Around The Farm: Gaily Green ‘Gainst Gray

Today is one of those wet, dreary days that invites thoughts – albeit briefly – of simply getting back into bed and pulling the covers over your head. Of course, when you farm (or if you have kids, pets, or other obligations, as most of us do), that’s merely a briefly-entertained fantasy that you quickly pop like a soap bubble. Mud or no, chores must be done, animals must be fed, and other tasks must be addressed. And while finding beauty on a day like this may seem difficult, it’s really not: it’s there, just waiting to be found.

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Around The Farm: Copious Castings And Curious Caverns

That’s not mud

It’s been warm and rainy here and the ground is thoroughly saturated…which means lots of mud: sucking mud that tries to swallow your boots and coats surfaces with slippery goop that invites spontaneous acrobatics that sometimes result in getting up close and personal with said mud. While farmers may not like the mud, worms sure do. And it wasn’t difficult to tell that the worms had come out en masse overnight because they left telltale “calling cards” everywhere.

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Blog Happenings (Update): We’re Back…And Here’s How To *Not* Miss A Post!

We’re back in the blogosphere, but wanted to let our WordPress.com followers know that one change you’ll notice is that new posts will only show up in the WordPress Reader, unless you subscribe to receive email updates below.

Here’s what you can expect for the remainder of 2021 and in 2022: food, ferments, follies, fowl, fiction, (armchair) philosophy…and more. Hope you come along for the ride!

Farm Fowl: Omnifarious Olive Eggers

Having raised both purebred and mixed breed poultry, I’ve seen the benefits of genetic diversity, such as heterosis (also known as “hybrid vigor”). When we crossed Easter Eggers that laid blue-green eggs with French Black Copper Marans roosters, we expected that the pullets would eventually lay olive eggs…and they did. And these girls turned out be some of the nicest birds we’ve raised to date.

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