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Summer fun
Posted 6/14/2011 12:44pm by Heather Redden.
Greetings Farm Friends,
I knew it would happen like this, once the rain finally turned off, we were hit in the face with August like temperatures and little rain. There is nothing like shearing sheep or suiting up for the bees and working with sweat dripping onto my glasses. Those of you that missed the first beekeeping class, let me know if you would like me to put together another one. If there is enough interest I will do it again. And let's all enjoy the brief respite of cooler temperatures and lower humidity while it lasts.
The animals are always busy finding new ways to confound me and keep me busy. We ended up with a total of 4 ewe lambs and 5 ram lambs. Just when I was breathing a sigh of relief that lambing was over and all was well, one of my ewes died and left me with twin 11 day old ram lambs to bottle feed. Cake and Quarter took to the bottles pretty quickly and now follow us around the farm and come up to the front porch and let us know when they are hungry. They have even managed to follow us in the door a time or too and explored the house. I'm hoping they have nice fleeces because I already know there is no chance that we will be sending these boys to freezer camp. We've definitely become to attached to them.
I am trying to take another step towards sustainability and allow some of my hens to set eggs. One of our turkey hens sat on 6 eggs very diligently, she hatched out three, but is just down to one poult. Considering that she is a first time mom and was from a hatchery and raised by me, I think it is pretty amazing what she has accomplished on instinct alone. I have an Ameracauna hen with one chick. She is an amazing mother and it is really fun to watch her teach the chick how to forage. Three of my adult guineas have sadly disappeared but I have 21 guinea eggs and one turkey egg under some broody chicken hens in the hopes that they will successfully hatch some replacements. If any of you have dog crates or cat carriers that are collecting dust and would like to trade them for some eggs, future classes, or farm tours please let me know. I use them to allow the broody hens to sit their nests and raise their babies in peace.
I've already managed to miss a drop off date. Last Wednesday was the second of the month. I have added another piece of technology to the farm now in a smart phone. One of my favorite features is the calendar that is helping me to get onto the straight and narrow so that dates won't sneak by me anymore. I program in reminders for things like "pick strawberries" and "cage broody hens" and "send out a newsletter, stupid". I am going to go ahead and do a drop off tomorrow evening, June 15. I'll be in Highland Heights at 7:00 and Independence at 8:00. Also, if these times or locations don't work for you, please let me know if you want to meet up at another time. I make multiple trips a week into Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati so I'm sure we can find something that works for you. And as always, on farm pickup can be arranged as well. I have pastured eggs and spring garlic for sale right now. Please have your order to me by 4:00 PM Wednesday afternoon.
I'm going to send out a separate email with information on the next farm work day and ordering pastured chickens for your freezer. It seems like too much information to put in a single newsletter.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
I knew it would happen like this, once the rain finally turned off, we were hit in the face with August like temperatures and little rain. There is nothing like shearing sheep or suiting up for the bees and working with sweat dripping onto my glasses. Those of you that missed the first beekeeping class, let me know if you would like me to put together another one. If there is enough interest I will do it again. And let's all enjoy the brief respite of cooler temperatures and lower humidity while it lasts.
The animals are always busy finding new ways to confound me and keep me busy. We ended up with a total of 4 ewe lambs and 5 ram lambs. Just when I was breathing a sigh of relief that lambing was over and all was well, one of my ewes died and left me with twin 11 day old ram lambs to bottle feed. Cake and Quarter took to the bottles pretty quickly and now follow us around the farm and come up to the front porch and let us know when they are hungry. They have even managed to follow us in the door a time or too and explored the house. I'm hoping they have nice fleeces because I already know there is no chance that we will be sending these boys to freezer camp. We've definitely become to attached to them.
I am trying to take another step towards sustainability and allow some of my hens to set eggs. One of our turkey hens sat on 6 eggs very diligently, she hatched out three, but is just down to one poult. Considering that she is a first time mom and was from a hatchery and raised by me, I think it is pretty amazing what she has accomplished on instinct alone. I have an Ameracauna hen with one chick. She is an amazing mother and it is really fun to watch her teach the chick how to forage. Three of my adult guineas have sadly disappeared but I have 21 guinea eggs and one turkey egg under some broody chicken hens in the hopes that they will successfully hatch some replacements. If any of you have dog crates or cat carriers that are collecting dust and would like to trade them for some eggs, future classes, or farm tours please let me know. I use them to allow the broody hens to sit their nests and raise their babies in peace.
I've already managed to miss a drop off date. Last Wednesday was the second of the month. I have added another piece of technology to the farm now in a smart phone. One of my favorite features is the calendar that is helping me to get onto the straight and narrow so that dates won't sneak by me anymore. I program in reminders for things like "pick strawberries" and "cage broody hens" and "send out a newsletter, stupid". I am going to go ahead and do a drop off tomorrow evening, June 15. I'll be in Highland Heights at 7:00 and Independence at 8:00. Also, if these times or locations don't work for you, please let me know if you want to meet up at another time. I make multiple trips a week into Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati so I'm sure we can find something that works for you. And as always, on farm pickup can be arranged as well. I have pastured eggs and spring garlic for sale right now. Please have your order to me by 4:00 PM Wednesday afternoon.
I'm going to send out a separate email with information on the next farm work day and ordering pastured chickens for your freezer. It seems like too much information to put in a single newsletter.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
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