Monthly Archives: July 2011

baby chicks

Photo

Here’s a sneak peak of 2 of our 7 new baby chicks. They’re getting bigger and braver pretty quickly so I should be able to get some better shots of them all soon. They’re SO cute! We just love them. They’re pretty cool looking and we’re excited to see what they look like when they mature. They’re pictured here with one of their two broody moms, our little brown Chinese silkie hen.

Sidenote: I’ve been away on holidays for the past couple weeks which is why this blog has slowed to a standstill. I’m back for the rest of the summer now so more updates coming soon!

New Bounty

Img_7116Img_7117Img_7119Img_7121Img_7122Img_7126

I’ve been in Ontario for the last week and was excited to get back to the farm to see how things were doing and to dive into some more projects on our to-do list. One of the really magical things about living here is how quickly things grow and change. Every day that I’m here, I discover or experience something new which brings a sense of wonderment that is, without trying to sound too cheesy, truly delightful. Whether it’s quirky chicken behavior, new lavender-coloured blossoms on our bean plants, or hummingbirds pausing long enough on fence posts for us to get a good look at them, life here on the farm is constantly buzzing and it makes me really happy.

It wasn’t too much of a surprise, then, that I arrived home to new things. Yesterday I pulled up some of the biggest turnips I’ve ever seen (I’ll have to get Chantalle to post the turnip recipe she tried last night – delicious!), filled a bowl full of fresh raspberries (went into my fruit smoothie this morning), checked on the status of our first Jonagold apples, collected three eggs from the chicken coop (also part of my breakfast this morning) and managed to get a peek at three new little chicks before they hid underneath their brooding mom’s feathers.

I can’t wait to see what these chicks look like as they get bigger. Our rooster is a Chinese silkie of punk rocker proportions and our hens are a mix of Chinese silkies, Russian orloffs, and crazy-feathered Poles. These little Eurasian chicks are gonna be fun. I’ll post photos as soon as they stay out in the open long enough to let me. 

It’s good to be home!

Importing farm help from Ontario

Img_6937Img_6943Img_6947

My friend Sandi from Ottawa came and visited the farm for a couple days this past weekend. Sandi is Dutch and grew up on a dairy farm (that I had the GREAT pleasure of visiting a couple years ago) in Southern Ontario. Knowing this, we didn’t skip a beat and put her and her hard work ethic to good use right away! After joining us for her first ever P90X plyometrics session (which she totally rocked), she powered away at the weeds that have been trying to take over our raspberry patch and adjoining ditch (to the extreme delight of Chris who usually tackles them on his own).

After weeding and digging and bending and carrying all afternoon, she helped me sort some freshly pulled garlic bulbs and garlic scapes and deliver them to the rest of the farm members. Julie cooked up a delicious dinner for us, complete with ice cold, home brewed beer from our good friend Darian (with a particularly amusing amount of foam ;).

Thanks for visiting and for getting sweaty and dirty alongside the rest of us Sandi! Come back again soon!