point they are here for good if I can help it. At least they don't cost much to keep, since we put up our own hay. It wouldn't feel as much like home without at least some sheep around. These are descended from the first two shetland/finn cross ewes I ever owned.

The green patch in the picture below is the "new" garden plot that was started last year. I turned in a lot of aged horse manure, planted to buckwheat and turned in, then planted to winter rye that will be turned in, along with lime, this spring. Started with basic clay, so it pretty much needs almost everything. I'll probably be imprudent and plant something here this year, and see how it goes. Lots of happy weeds are expected.

Another "new plot" that just barely got started last fall is beyond the fence, in the old pasture. Last fall I skimmed it with the cultivator, and piled on aged horse manure and grass clippings. It grew up in mowed pasture plants before winter, which will hold the soil. This year, it will likely get turned over deeper, have more inputs added, and be planted to green manure for the season.

I haven't figured out where to start the "next" plot yet but...probably it will be in the old pasture too. I'm trying to expand the area in vegetables a bit each year: more food for family; more food for community.

January 21st. Sunny and bright.

2012-01-22T06:44:00.000-08:00

Oooooh....seed catalogs. I'm late deciding what to order this year, but finally got that Christmas feeling going....looking forward to a garden in the spring brings on a bit of the same endorphins as looking toward Christmas presents when a kid.

My favorite catalogs are Fedco and Johnny's. Both Maine catalogs made the top 10 in the national list of seed-order catalogs in Mother Earth News recently, and very well deserved. I think Fedco would have been higher in the list if it wasn't a co-op, but because it is a co-op it is better priced and funky - wouldn't change a thing.

Between approximately 10:00 am and 3:00 pm

2011-10-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

It hit me today....the days are getting shorter. This means I kind of want to sit and stare at the ceiling, like a lot of other people this time of year, but need to keep my feet moving. It always passes. I started thinking about writing what was happening as a way to keep moving through tasks today.

I need to avoid the pumpkin bread baked last night, with walnuts and chocolate chips. Luckily, most of it went into the freezer.

(1) 10:00 a.m. -- I sorted out the electronet fencing, which was still outside, and put it away for the winter. This took me a chunk of time, because most of the fencing still outside was tangled. I strung it out way down the driveway and untangled it. Next, I worked on the roll that I hit with the mower at some point. Some of the roll has now been thrown away, although I saved the poles. It took me about three weeks to tell George that I damaged this fencing. But, he ran into some last year, so he was ok with it.

(2) I went up a ladder and fixed a loose board on the sheep barn. This also took quite awhile. I should have fixed the board as soon as I noticed it, because the plywood hardened, and I couldn't just push it down and hammer it. It needed some screws, but I didn't have the right size. Next time go to hardware store.... I used lots of nails, pounding slowly from left to right to get the board down. This is not how it is supposed to be done, but the plywood is down.

(3) I went in the house to water Percy the cat. He gets 100 ml fluid subcutaneous about the middle of the day due to poor kidneys. He and the other cat get a meal at the same time. While he was slowly finishing, I put the wash in the dryer, brought up coffee from the cellar, cleaned two cat boxes, and tidied a bit. Then, I stopped to check email, which is always a mistake. Went outside again 1.5 hours later.

(4) I caught two old sheep and trimmed their feet. I used to be able to do a dozen at a time, but two a day is better now. It gets to my back. I actually think this way is easier for them too, because I don't rush. Aurthur (on the right) needs a horn trimmed....goes on the list.

(5)Three outbuildings need to be sorted out/cleaned before the farm machinery can be put away for the winter. I got the first cut done on two. Summer stuff goes to back, pallets get put away, remaining pumpkins get saved or go to compost, etc. Also, took the two metal cans full of soot from last year's wood stove fires, and spread them out on the hayfield. We put down soot in place of sand sometimes to keep things less slippery in the winter, but we have more than enough. Moved the empty metal cans to the front porch, to be ready for more soot.

Small garage --

Before:

After:

Some of the little pumpkins went outside on the steps.

I was finishing up the second outbuilding when George came home unusually early. We were talking in the driveway, and a young woman came by with a leaflet urging that the Casinos be voted down. We talked about that for awhile. Afterwards, I dropped off the last load of sweepings, and went inside.

3:00 pm.

Have something going on this evening, so quitting early to write this up and get something to eat. Hmmmmm.....maybe pumpkin bread....with walnuts and chocolate chips.

Grass, Rye and Rutabaga

2011-10-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

The pictures in this post were taken yesterday. I took this one to have a record of what the many-times-mowed pasture looks like now. This is actually just a small corner of the pasture, looking out toward part of the hayfield, and the woods beyond. Nice green pasture, isn't it? Looking close up, there seem to be fewer weeds than last year (a GOOD thing). Will be very curious to see what it looks like in the spring, but am hoping for the best, as always.

I had left a few carrots out in the garden, because I enjoy having fresh carrots to add to stew.   I only use a couple of carrots per stew so....having maybe a dozen or 15 out there was a lot of stews.   Nice, fresh, very orange, beautiful carrots......   I took down the garden fence about a week ago, and mowed all around to make things tidy.    It must have taken about that long for someone to notice the nice carrots, but he or she did.   You can just see in the picture how the tops of some of them have been nibbled off.    Some of them have been nibbled almost down to the orange root.

Note for next year:   either get all the carrots into the root cellar or freezer before I take the fence down, or move some fence around the carrots!   So far, no one four-footed has been interested in the rutabagas. They have been through one hard frost. I boiled up a couple of rutabaga yesterday, added a bit of butter and milk and salt. They have a mild flavor all their own - quite different from potatoes.

The mashed rutabaga is slightly sweet, with just a hunt of bitter underneath.   The color is a very light tannish/yellow. Yum!! Very good!!!!   And, the fresh roots look good.   I've never been attracted by the wax-covered hacked up roots in the supermarket. And, there is no way to know how fresh those are, or when they were taken from the ground (before or after frost?)

Maybe next year, I'll think about growing some more, and put out fresh ones one day for sale, with the leaves still attached, after a hard frost (the frost is supposed to make them sweeter).   Wonder if people would be interested?   The leaves are large and good for compost.   Or, I could cut off the leaves for the buyer and keep them for the compost here.   But, either way....fresh and good rutabaga.

Little Pumpkins

2011-10-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

I imagine that having way too many little pumpkins, and far too few potatoes, is one of those learning curve things about starting up a small, family farm. Still....having far too many little pumpkins feels like having a big stainless steel bowl of those chocolate coins covered with gold paper.

But, we don't need so many of them. So, I took fifty of them down to Bangor and dropped them off at a non-profit involved with kids.

Wicked Old Witch

2011-10-19T06:19:00.000-07:00

She was green too, that Wicked Old Witch of the West.

I've been reading "small farm" blogs - finding popular ones.    I can see why some of these are popular: cute kids, cute bunnies, cute chicks.

The pumpkins look a lot like mine.    If I weren't on a farm, wouldn't I want to focus on the chickies? And, the authors are doing good marketing, too.

But, some days I just don't want to go there. Farms are not always "clean". There is that pesky manure, and lots of bugs and mud, and occasional blood. There are the inevitable injuries to oneself, and one runs into wild living things with machinery from time to time, which is one of my least favorite things.

I must have mowed the pasture 7 times this year, trying to reduce the weed seed load. I won't really know how well this worked until things come up next year. I've already warned George I may have to use the same amount of gas next year for mowing. Sometimes we measure our emotional costs with gas - the price goes up and down at the pump too.

Most of the grass clippings were allowed to drop and nourish the pasture. It is already looking more lush. One cutting was collected and went for mulch in part of the spring vegetable garden. It was lovely stuff that made everything look tidy, as well as discouraging weeds and adding nutrients to the soil.

I decided I could really use some clippings on part of the "put to bed" fall garden beds so....I've been out for a couple of days hunting mulch.   This ideally involves aiming for spots where leaves have fallen, which gives me the double benefit of grass clippings with nitrogen and dead leaves with carbon.   Of course, it is fall, and there is a lot of dew in the morning.   And, we've had lots of rain.

So, things are kind of wet.   I think the mower on the small John Deere and its grass catcher jammed maybe...17 or 18 times one day.   To clear it, I turn everything off (mower and tractor), then get down on my knees and stick my hand under to where that really, really sharp blade whirls around, and painstakingly pick out the stuck grass.   Then, I open up the "tunnel" on the side of the mower, which carries the clippings up to the catcher, and stick my hand in up to my shoulder, and pull out the packed grass there.   Then I whack the top of the "tunnel" to get any grass clippings to fall out of that part.   Then I get up and move around to the back of the mower and open up the "catcher" to see if the top if the tunnel going into the catcher needs clearing or the thing just jammed because the bags are full and need to be emptied.

If you want to play the witch, this is a great way to turn your hands green.

Oooooooooh, look out, here comes the Wicked Old Witch!! :)

Hard Frost, Names and Oil Change

2011-10-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

This time of year it is hard to remember that there was a hard frost about a week ago - hard enough for me to make ghost tracks on leaving the house in the morning.

It was gorgeous weather yesterday - perfect fall football weather for the University of Maine's homecoming game, and the team won! We didn't go, but listened to part of the game on the radio. I particularly like the band.

A hard frost should push me along to take care of chores that will be much less pleasant in colder weather, like trimming hooves or catching and worming someone. But, I want to slow down and enjoy things when it is this pretty.

I was reading someone else's farm blog yesterday. The writer referred to family members by obviously made-up names like Farmer Man, Tall Kid, or something....probably to protect their privacy. My family members don't want their names used either. So, I mentioned this to my spouse, with examples, and asked what he'd like to be called. He said "George" (not his name). I said "that isn't the concept". He said "George".

So, George and I were just out changing the oil and oil filters on the two tractors, and a few other things. I hadn't changed the oil and filters before on the tractors, so wanted to learn. I've changed the oil on a push mower, and held various funnels for various persons at various times but....I tend to handle food more, and George tends to handle machinery more, in general.

At this point, if you have been changing oil since you were 2 1/2 years old, stop reading.

Undertaking a new learning experience like this always seems to accentuate the differences between one and one's spouse. I am very toxics-averse. George eats toxics for breakfast. Although we use organic practices on the farm, machinery requires lots of toxic stuff, like diesel and gas.

My first victim is in the picture below. I had just started the Agco Allis as George instructed, to warm up the engine so the oil would flow. I also moved the tractor a bit out of the garage so we could breath. I moved it back onto the cement floor before we changed the oil.

I unscrewed the oil plug over a funnel, that plugged into the top of a container for used oil, that was over an old kitty litter pan (our secondary containment system), which sat on a cement floor.

The funnel I used was too small for the large flow, so the funnel quickly overflowed and I found myself half way up to my elbows in about a gallon and a half of pouring, dirty, used, oil. Without commenting, George deftly swept in and rescued the oil plug and very small copper washer that goes with it, before I dropped them into the murky depths of the oily goo rapidly filling up the pan.

George: "Oh, that happened to me too".

Me: "And you didn't think to warn me?"

George: "Why?"

He wasn't setting me up; it just didn't occur to him. What is a little oil between oneself and one's tractor?

We have a refrain that we use on occasion, and it goes both ways...."who did you marry?"

End of process picture below. I'd been planing to take some "during" photos, but the oil bath was not conducive. The picture is of the pan that is for any last drips. The pan is under the oil plug/filter, and on top of a garbage bag just in case of, I don't know, an earthquake. It makes me feel better.

So...now I want to find a bigger pan for secondary containment because this one almost wasn't big enough....and a bigger funnel. And, the pan doesn't fit under the John Deere so we need something better over there....doesn't have to be fancy....large, old baking pan?

Addendum

George read this post and commented that (1) we don't need a new pan and (2) "George" is for George Costanza.

Roses and Rye.

2011-10-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

Lovely, bright morning after a hard rain last night and a hard frost earlier this week. In spite of all that, there are still a few rose petals on the large bush in front of the house. Keep in mind, this is Downeast Maine, and we aren't on the coast where things are milder. I am so impressed with this bush.

There was good news this morning. The winter rye that went into some of the vegetable beds a few days ago, late, just sprouted. It is very hard to see when it first comes up: you really have to look because it is dark purple against the dark brown ground. See that vertical stuff? In a couple of days it will green up. Plan B for if the rye didn't come up or if it doesn't get thick enough before it stops growing this year, is to seriously start cutting and collecting grass, and do a huge amount of mulching. I'd rather not do that. So...the sprouting is good.

Normally, the seed should have gone in well before this, but I took a whole lot of time dealing with squash vines with downy mildew -- bagging and removing them. Downy mildew is not very serious - lots of organic gardens see it late in the season. We got all the pumpkins and squash we needed before it wilted the vines. But, it cuts production so I need to do what I can to discourage it.

I've got unintentional test cases running in some of the beds. This is some "older" winter rye in another bed. This area was not tilled at the end of the season. I just pulled out the plants, raked a little, tossed in some rye, and rolled it. I need it to grow more and fill in the gaps.

Just for comparison purposes -- this is a bed that had rye about a foot long until last weekend. The soil was nicely covered. But....something possessed me to mow it. So...there is now some mulch down from the leavings and...I'm waiting for the rye to come back a bit.

It just isn't fun if you don't play.

Hay, Garden and a Big WHEW

2011-09-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Whew - been an exciting couple of weeks. I brought in a few bales of second-cut hay for the old sheep, which put us over the amount (financially speaking) that we needed to make to keep the land classified as agricultural land for tax purposes. In Maine, one can count both sales figures and product consumed on farm toward this total, and ours includes a bit of both. I expected this year and next to be tough in this regard, until we got more activities going on the farm, but we were counting every bale and weighing every vegetable this year.

We still have hay that needs to be sold, but I don't think that will be a problem this year. It is a hard year for buyers to find good day.

Carrots headed for the blanching pot

The hay was difficult to get in the barn because of the wet weather this year.   Three of the last five years have been difficult for hay here, with the heavy clay soils that take a long time to dry.   The investment in a hay tedder this year paid off (a "tedder" helps to cure hay faster, so hay can be brought in during a shorter weather-window). Modelling related to global warming predicts that Maine should get wetter, so maybe that has something to do with it. In any case, the rain just underscores that we need to continue to diversity.

The first frost was predicted for last night, although we had the good luck not to get much.   But, just in case, we brought in a lot of vegetables yesterday.   The acorn squash we'll be eating this winter is now in the basement.    I already cooked a couple with butter and brown sugar, and it definitely gets a thumbs up. Some pie pumpkins are curing in an old and warm wooden garage, before being moved to the cool basement with the acorn and spaghetti squash.   The onions are drying.   I've been blanching vegetables all summer for the freezer, which now contains lots of frozen summer squash, broccoli, string beans, and carrots. There are also bags of frozen cherry tomatoes, and lots of frozen zucchini bread (some with walnuts and chocolate chips).    I'm still intending to put some potatoes, rutabagas, and fresh carrots into the root cellar.

This was the first summer that we haven't had both adults working full time off-farm, plus trying to run the farm.   Things have changed a lot.   It isn't easy, but it is always interesting.

If anyone reads this who bought hay or seedlings or vegetables from us this year, I just want to say thank you. Every bit helped.   Thanks also to family and friends who listened patiently to intense comments about haying machinery, green manure, or the weather.

Pumpkins

2011-08-31T13:13:00.000-07:00

I didn't expect to be writing about pumpkins in August, but Hurricane Irene pushed things ahead a bit. We've started bringing the pie pumpkins in. Most are still out in the garden, but I put a few in the old wooden garage, with a lot of drying onions. The first and the last pumpkins always seem to be the prettiest.

The plan is to cook and freeze pumpkin puree this year. Yum ... pumpkin pie.

Irene

2011-08-29T05:39:00.000-07:00

A quick post to say we got really lucky with Irene. Tthere was no damage to the farm equipment . The tarp on the baler held. We're still planning to cut a bit of second-cut hay.

There is a bit of damage in the garden, but things could have been so much worse. The bean plants didn't lose all their flowers; green tomatoes are still ripening.

Farm websie seems to be down.... so is the website for the company hosting the site.

Rainy Squash Sunday

2011-08-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

I love rainy Sundays in August. There are a whole lot of things that can get put off due to the rain*, so things slow down. And, even imperfect squash that will be bread or compost are pretty.

*Turn over the new garden bed and plant winter rye; bush hog; mow; move hay bales; weed; plant more veggies; paint; trim sheep hooves (wet sheep are a bit slippery); grease outside machinery; fix loose board on side of barn; fix fences; move the garden fence again....

I mowed along the garden fence but didn't get it moved.....

Keeping tidy while it rains

2011-06-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

Potato plants in the garden

It has been a very wet spring.   We finally got a little hay in the barn, but the first small batch will need to go for mulch hay (lower price) because the ground was a bit too damp.   The second small batch was baled when the humidity was a bit too high, so it is being checked regularly for heating in the bales.    If it doesn't heat up, which might happen in the next two weeks but could happen in the next two months, it will be kept for sheep on the farm.    The animals here usually get the first hay, and this year we need to keep it just to keep an eye on it. Whew, amazing the extra work and worry caused by a little humidity.

We got enough hay in to check out all the machinery, and try out the new hay tedder.   A tedder spreads cut hay out broadly so it can dry more quickly and evenly. I don't think we'd have gotten any hay in so far without the tedder.   I feel good that I operated all the machinery in the field, with help from my husband hooking up and adjusting things.   There was that incident with the tractor and the garage door but....I might write about that when my face turns a lighter shade of red!

Any hay baled in July will be "late first-cut hay", which is less nutritious than hay of the same quality baled earlier in the year.   We'd have liked to have baled earlier, but the weather didn't agree with that goal this year, as is probably true for many hay producers in Maine.

String bean plants

I just wandered out into the garden to take pictures and cheer myself up.   The overcast skies and damp air make the soil and mulch dark and soft. In spite of the lack of sun, and the usual invasion of cucumber beetles, the plants are hanging in there.

I tried to help the young squash plants repel the beetles by sprinkling soot from the wood stove on the leaves.   Ash doesn't kill the beetles as an insecticide would, but the beetles seem to try to avoid the ash.

There was a deer in the garden last night.    His narrow feet left big, deep tracks in the soft ground.   It looks like he checked things out, but didn't eat much of anything.   Good deer!

I am off to wash sheets and pull weeds....tidy the beds all around.

Squash plants

March 15, 2011

2011-03-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

It is one of those very rare days when the snow is so dense from rising temperatures that I can walk on it without sinking. I can even climb drifts! The coming world of spring has been my basement for the last couple of weeks, but now the world has opened up and I can go anywhere for a brief period until the snow softens, and makes me sink again.

Copra onions (Fedco seed) growing in the basement under lights.

Some wild seed on the snow, out beyond the pasture.

We can't mend fencing like this until the snow melts some more, and the fence can be pulled up. Right now, it is frozen down. Luckily, the sheep don't want to come out this far through the snow.

Winter rye that was planted last summer is starting to appear in a couple of corners of the vegetable beds.

Tracks crossing a fence that needs mending. Cat? Coyote? Coyote tracking a cat?

Pump, Percy and Onions

2011-03-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

The temperature got into the upper 40s today, and everything is melting. We used a new red pump to lift the hay baler and remove a tire for repair. The first seedlings (onions) appeared under lights in the basement.

We don't normally allow cats on the kitchen table, but Percy is an exception. He has poor kidneys, and needs an injection of fluids once a day. He doesn't like this any more than anyone would, so the deal we worked out with him is that he gets to sit on the corner of the kitchen table (attractive spot since previously forbidden), and he gets fed while being "watered". Percy has been wonderfully good about this, and even comes and gets us if we are late.

The day after - digging out

2011-02-26T15:26:00.000-08:00

When the snow is the deeper than the height of the porch, I can't just scrape off the porch anymore. It is so nice and easy just to scrape! After we got the driveway and paths dug out, I put wood ash down on the slickest corner of the driveway. We keep a couple of cans on the porch to hold the ash from the woodstove. It isn't as good as sand if you are stuck, but it isn't bad. And, it is free.

Storm

2011-02-25T15:26:00.000-08:00

Big storm going on out there. I went to check on the sheep and couldn't find the path to the barn. I gave up shoveling a route some time ago. The wind just blows the snow off the field and piles it between the drive way and the barn. I've been carefully walking along the route, packing down the snow as I go out and back twice a day. I'm usually fine as long as I don't step off the hard packed part into deep snow.

Well, there was no way to find out where that hard area was with all the blowing and drifting, so I kept sinking, and it took me awhile to get to the barn. I came back with my long shepherd's crook, and used it to feel ahead and fine the hard packed area. That helped.

Spent part of the evening in the basement putting up new grow lights and thinking about getting the onion seed going. It is a little late, but not too bad. I put together some little wooden boxes for soil. No one came down to find out what all the hammering was about. When it is blowing like this, people stay put where they are, in front of the woodstove or under the covers.

We need to get dug out tomorrow morning so I can go to a gardening workshop. Spring!!

Ophelia

2010-11-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

This is an old photo. See that brown (moorit) ewe with the white face toward the right? That's Ophelia. I was looking for a picture from when she was born, but couldn't put my hands on it. We put her down this past weekend. She was 12 1/2 years old and very stiff. I was worried about her getting sick during the winter.

She was part of what remains of a small flock I had several years ago in another location. In the picture, the sheep are out front helping to mow the lawn. From the left, that's Cordelia, then Sparrow in back. Alice is the brown one in front. Then comes Chloe, the black ewe in front of a white wether named Pete. Ophelia is in front, then a big black wether named Sal. Aurthur is a wether with horns in back of Sal, and I can't see the face of the one in back, but it is probably Lilly. I still have Sparrow, Alice, Arthur and Sal, and they are all very old.

Ophelia was my best ewe for fleece, from my best ewe for fleece (Cordelia) from my best ram for fleece (Moses). I'm saying "for fleece", because other sheep were best for other things. It never all comes in one package.

My husband and I have been taking a cut up apple out to Ophelia each morning since spring.

Late August

2010-08-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

Whew, got that second window. Probably have enough hay in the barn for the winter. Well maybe. Ok, we'd like to get a bit more in still.

We're having gorgeous late August Maine weather - cool nights for sleeping and sunny days soft on the skin. All the wood is in for the winter already, so we'll be snug.

Best part is having family visiting -- family who don't mind hearing the same stories over again, who tell you what they want, and who appreciate the noisy crickets at night. Only hard part is starting to miss them before they are gone.

Went to the Bangor music festival last night - great chance to dance, be silly, run into friends, and eat too much. If you haven't been, you really should go.

Still waiting for that second window...

2010-07-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

That first haying window in early June has also been the only one. Some of the hay we cut got rained on a bit. I think we'll feed it to own animals this winter, because anything we cut now will have less nutritional value. I tried some of it on the sheep and they gave it a thumbs up. Sheep are pretty discriminating about hay. I now have more confidence in it.

We know one buyer who may still want some late-cut hay, and we still plan to cut more.

My husband bush hogged the remaining buckwheat, which is a green manure, in the garden beds this afternoon, then took the cultivator around and turned the beds under. We'll turn them under once more this evening, and if things look ok, plant winter rye. It is supposed to rain off and on the next few days, so that should give the rye a good start. Ordinarily we'd wait a couple of days and let the green stuff break down a bit before planting, but with all the rain in the forecast, we're afraid we'll just grow weeds and undue the good work of the buckwheat, which smothered a lot of the weeds for us.

Open weather window - hay

2010-07-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, we finally got our few days clear weather to hay, but it wasn't until the first week of July. We've been ready to go since May. Folks down on the Maine coast got going in May, and Kennebec County hayed in June. We're in Penobscot County, and have been waiting to go.

This was only our second year haying using our own equipment, and we learned a lot. Next year we'll know more. There are so many more variables than appear on the surface. I cut 2 days and then got rained on. IOnly twenty percent chance of rain had sounded so good, after no break in the weather during May and June. The hay I cut just before the rain looked pretty good, so we'll feed it here, if we run out of the later cut hay. When things finally cleared, we raked and baled one load faster than we've ever done it - gorgeous drying weather - sunny, breezy, and low humidity. Then, I thought some of the hay was too green, and was scared to keep it in the sheep barn, so we dragged it all outside. Still not sure if we did the right thing or not. Oh well. In between we got in some hay that looks pretty good, if maybe on the dry side.

Later edit: Put a "free hay pile" list on Craig's List, and someone took the "too green" hay to feed some local beef, so it didn't go to waste.

I found a dead cat in the field. I don't think haying machinery killed it - looked mostly eaten, with a head and attached entrails, and two paws left. Maybe it was a fox, or fisher, or coyote. That was sad. The cat probably belonged to a neighbor. I walked over and told him, and he said "I try not to get too attached to the cats." Barn cats have to be able to go outside to do their job, and it is a dangerous world. I baled a snake, which was the end of the snake. We managed to avoid the bobolink nest in the front field, which felt good. Left plenty of room around it too.

Week of Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

Been a busy week/weekend, mostly with chores, but the weather makes it pleasant.   Light wind, few biting insects (except at dusk), sun, and mostly only raining at night!   Lovely light. We saw some eastern blue birds along the driveway.   A friend said that folks along the coast have been haying the last two weeks with beautiful, clear, drying weather.   We've had just enough rain to put off haying here, for the most part. That's ok.   We'll have a bit more growth when we do cut.

We did a lot of mowing toward the end of last week, so the place looks tidy.   Went over part of the sheep pasture twice, to mulch in the fairly long grass. Had to cut it because of the large number of buttercups.   They contain a caustic chemical, and animals can't graze them.   Only good news is that once buttercups are cut, the chemical partly breaks down, so buttercups in hay are safe.

Got two of the handful of old sheep sheared.   This is a long process because my back won't let me do it the "proper" way, and there aren't enough sheep to make it sensible to try to get a shearer.   I put a sheep on a blocking stand and use hand shears, going slowly.   My husband says it takes me about an hour per sheep, but I've never wanted to time it.   I'm not keeping the fleece from the old sheep. The object is to just get it off, for the health of the animal. Within a month the rough coats will grow out enough so that my sloppy shearing won't show.   The sheep are helping to improve the pasture. They've already been wormed this spring, but I'm behind on hoof trimming and shearing.   One or two more next weekends, then will be done. After than, next thing is to clean out the barn.

Planted one garden bed with buckwheat, and have been watering alot.   Next time we'll try to do it just before a rain. The new cultivator works great!

Tractor and haying equipment are ready to go, in terms of maintenance.

Preparations

2010-05-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

Spring has come so early, that it makes me feel perpetually behind! But, we're getting the preparations done. My husband and I have have gotten the disc mower out of the back shed (I still have to clean it up). This was an iffy proposition, because it had half fallen over, and is extremely heavy - way too heavy for two people to lift. But, we got lucky and it came out easily. Sheep have been wormed. We've started greasing the baler. My husband sharpened the blades on the bush hog this morning.

The new tiller is coming in a few days, and we're excited to see how it works on a couple of old, overgrown garden beds. There is a major weed problem, so we're planning to plant buckwheat first. We'll mow it before it goes to seed, and then till it under. Next, we'll plant winter rye (might have it wrong, but that is what I remember at the moment). Then, that gets tilled under. With luck, that process will choke out the weeds, and we'll have a couple of nice new garden beds next year.

The barn swallows arrived back last night. I'm sorry to say I went out and knocked down their nests from last year this morning. I like a few around, but last year there were so many in the sheep barn that it was very hard to keep the water buckets clean. Would like it if a few stayed around - they do a great job on flying insects, and are just generally very cheerful. But, I need the sheep to have fresh water too.

2009-08-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

Always a pleasure to do something new. My husband got me going, and I used the disc mower to cut hay this afternoon. I left lots of "rooster tails" (areas I missed on the corners), but maybe I'll do better next time.

This is very, very late first cut, with little or no nutritional value. But, we're getting what we can get. At least it may keep the sheep's rumens going, and keep the sheep warm this winter. Almost everyone around here is in the same boat after the long, rainy, cool summer. We're all scrambling for hay. I figure that I'm not likely to be able to buy much better. The great hope is that we can bring in a bit of second cut later this month or in September, to have something with some nutrition for January and February. In any case, we'll be feeding more grain than usual.

The vegetable garden didn't fare much better. I'm going to pull up some of the electronet fencing around it tomorrow, and use it to get some sheep out on part of the lawn that looks particularly tasty. It will mean less mowing for my husband, and more nutrition for the sheep. Their pasture is plenty large enough, but with all the rain, the buttercups really took off this year. Buttercups are no problem in hay, but when they are green in the pasture, they are caustic.

Bobolinks

2009-08-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

I was walking home from the back of the hayfield this afternoon, and flushed several birds along the way. Several looked like they were the young from one nest. I was a bit concerned, especially since they headed way over to some woods. I walked a bit away and stayed and watched. Those few were joined by a few more, and a few more - maybe 25 to 35 eventually. They weren't very organized, but seemed to be working on getting things together as a flock. Based on a couple of adults that swooped closer to me, I think this group may be the Bobolink young from several nests. Perhaps they are getting in shape and practicing before taking off for South America. I wonder if the adults lead the young down the first time, for this species. If anyone knows, please let me know. I thought the Bobolinks left by mid July, so I'm not sure if the birds I saw were Bobolinks. In any case, they were a lot of fun to watch, learning to fly together.

There would never have been so many Bobolinks, or any Bobolink young, surviving in a normal year on the hay field, because their nests would have been destroyed when haying. Bobolinks are one of the few ground nesting birds that will not try to re-nest if a nest is destroyed. They just head for their winter home in South America. Because of all the rain this year, haying is very late and it seems to be a very good year for Boblinks. Bobolink populations have been declining rapidly over all, so as much as I'm worried about winter feed, I have to be happy for the Bobolinks.

Gray foxes and hay

2009-07-30T11:34:00.001-07:00

Went out to check how wet the hayfield still is, and saw two gray foxes hunting mice in the tall grass. One saw me before I saw him/her, and moved off toward the woods. The other one didn't see me, and kept leaping up and pouncing down on mice, just like my old dog used to do in the winter, when she would hunt mice in the snow. They looked very happy on a warm, summer, afternoon.

Likes lots of other people around here, we haven't been able to hay due to all the rain. Clay soils take a long time to dry out, and there hasn't been a long enough break to allow the soil to dry, and enough days to cut, cure, and bale the hay. August brings its own risks, with afternoon thunderstorms, and September has morning dew to content with. But, will get some in some how. We don't need much for the sheep, but we need some.

Nest

2009-07-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

I found this nest with five, small, speckled-eggs in a corner of the vegetable garden. It is about 1.5 feet above the ground, in thick grass (I'm behind in the weeding), and uses some of my old tomato cages and stakes for support. I found it when I went looking for the tomato cages, but I don't want to disturb the nest.

Wednesday evening - break in rain

2009-06-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

I was away for a couple of days. Got home just as the rain finally broke to blue sky, though it isn't expected to stay clear for long. There is so much moisture rising off the fields that there is a beautiful low layer of fog over everything.

Monday (Rain)

2009-06-22T05:04:00.000-07:00

It has been raining for two or three years. I was wondering to my husband the other day if this is what Ireland is like - all wet and multi-colored green.
We didn't have all our hay equipment in May, so couldn't have hayed then, but people who did were definitely ahead of the curve. I wonder if there will be a hay shortage this year around here. What we put in the barn is not doing well - may not be able to feed it due to spoilage.

Bright side: if you want to eat lettuce, you and your 100 bunnies should be swimming pretty. The garden lettuce is happy with the cool and wet days.

Three sheep sheared and two to go. I'm starting to think about trying one the proper way, on its backside, instead of on a stand. So far the sheep have been remarkably patient with me using the stand, considering none of them has been on one before. Well, I could say that until the last one, Ophelia. She fought it all the way through. But, she is the daughter of my deceased lead ewe, so I actually appreciate the attitude.

Saturday - the cats

2009-06-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

A word about the cats. We have four. Possible is an old girl whom I've had forever. She is tiny, and so fierce at fighting wandering cats that I didn't realize she was declawed (in front) for a long time. Then, I was in awe. Perciville (aka Garr) and Baxter are two very old fellows that came to stay after we moved to Rock Island Farm a couple of years ago. They both had always been indoor cats. but have now mostly transitioned to indoor/outdoor cats in good weather. One has become a good and appreciated mouser. The second only started outside recently, and is still at the cricket-pouncing stage. He may hold there, but it is ok, because he rules the other cats, and that is a job in itself. The fourth cat, Capacitor, is the only young one, and she is an indoor cat. She won't be going outside unless we find some extra money for the necessary vaccinations, and I can bring myself to overlook the commensurate rise in local bird mortality rates. In the meantime, she is in charge of fetching whatever my husband happens to throw, at lightning speed, fur-tail flying. Who says you can't teach a cat tricks?

Friday

2009-06-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

We now have a little bit of very green hay in the barn, requiring lots of monitoring. Lost most of the hay we cut to rain. Things we learned: (1) hyraulics can do a lot of damage quickly; (2) we need a fourth day to get the hay cured to where we want it, or we need more sun, or we need to ted or flip with rake again or something; (3) we can get about X many bales from a doubled windrow Y long; (4) shouldn't cut more than can reasonably bale under given conditions; (5) the bobolinks won't make it, because we need to cut more hay. They seem to be using the driest part of the hayfield for nest(s), which makes sense, and that is where we need to cut more hay. Lovely, musical, amazing flyers, which I don't want to run over with a mower. Wonder if they will come back next year.

Thursday morning

2009-06-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

The picture is from part of the hayfield this morning. I raked it yesterday, and my husband cut it the day before. Will it get baled? It depends, on lots of things. A good try will certainly be made.

We tried to leave a particular part of the front field for a pair of nesting Bobolinks. Their population numbers are diving. We don't have enough storage for all the hay, and were planning to leave part of the field fallow each year in any case (cut but not bale) to reduce fertilizer needs. But, we hadn't initially planned on a "Bobolink-avoidance" cutting pattern. I'm hoping we didn't hit the nest, but since they hide it well to avoid predators, we're not sure.

Sunday afternoon

2009-06-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

A rainy Sunday afternoon. Good day to remember good things. Last weekend was Fiber Frolic. Fiber Frolic is a small but very nice fair, which is held in early June at Windsor Fairgrounds. It was started by a small group of volunteers nine years ago, and is intended to help promote fiber arts, fiber animals, and fiber farms and products. This year, the current, expanded group of volunteers had their biggest gate ever on Saturday.

The picture of the border collie working some sheep and goats at Fiber Frolic is from the sheepdog demonstration of David Kennard of Wellscroft farm. If you know enough about sheep to be wondering why they aren't all staring at the dog in the picture, it is because David was working more than one dog.

If you are interested in learning more about Fiber Frolic, go to http://www.fiberfrolic.com/

Saturday afternoon

2009-06-13T12:11:00.001-07:00

I just finished hand shearing a sheep on a stand. I used to raise a few sheep, but now just have five geriatric sheep to keep the weeds down in the pasture, provide manure and, well, they are pretty.

At this new place, we don't have a wooden floor for shearing, and with only five sheep I feel really guilty calling a shearer, and it would be expensive. So, I'm trying to do them on a stand. I just did the dark ewe on the left. Missed that spot under the throat.

I still need to do the bellies, but will wait until I have the heavy fleece off all of them. I'm really late shearing. Luckily, we've had a very cool spring. Hard on the tomatos, but good for people who procrastinate on getting the shearing done.

Thursday evening

2009-06-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

Just catching a couple of minutes while the water boils for the macaroni.

A fellow stopped by a short while ago and bought several bales of mulch hay (total $30). I had been engaging in a short spurt of Olympic free-style weeding in the vegetable garden when he arrived, and was glad of the break to help load the truck.

Two of the cats brought home dead mice today, and a tire on the baler is losing air, but the big news is that about 30% of the new rasberry plantings, which my husband and I were pretty sure were dead, have shown some growth. Hmmmm, I can dream about rasberries again. It gives us hope for my husband's small planting of horseraddish, which has also been holding its own in the obituary column.

Yikes, I better get back to the kitchen.

Picture from 5/30/2009.