Self-taught farmers confidently raising chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. Our focus is on practices that are environmentally harmonious and respectful to our livestock. We appreciate the beauty around us, clean eating, fermenting, and responsibly utilizing the bounty of the land. If you like thinking for yourself, continuous learning, and connecting with the homesteader lifestyle, check us out.
Lovely lichen, everywhere…but did you know it’s actually a symbiotic organism? (yes, Star Trek nerds, like the Trill – but different 🖖). It’s composed of fungi and algae, cooperating to improve their chances of survival.
Continue reading “Haiku: Magnificent Merger”
Winter has some of the most striking sunsets of the year. I’d chalked it up to the crisp clearness of the season’s days, and science seems to back that up. The depth of the smoldering hues on the horizon seems, at least to me, to be a sort of swan song: the sun, not going gently into night, leaves its breathtaking impression on the observer.
Experiencing beautiful sunsets one of the rewards of being a farmer. Nighttime chores mean receiving this gift of Nature’s beauty without needing to make special arrangements to see it – fortuitously, I’m already outside! Sometimes the display is accompanied by the soft hooting of owls, a reminder that predators arrive with the darkness and to make haste in getting the poultry secured for the night. And, each night, our birds are settled in safely, just as the sun reluctantly dips below the dusky sky.
Interesting fact: according to Stephen Corfidi of NOAA, “were it not for the fact that human eyes are more sensitive to blue light than to violet, the clear daytime sky would appear violet instead of blue”. Learn more about the science behind spectacular winter sunsets here.
The transformative power of snow is at work once again, turning the mundane magnificent. With a liberal powdering of snow, even a dry, brown leaf is renewed…and perhaps a bit of my spirit, as well. May you also find the ordinary beauty around you and luxuriate in it.
Wild rabbits had clearly been out and about after dusk last night, leaving their traces around the main chicken coop, around the barn, and through the pastures. Their prints are distinctive and, if you didn’t know what creature had left them, they might leave you puzzled. This time of year, I don’t see them during daylight hours, so it’s good to know they’re still around!
Continue reading “Haiku: Under Cover Of Darkness (Snow Series #3)”
The line was at the Early Voting station – the tree was along the sidewalk where we waited to enter the building. The beauty all around us was in full display here: maple trees had been planted near an unremarkable building that was fronted by an unappealing (and noisy) road, breaking up the inorganic surroundings with their organic exuberance. Looking up, I saw bright oranges and yellows against a cerulean backdrop…not just dull gray concrete and vehicles driving by. It was a welcome visual treat.
Morning glories make me wax poetic – something about the cheery countenances, the uplifting cornflower hue, the feeling they create that they’re smiling – how could I not be charmed by them?
I’ve noticed that they’ve changed with the transition of seasons, too: the big, showy flowers of summer have become smaller – but plucky – last hurrahs. I know that one day soon, they’ll be gone…not to return until summer. How I’ll miss them.