TOO! Free range

A new purpose for the old double seater!

The girls are laying eggs all over the farm!  The 40 chicks we purchased in March are starting to lay eggs.  In the hen house we have been collecting 13 eggs a day from the nesting boxes.  It is so adorable to go into the hen house when a bunch of hens are laying.  What you see is a line of chicken faces in each cubical with the occasional rebel turned around backward tail to the wind.  The first couple of weeks I easily accepted this low number of eggs as I knew the girls wouldn't all start laying exactly the same day.  But in the last week and a half things were just not adding up.  This morning we found our answer.  We have found little clutches of eggs gathered in various places, for example the old outhouse and the kitchen counter of the old homestead house that is being remodeled.  We collected the eggs from the counter and gifted them as a house warming present, then in a little while the little white hen came into the house with the 3 men working jumped up onto the counter and gifted another white egg. Thus is the life of a free range chicken.  They believe they can do just what they want when they want.  Erik coined the phrase, "Too free range."  Sometimes I would have to agree but in light of the egg recalls I'll put up with a little hide and seek.  Enjoy the pictures!

Out in the open next to the old wood shed.

Eggs laid on Grandma Byrd's soon to be kitchen counter.

Momentum

Momentum is building for the 2010 growing season.


The vegetables and their many varieties have been chosen. Hours spent pouring over catalogs and websites have excited us about the coming year. There will be many adventures as we witness the seeds turn into the plants that will produce a bountiful harvest.

We are finishing our seedling greenhouse were we will see miracles happen. Most of the 100,000 seeds (give or take a few) will be potted and lovingly cared for while they grow into the seedlings that we will transplant when the soil can be worked. In the fall the ground was prepared and planted with a cover crop of annual rye and crimson clover. (It is growing well and our three young calves enjoy mowing it daily.)

These calves represent a piece of the research and development side of the farm. We are surrounded by dairies and cattle farms here in Iredell County, NC. The traditional way of raising calves is to quickly wean them and start them on a grain based diet. Our approach has been to provide them with milk for an extended period and wean them to a grass/hay based diet. We bought them when they were 1 and 2 days old, they are now 18 weeks. They are growing rapidly, have a pleasant attitude and love to head butt each other during their games. We will harvest them in the months to come.

During this winter we have also been building our production facility. This 30’ X 50’ building will house our “kitchen” where we will wash, sort and package the vegetable for the CSA and markets. We have had tremendous experiences during the build. Many family members and friends have come to help and cheer us on while we see the plans from the paper grow into the building we envisioned. We hope this will be typical of activities to come.