Poof! Summer...almost gone!

Ok, so I'll be the first to admit it, I've not held up my end of the bargain. The posts this spring were a good start, but what happened to all the updates from the summer? Well...summer happened and then I slide down this crazy rabbit hole and and I chased a rabbit and I ah...chased a chicken then I...I ah...chased a turkey and ran from a scary bee hive and woke-up and it was August!

Stay tuned for an upcoming series of posts to update you all on the progress this summer...it's been a wild ride - mating flights, chicken processing, pullet growing, foraging, and eating some amazing local food. Stay tuned!

May bees with you, and also with you.

That's right I said bees! As a wonderful birthday gift from my family, I now have a hive that is ready for it first bee package - said to be arriving April 10th at Stedman Bee Supplies in Silverdale. I'd add their link here but they don't have a website.

In fact Stedman's is very very oldschool, which makes it absolutely perfect! I purchased a complete hive, two honey supers (just in case my bees really take off their first year, which is very unlikely), protective clothing, smoker, hive tool, and come April 10th a bee package.

Bee packages weigh between 3-4lbs and contain several hundred worker bees and one queen who is enclosed in a special case within the package. Once placed in the hive the bees will chew their way into the queens enclosure and free her to get to work.

I am very excited to begin the adventure of bee keeping. After taking a class at Beez Neez apiary last spring, and helping my brother with his hive last summer, I feel that I am ready to give it a go. Whether the bees feel the same about me is something yet to be determined.

23 weeks and counting....EGGS!

Peas are in the ground, rest of the garden is ready, and the starts need to be thinned - desperately!

Also the chickens have started laying! Or at least a few have. See the smallest egg in the image. It's next to "regular" sized eggs in a carton of store-bought eggs. Is it the last store-bought? Fingers crossed.

The leghorn, Miss Blanca, is the smallest of them all and she is already showing her genetic strength, laying the largest of the pullet sized eggs and nearly the most regular already.

It is such a wonderful surprise to open the nesting box door and discover these jewels waiting. I am checking the boxes a couple times a day for now and will increase to three times as more chickens begin to lay.

Also, the turkeys are scheduled to arrive at the end of April or early May. I am getting ready.

Review of Farm City, by Novella Carpenter

As a reader of the Ghost Town Farm blog, I picked this book up in hopes of getting a guidebook with good tips and bits of knowledge. What I got was that and more.

At times heartwarming, others heartbreaking, Farm City is a snapshot into the very challenges we face as a culture reacquainting ourselves with food and each other again. The author, Novella Carpenter, allows us to see through her direct experiences, the blunt inner workings of a place that is grappling with major societal issues at every turn and she still manages to put bacon (amazing tasting to be sure) on the table.

As an aspiring urban farmer, I found valuable insights and instances of hope and in Farm City. Here we are nearing the brink of sorts and yet here is Novella Carpenter doing what needs to be done: breaking ground, raising animals and growing food in a place that is far from a rural picturesque setting, in fact in an urban setting that is more like a place where over 50% of the worlds population now lives.

It is the reapplying old knowledge in a new setting that is encapsulated in this book. A lot of what is presented in Farm City is old knowledge, but it’s for a new generation that now lives in cities in apartments or postage stamp lots that want to take control of what they are eating. Feeding ones family from the land was common knowledge a mere 50 years ago, yet here we are teaching ourselves in new ways, adding knowledge and know-how with books like Farm City.

Starting the garden off right

With a ton of organic matter - leaves from last Fall, rabbit manure, and lots of chicken manure. And then stir with your favorite digging fork.

Our fingers are crossed for a small but bountiful garden at our new place this year. We are going to grow leafy greens and other crops that can take a bit of shade as we have a forest surrounding us. Will be a good experiment - potentially a tasty one. Also a big part of the garden this year will be to grow treats for the chickens, rabbits and turkeys that are coming in a couple of months. More on that soon!

Enjoy the warming days, especially in this El Nino year, and the growing light - 2 minutes more each day!

A Time to Stew

The New Year holiday is always a time i find myself stewing, really thinking but I took this picture last of the stew pot at my sisters house last night and couldn't resist, about the year past and the year to come. It's a chance for me to collect myself and take stock and assess goals achieved and those missed.

What i've come to so far is that this coming year holds so much growth and potential that I find myself very excited to welcome 2010 to the family.

Here's to all hopes and dreams and may 2010 be a wonderful year!

Where is that Treatise?

A working in progress no doubt...But here is a start.

I farm to satisfy a need for connection, a need to claim ownership to craft and skills that are on the verge of being forgotten.

Turning soil to prepare a seed bed for planting is gift and each time it happens I am overwhelmed with the aromas of the earth, the living organisms writhing about, and the tingling sense of connection with the earth.

And yes, usually a sore back worth three pain relievers, but still a sense of doing the right thing. Doing what is right for me.