It was been a while since I have posted an update. You know what they say about best intentions......well my best intention was to have a blog post each month. As you can see, that has not happened! Things have been quite busy here at the farm for many different reasons. One would think that with winter coming, things would slow down. There is no garden to maintain, no chicks to raise and no field grass to cut. What we are learning is you just trade one set of chores for another. Here are some examples:
It is hard to see in this picture but that is a hard frost on the ground. Hard frost means cold temperatures. Cold temps mean we need to make sure all things are ready for winter. We need to make sure the chickens have adequate housing and always have access to water that isn't frozen. We need to make sure pipes are insulated so we don't have any of them burst causing us major issues. We need to make sure the garden is ready for winter so the beds will be well nourished for the spring. Cold temps mean animals are on the prowl looking for an easy meal so we have to make sure all our farm animals have a safe place to stay at night! We also have to make sure we don't have any food stored improperly so we don't invite unwanted guests. It also means chores that are normally easy to do and don't take too much time are a bit harder and take longer because of the cold.
The changing of the season means that animals and crops that were producing well in the summer are no longer producing. The chickens will stop producing as many eggs and we have one coop not even producing yet and probably won't until spring. It also means we don't have gardens producing fresh veggies on a regular basis. This is where all that canning I did over the summer will be invaluable. On cold days when we have a project to do, it will be so nice to come in and have a warm meal that is ready to heat and serve from the summer bounty! We also have fresh eggs stored using a method called water glassing (look it up) so that we will have delicious eggs when the chickens are not producing well!
One of the major things cold weather means is hunting season! We have a lot of deer and turkey on the farm and during hunting season they are on the move. The above picture is one of our newly planted boundary trees that a deer decided to use as a place to rub his antlers. We are always on the look out for wildlife on the run. We have to make sure we all stay safe by wearing blaze orange when walking around the property and we all carry something to protect ourselves in case we cross paths with some of the not so friendly wildlife.
Fall and cold weather coming means that we have chores that must get done before cold settles in. We had many tress and plants to get in the ground so that they could get well established over the winter, about 130 to be exact! We have to make sure that the fields are seeded before cold sets in so that we have nice, lush grass in the spring when we add more animals to our farm. We planted cover crop in our garden beds so that they have the right amount of nutrients to sustain more planting in the spring. And most of these chores are being done when the temperatures have already dropped which makes them harder to accomplish.
As you can see, things are a bit different in the colder months on the farm than in the summer. I thought I would prefer one season over another but I am finding myself looking forward to each season and the new knowledge learned in each. Also each season carries a beauty all its own. Here are a few pictures of that beauty around the farm:
And as always here is the update on our building projects....We have lots going on at each house site. We are learning that there will be lots going on for days and then nothing happening and then lots happening. This will be the cycle throughout this whole process so patience and understanding are key to getting through it without losing our minds! The Erik Otto house is under roof, plumbing has been installed and the roof will be shingled soon. The Nick Otto house is being framed up and getting ready for shingles and plumbing. The Haggerty house foundation will be started soon and the framers will move right to their house when that is finished. There are driveways being installed and improvements to the main road into the farm are being made. We are happy with the progress and it is so exciting to finally see what was on paper come to life here at Gray Kettle Farm!
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