As you may remember, I was in Chicago a few days this week and haven’t been around to help with anything! But you know that life still goes on every day back on the farm. Sue was home tending to chickens, ducks, goose, goats, dogs and cats, while I was out goofing around for the day job. Sue also continued helping our friends Kathy and Ron move their rocks and as part of their work-share deal. I stole some photos from Kathy that show a bit of what they’re doing. Continue reading
meanwhile, back on the farm
31 Wednesday Jan 2018
Posted in Co-workers, Projects
Sue has been spending some time, lately, with The Grow Network™ on-line. The Grow Network™ was started by a pretty big name in Permaculture, Marjory Wildcraft. Marjory, sometimes referred to as “the most dangerous woman in the US”, was featured as an expert in sustainable living by National Geographic; she is the host of the Mother Earth News Online Homesteading Summit, and is a regular guest on many national radio and television shows. She is an author and producer of several books and videos, but is best known for her DVD series “Grow Your Own Groceries” which has over a half million copies in use by homesteaders, foodies, preppers, universities, and missionary organizations around the world. 
So, here we are – finally Friday! Been waiting for this day all week, right? Me too. Friday is a regular blog day for us, but I have absolutely no idea what to write about. Plus, I’m a little brain dead from doing year end tasks, processing payments, and messing with membership stuff at work. I’m not really a numbers person, but find myself working with finances a great deal lately. My mind is tired today. I find that when I’m particularly tired, one of the fun things to do when I get home is go through the mail and look at all the seed catalogs we’re getting. I like to compare prices, see new varieties, and try to think about what would work really well here. What are the new things we’re going to try? It’s time I should be putting together an order! 
So far, we’ve had a rather mild winter. Only one really hard freeze and last night was the first horrid windstorm. All along, we’ve been trying to make sure the chickens stay wind shielded, warm and dry in their various little coops and shelters. Sue has been adding to the hay bale wind breaks as much as possible – plus they love pecking and scratching at it. She also added another layer of hay to the inside of the coops, keep up on that deep litter method, which helps 
to keep the temperature warm inside the coops. We’re kinda hoping that, if we keep them happy, we’ll still continue to get some eggs through the winter – enough to keep our regular customers supplied. As part of that, Sue gave the newer nesting boxes, on the biggies’ side, an addition. They were consistently using the box at the far right end, because they can easily get in there from the ladder, but the other boxes were getting used less and less. So, Sue decided to add a little roosting bar to them, so that they could more easily access the others. It’s a great addition… and the chickens have enjoyed having it there; however, still just finding an egg in the end box. Must be someone’s favorite! 
Lately, we’ve been fielding questions about our eggs. Although it sounds a bit personal, what people are really wanting to know is how we classify the chicken eggs that we sell. There are also a lot of “buzz” words flying around out there, different labels and certifications, which are sometimes misunderstood by the public in general. Everyone wants to purchase eggs that are fresh and healthy, and also, many people are now trying to be conscious of the quality of life of the animals who are producing the food that we eat, but how can you tell what you’re getting? Do the labels help at all? What does “Organic” really mean??? How about “Cage Free”, or “Free Range”? I just thought we’d talk briefly about those terms and then about what we’re allowed to label the eggs that we sell. 
