Postcards from Little Seed - 9.20.12

Always many treasures to be found in the "red barn" (aka dilapidated shack).
Yesterday was sunny with a high of 70F - the goats loved it! Cooler temps mean happy goats out in the sun chomping on pasture all day.

So many of the plants on our farm suffered and almost died in the drought. The hydrangeas had started to bloom right before the 110F days hit... They fried and turned into sad little wispy brown crisps and I was sure they were done for... But they came back! I love how they look as if they could be made from porcelain, or marzipan...


Bridget and Willow, livin' and lovin' every day :)

This is just a glimpse of what we were up against in our bramble battle yesterday. The goats uncovered a massive dump pile under what looked like a bramble hill and now the work has begun in earnest to haul the junk out. The "junk" we've found has been everything from gates, telephone poles (with electrical boxes attached), a wagon, a roof, T-posts, fencing... And I'm sure, much much more. Yikes!

Some wild morning glory vines found their way in and up our rose bushes! ... A reminder that no matter what kind of thorny mess life throws your way, you've got to keep pushing through. There's light and beauty to be had on the other side, if you're willing to suffer a few scratches to get there.

Feeding, or Not Feeding, the House Birds

Winona, the Wyandotte, and Sassafras (aka Sassy), the Silkie, trying to get broody on the same clutch of eggs

We keep three hens, one rooster and five guineas in a chicken coop near our home. We had a question on Facebook a couple days ago about how much we feed the birds. It turns out that the poultry are really the only animals that we don't keep a good track of how much they're eating. I had to answer honestly, "I don't know".

There's a couple good reasons why I don't know. The first is that we don't feed the birds very much if bugs are still around. If I find a tick in the yard chances are pretty good they won't get any feed the next day. The purpose of the chooks is to lay eggs and eat bugs. The guineas are 100% for eating bugs. Notice how both have "eating bugs" in the job description? Gotta make sure they earn their keep.

Elvis, our silkie rooster

The second good reason why I don't know is because our non-LGD yard dog, Ginger, is an avid chicken feed fan. I see her over at their little feeder licking up grain all the time. We correct her frequently and she always stops.... but she also always comes back for more.  

I do, however, try to give the chooks a little bit of feed every morning to make sure they stick around. I fill up about half a quart in a mason jar and screw it on to their little feeder. If Ginger doesn't get to it there will always be some left at the end of the day.

I guess they're just spoiled by the freedom and the apparently great taste of our bugs.

Lawns Look Much Better as Gardens


A few of the squash plants. Lookin' good

When we first moved to Tennessee in March one of our top priorities was to get a little garden going. The quickest and easiest way at that time was to set up a few square-foot garden plots around the house. We didn't have any clue where to start with a "real" garden of the scale that we ultimately envisioned. Thus, our six square-foot gardens plots worked out well and produced a significant amount of our veggies and herbs for the past 4-5 months. Sweetbreads and her Mom did a great job companion planting and getting it all up and running.

However, I was itching to tear up the lawn and plant a bigger garden. One with rows and that was capable of providing all of our vegetable needs for an extended period of time. It will take a few years to reach that goal, but I think we made a good start.

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