Just another Day on the Farm

Well, the past days have been very busy indeed.. Thursday was the start day of a Brandi Lyons clinic, I went with a friend on the Thursday, and we learned a goodly amount on that day, lots of things to bring home to work on with my own guys and then we had a bit of truck trouble, so we need to call my friends hubby and work out a pick up, a tow and so forth, which added in a good amount of time to our day but we all took it in stride and got it done.

Friday was spent doing farm work and the heat was bad but I struggled though it as a I had a full afternoon of farm help, and so a lot of the heavier need two people to get things done work got done, I was so whupped by the end of that day..  went to bed early and the alarm went off way to early indeed.

Back to the clinic, I ended up being there from just before 9am till just after 9pm, wow was there lots learned during the day and the evening was about cowboy clinic, very good info, it also meant that I figured out a training plan for both myself and for my horse in regards getting us ready for our first clinic at the end of this month. This ladies that attended this clinic were awesome, I really really liked Brandi’s teaching style, highly recommend her, IF you go in knowing that you are going to be worked to the point of being tired and sore.. she really wants you to get your money’s worth of training and she does push, in some ways, I think that is a good thing and in others, I honestly felt that at times, perhaps it was push just a hair to much..  but when the ladies called it, she always let them..

Sunday was back on the farm, the major push on the morning was weeding in the garden and getting the big new raspberry row in.. we have a new row of early bearing rasberries, there is a total of 60 new canes, the row is set up as a double row, they are just starting to break into leaf.  Speaking of rasberries, something odd is happening this year in our regular patch, we have had these rasberries for six years in that row and they always produce late summer and then go gangbusters till frost, but this year for no reason that we can see, they are already covered in flowers, and when I say flowers, I mean it, I figure there are at least a thousand flowers coming on those canes..  The only thing different was the very hard winter and the very slow, slow start to spring, then really no spring.. boom into summerlike weather.

I will be quite interested to see if they will produce and then stop or if they will start this early and go till frost if we keep picking, we will see..

Then I worked Caleb twice during the day, we were working on a few new things on the morning session and I could already see a improvement by the evening session. Picked upa box of non-toxic, child safe, washable chalk so that I can put a little funk into his white mane over the summer in regards to training and riding.. its just a little fun thing..

This morning so far, I have gotten some indoor stuff started but mainly I have spent it in the gardens weeding, and watering before the heat of the day arrives.

Midnight Sun (if you have ever lived in the artic you will get this name), This great big 22 pound boy is ten, such a total sweetheart..

So its that time of year, time to not just be eating fresh rhubarb in a number of ways but time to start preserving it for the rest of the year eating..

I had 14 plants that are in full harvest mode and I have a goodly number of more that are growing and the goal is a total of 40 plants on the farm.

Today, I took the time to do weights, now I harvested the big ones and left about 50 percent or so by doing it this way, I get one bigger spring harvest but I can do two or more lighter harvests thoughout the rest of the year while still allowing the plant to put away enough to come back next year even stronger..

It would appear that I am getting between eight to ten pounds per plant, so this year,  I am right on track for harvesting right around my 180 to 200 pounds of rhubarb, the goal is to get to the point of being able to harvest on average 400 pounds per year.

I like rhubarb relish, and I adore strawberry rhubarb pie but my biggest use for it is canned rhubarb

Tomorrow, I will get garden photos and updates done, I need to write  up the culling day as well, we worked hard this morning, another 800 -1000 pounds worth of straw bedding went down in the gardens, infilling of plants, more seedlings, and yard cleaning was done..

We pretty much worked in the gardens, and the yard for both of Sat and today.. We picked up and moved the rabbit hutch’s from their winter locations to their summer, so those area’s will be fully cleaned out. It does take two folks to pick up and move each outdoor hutch but its so nice that you can do so, each is full unit.. so its up and waddle and put it back down 🙂 We need rain.. its been so dry, but almost everything planted is now up, other then carrots.. yes!

But we did stop for some fun!

Had to ride up to the tree’s, reach up high and take it out of the branches and then open it and ride with it..

Forward is easy enough but backing it is a lot more of a challenge..

Ride up to the flag, and take it out and then ride around with it..

It was windy and flappy perfect..

The sled pull with uneven log pulls..

Saw this at a different clinic, they had horse’s that had issues with the softness, Brandy had was golden..

Horse soccer anyone!! So much fun!

Ground tying is such a important lesson and she was carrying extra things like the pool noodles..

At least once or twice a day I am stop and just watch my critters, its quite a “awe” inspiring time, to grasp and understand that while they live on my farm and in certain ways are in my care but that they very much live their own lives, they have their own friends they prefer, they have likes and dislikes, they interact with other of the farm critters etc..  most of the time,  I feel blessed to watch them just “be” and I am even more blessed when they consider me not just the bringer of food-water-bedding, but as a member of the pack, pride or herd.. The other day after working Caleb, I turned him out an he and sam had a “friend moment” in greeting and my lovely Brandy Girl walked up, she did the body contact and hug, and I gave her a the scatch on her shoulders, and she wrapped that big old head around my body and scratched me back with little tiny careful lip only nibbles on my cloths on the hip area.. it was a moment of true.. I like you, me too..

however I got to see the flip side today.. one of my little wee chicks went though the fencing to the pen next door, this should not have been much of a issue, its just got a pair of breeding duck and a breeding pair of hen-rooster, but the hen grabbed that chick and by the time I got from the garden where I was weeding though the first pen and into the second and chased her down to make her drop it.. it was all done.. she had done enough damage that all I was left with was putting the wee one down..  I was left wanting to just scream..

Clearly that hen will be culled and yes folks that means she is going to the chopping block tomorrow, I will not keep a chick killing hen, Its not unseen that other hens will drive off other hens chicks,  but this hen (who is a new hen to my farm this year) treated that poor babe like it was a mouse..

So I went and got boards and put them all along the first 4 inches of that side of the pen, its overkill, I don’t think that the other birds left in the pen will bother the chicks but I am taking no chances at this point.. and I will point out that this is the first time I have ever seen this happen on the farm, and I have new chicks each of the ten years I have had the farm.

I have said it before and I will say it again.. Don’t keep anything! that does not have the temperament you want to deal with every single day..

If the rooster attacks you.. Don’t keep it, an please!!! don’t breed and keep back its chicks

If that doe rabbit won’t let you pet it without freaking out.. work with it yes, but if you don’t see improvement once its settled down.. cull it from your breeding program.

Don’t make excuses for your animals,  How about this one.. I am guilty of it..  Brandy is a total #@Q% when she is in heat.. now its true ,  she has some PMS when she is in heat but I make a point of working her even when she is in a mood..

Why.. it would be so much easier to just say..  for three days, you can just be a pasture pony..

The answer is simple.. if I do that, and I need to work with her on those days, she will be much much worse then if I worked with her though it each and every time she goes into heat.. better to learn each other both on our best days and our worst days..

I had better get back to it..

LOL, well I am finally back on track with the garden, while we are by no means done and will be continuing to plant, dig and work in the gardens in regards to planting and expanding over the next six weeks, the vast large push is done.. and hubby has gone back to work full time off the farm, I would love to tell you that we have a great ten days holiday but in truth, we worked and worked hard.

Most of my three sisters are with sunflowers instead of corn, but our big crops are in.. we have 48 pepper plants in and doing well, we have five kinds of potato’s planted, we have the 50 plus tomato plants in the ground..  we have all the spring plants in and growing well..

Lots of root veggies planted, oyster plant, different kinds of carrots, summer and winter turnips, four different kinds of beets are in so far, lots of interesting greens, mustards,  Still need to get the sweet potato’s in the first part of June and the corn is not planted yet, lots of beans to go in yet.. but most of the ground is now planted, and there will be succession plantings in a number of places half way though the grow season.

But I still have lots to go into the ground.. I made a trip to out to Aster Lane Edibles with a dear friend. Boy did I come home with lots and lots of very interesting plants, so many that I had never heard of..

These babies are going to grow and grow, all are either come backs or freely self-seeders, so these plants are all edibles and or herbal and so many new plants! as well as a few old favorites 🙂

So here is a rough photo of the Diamond.. it still looks like not much in this photo.. I should have taken a true.. Before photo but this will have to do..

Now despite that it looks like there is not much there, the bones are in fact going in..  its hard to get a single photo of the area so we are missing the apple tree heading to your right. but so far this spring, the diamond has had Black  Chokeberry, Black Rasberry canes, Gooseberry, High Bush Blueberry, Burning Bush, Rose Bushes, Elderberries bushes, Red, Pink and Blue Beebalms, Applemint, Northern Spy Apple Tree, Ruby Red Rhubarbs, and Bleeding Heart, Horseradish, Violets..  Many of the above plants will be moved in, once the ground is prepared for them..

The new chicks are doing very well, and their mother is being a excellent new momma.. Now I had better get a little more ground cleared, some watering done and some rhubarb picked as I want to do a canning season done today..   I will snap photo’s and share later.. Everyone have a great day..

Another Garden section done, double dug for root veggies, compost added, free form raised beds main, each bed was double or triple planted, but for the last one that was done into brown mustard..

New Chicks have arrived on the farm..  They came in two color combo’s

Got in a nice horse ride today, we rode though a tiny spring shower, and it was just Caleb and I, we rode the road, we did a little bushriding and we rode down to this field and then we rode the other way.. it was lovely, such a good boy..

Everyone have a great day..