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Finding Balance
Posted 4/20/2011 9:58pm by Heather Redden.
Greetings Friends!
Spring is here but it hasn't brought us very many warm sunny days yet. I hope everyone has been surviving the torrential rains and wild winds. We are pretty used to wind on our farm. We sit up on a ridge so wind is a given. Since we like to use portable shelters for our chickens and sheep, this can sometimes present a challenge. We have two hoop house shelters for the chickens that we drag around the pasture. They were both built last spring and up until a few weeks ago always stayed where we left them. The winds of late have moved them three different times! The adult hens seem to just ride along in the shelter on their roosts but we had a small disaster when the shelter the four week old chicks are in moved. It only moved about 6 inches and didn't crush any chicks but some chicks were killed when the whole group panicked and piled up against one wall. It was not a pleasant thing to find in the morning. Strange that these shelters went through many wind storms last year without incident and now they are moving.
Everything is turning green and blooming which is always wonderful to see. We have been eating some delicious asparagus. This large asparagus bed was planted last spring. It is only lightly producing this season but watch out come next spring! We should actually have some to sell. The garlic is also up and so we currently have spring garlic which is wonderful in omelettes or anything else you like to put garlic in. We have had another lamb born here since the last update. A cute single black ewe lamb to a first time mom. The pair is doing great. It is wonderful to see how instinctively these sheep know how to mother. Also and update on Callie, the ewe that had the lambing problems. She is up on her feet again and doing fine. You would never know by looking at her what an ordeal she went through.
I promised some time ago that I would let you all know as soon as I decided which farmers' market I would be setting up at this year. It has truly been something I have agonized over. There were many pros and cons for me to work through and in the end I've decided that I'm taking a year off from farmers' markets. I need to devote more time to my children and to developing programs on the farm. This in no way means we're giving up on growing products for market. I just want to handle it a little differently. I will continue making drop offs in Independence and Ft. Thomas. You will be able to place an order and get your items and not have to worry about whether you can make it to the farmers' market before the eggs sell out. I would like to come up with a semi regular schedule for this and would love to hear your input as to whether a week day evening time or a weekend time is better. Obviously, I can't please everyone but I would like to try to find a time that works for most of us. Also, you are always welcome to make an appointment and come to the farm to pick up your order. It's a lovely drive in the country and you can spend a little time hanging out with the animals.
I know this is short notice but I am scheduling a drop off for Saturday afternoon. I want to make sure that anyone who wants eggs for Easter Sunday can get them. I will be in Ft. Thomas at 1:00 and in Independence at 2:00. I will meet Independence customers in the parking lot behind the courthouse so as not to interfere with the vendors packing up in the farmers' market space. I have the following available to order:
1. Pastured eggs $5 a dozen
2. Lamb-riblets, steaks, ground, liver, heart-quantities are very limited and the price is $7.50 per pound.
3. Chicken feet at $2.50 per pound
4. Spring Garlic-$0.50 per stalk
Please email your order to me by 8:00 AM Saturday morning.
Thank you to all of our supporters. We hope you'll stick with us as we continue down our path of figuring out what sustainable farming means to us and I hope to create some interesting educational opportunities here at the farm. Stay tuned for meat chicken preorder info and future work at the farm and educational programming.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
Spring is here but it hasn't brought us very many warm sunny days yet. I hope everyone has been surviving the torrential rains and wild winds. We are pretty used to wind on our farm. We sit up on a ridge so wind is a given. Since we like to use portable shelters for our chickens and sheep, this can sometimes present a challenge. We have two hoop house shelters for the chickens that we drag around the pasture. They were both built last spring and up until a few weeks ago always stayed where we left them. The winds of late have moved them three different times! The adult hens seem to just ride along in the shelter on their roosts but we had a small disaster when the shelter the four week old chicks are in moved. It only moved about 6 inches and didn't crush any chicks but some chicks were killed when the whole group panicked and piled up against one wall. It was not a pleasant thing to find in the morning. Strange that these shelters went through many wind storms last year without incident and now they are moving.
Everything is turning green and blooming which is always wonderful to see. We have been eating some delicious asparagus. This large asparagus bed was planted last spring. It is only lightly producing this season but watch out come next spring! We should actually have some to sell. The garlic is also up and so we currently have spring garlic which is wonderful in omelettes or anything else you like to put garlic in. We have had another lamb born here since the last update. A cute single black ewe lamb to a first time mom. The pair is doing great. It is wonderful to see how instinctively these sheep know how to mother. Also and update on Callie, the ewe that had the lambing problems. She is up on her feet again and doing fine. You would never know by looking at her what an ordeal she went through.
I promised some time ago that I would let you all know as soon as I decided which farmers' market I would be setting up at this year. It has truly been something I have agonized over. There were many pros and cons for me to work through and in the end I've decided that I'm taking a year off from farmers' markets. I need to devote more time to my children and to developing programs on the farm. This in no way means we're giving up on growing products for market. I just want to handle it a little differently. I will continue making drop offs in Independence and Ft. Thomas. You will be able to place an order and get your items and not have to worry about whether you can make it to the farmers' market before the eggs sell out. I would like to come up with a semi regular schedule for this and would love to hear your input as to whether a week day evening time or a weekend time is better. Obviously, I can't please everyone but I would like to try to find a time that works for most of us. Also, you are always welcome to make an appointment and come to the farm to pick up your order. It's a lovely drive in the country and you can spend a little time hanging out with the animals.
I know this is short notice but I am scheduling a drop off for Saturday afternoon. I want to make sure that anyone who wants eggs for Easter Sunday can get them. I will be in Ft. Thomas at 1:00 and in Independence at 2:00. I will meet Independence customers in the parking lot behind the courthouse so as not to interfere with the vendors packing up in the farmers' market space. I have the following available to order:
1. Pastured eggs $5 a dozen
2. Lamb-riblets, steaks, ground, liver, heart-quantities are very limited and the price is $7.50 per pound.
3. Chicken feet at $2.50 per pound
4. Spring Garlic-$0.50 per stalk
Please email your order to me by 8:00 AM Saturday morning.
Thank you to all of our supporters. We hope you'll stick with us as we continue down our path of figuring out what sustainable farming means to us and I hope to create some interesting educational opportunities here at the farm. Stay tuned for meat chicken preorder info and future work at the farm and educational programming.
Sincerely,
Heather Redden
www.naturesharborfarm.com
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