Sugar Creek Farm

I mentioned in my last post that I’d been sick this week – a nasty sinus thing accompanied by cough and general tiredness. So I took the carcass from the chicken I roasted for Easter dinner and brewed up some broth. The perfect antidote for a case of the yucks.

3 years ago:

Garden, March 28

cabbage seedlings

Ye olde blog has been short on words and long on pictures lately. Last week was a crazy busy week. This week is (thankfully) much quieter, but I’ve been sick and haven’t felt like posting much.

But that’s likely to be the pattern here for awhile. As spring cranks into gear here it’s inevitable that there will be more photo opps – baby calves, baby pigs, baby chicks, baby seedlings – but less time to write about them. So go the seasons!

This morning we woke up to a new blanket of white snow over everything. It was as if Old Man Winter had turned to flip us the bird on his way out the door.

3 years ago:

I spent my evening…

2 years ago:

Naptime

One of the fun things about this time of year is the bird life on Sugar Creek. It seems to be a favorite stop-over along migration routes. Last week I spied a Great Blue Heron out there, hanging out with our ducks. By the time I’d grabbed the camera, threw on some mud boots and ran out he’d already moved on upstream so these were the best shots I could get of him.

3 years ago:

Free range pork
One of our most popular pages!

This weekend I got my seeds started – tomatoes, early cabbage, late cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, celery, peppers (bell, chile & jalapeno) and basil. Getting my hands in the dirt again is so good for the soul – even if that “dirt” is actually seed starting mix and comes in a bag.

I had only a couple of trays left to do when Rafe discovered me in the basement. He wanted to help. He wanted to do more than help. He wanted to do it all by himself. So I turned him loose.

He filled 2 whole trays with pots and carefully filled each one part way with seed starting mix. Then I helped him get the seeds out of the packages, and he gently placed 2 or 3 in each pot.

He claimed several of the tomato varieties that Karl & Tabitha sent us as his own.

He covered the seeds with a little more starting mix, and then sprayed each tray with water. I bottom watered each tray (with some fish emulsion mixed in), covered them with plastic wrap, and under the lights they went.

This morning he was down in the basement checking on the seeds before I was even out of bed!

When I told him his tomatoes are going to taste extra good this summer because he’s growing them himself, my little entrepreneur informed me that he’s going to sell his tomatoes.

3 years ago:

Inspiration

Things are a bit chaotic in the farmyard at the moment. As I mentioned in the last post, last week the butcher pigs’ sleeping area became water logged and we turned them out into the cattle’s winter lots.

Then when Madeline’s pigs’ shed burned down they joined the fray.

Then the feeder calves hatched an escape from their winter lot out into the main pasture.

They’re not allowed out there until the ground thaws out and firms up, and the grass greens up. They ran from corner to corner, knowing that their freedom would be shortlived. Matt picked up a new fencer this weekend and that was the end of that.

Everyone’s getting along really well, and the pigs are so, so happy. But it makes for a lot of work when it’s time to load up hogs for market.

At least one of the cows is starting to bag up. Calving time is near!

4 years ago:

It’s been a rather exciting bird day

I love the look of pure, unadulterated joy on this frolicking pig’s face. With all of the water running through the place, the pigs’ sleeping area was full of water. So we turned them out and let them mingle in the winter cattle lots. They’re having a ball.

3 years ago:

Sled of death

Despite yesterday’s tale of tragedy, today was a good day. First because of all you wonderful people that left such kind and encouraging comments. Second because of a couple of our customers, who were beyond understanding about an issue with their pork. Their compassionate responses left me feeling humbled and grateful. I sat in church tonight lifting prayers of thankfulness for all of you.

So…on to something fun!

I’ve been playing around with a cross-processing effect in Adobe Photoshop Elements 6. It makes for a cool vintage-y effect. I’m definitely going to be printing & framing a few of these for our own walls.

I especially like this last one.

So anyone reading this have experience selling photographs online? I’d like to give it a try but not sure if I should find a site that will print & ship the photographs for me, or have them printed locally & ship them myself. And if I print & ship myself, should I set up my own site using a Paypal shopping cart of some kind? Or use a listing service like Etsy? Advice, suggestions anybody?

then hopefully we’re covered for a while.

First there was Madeline’s drowned piglet.

Then, Sunday morning, Matt went out to do chores and found this:

The little shed that we’d moved Madeline’s pigs into had burned to the ground during the night, most likely from a heat lamp that got knocked down or something. Fortunately all of her pigs got out okay and are just fine.

Then today while doing chores, Matt found a dead little calf. Apparently our cow Carmel had aborted a month early for some reason. Very strange. We’ve had her for 3 or 4 years now, and she’s never had any calving troubles. Combined with the cow we lost in January, this of course really affects the number of calves we’ll have to market 18 months from now.

3 years ago:

Signs of spring

It’s been a long, eggless winter.

3 years ago:

No post yesterday