Raspberries

The raspberries are in from my everbearing bushes (get some if you love raspberries, they are wonderful) and I ate as I picked and once again ended up with an empty basket!  When my nieces move in next door I will have to be more reserved and save some....  Beautiful day, lots of work outside, turkeys went bananas for cukes but it was too dark to take a good video.  I whipped up pasta with chicken in pesto sauce in 5 minutes for dinner tonight.  Our own chicken, handmade pasta, and a pesto I made last year from basil and garlic and walnuts - delish!  Farmers cow ice cream for dessert!  I hope you all had a moment or two to enjoy this beautiful day.  Be well!

August already?!

This morning I started my day with a chai latte (my new favorite drink - thank you Emma!) and a fried duck egg sandwich. I also had a fried duck egg sandwich last night for dinner. These are from 'chicka-zee-farm - check them out on facebook. The egg sandwich was FANTASTIC! I use duck eggs for baking, especially breads because it makes them so moist (the exchange is 2 hen eggs for one duck but in banana breads I use a whole duck egg). Last night I wanted a fried egg sandwich but when I went for the hen eggs there were none in the house (they sell very fast at the store because they are delicious). So, since I was in the mood, I decided I'd try a duck egg. I will always do duck egg sandwiches from NOW ON! As a matter of fact, I'm thinking of adopting a few pekings just for eggs (and a little weeding). I will let you know how that goes.


This has been a very busy and strenuous summer for us and it has gone by like lightening!  The turkeys are plumping up, the guinea hens are getting big (3.5 wks old now), the goats are getting a little on the heavy side - they are on a diet, and the bees are very very busy making honey for our lip balms and lotion bars.  As a matter of fact, this summer has been so busy that I decided to leave my FT job and am now working a PT job as an analyst for a state school and PT for the farm and PT for the store :).  I am thrilled to be able to do this and am looking very forward to being more involved in the store again and with the farm producing more of what we need at home and raising strong healthy happy animals!

Today is my day off from analyst work and a beautiful day for enjoying the outdoors.  All the windows are open, the clothes are hanging in the sun, the rabbits are enjoying themselves in thier outdoor space and I am getting ready to get some weed wacking done!  It has been a very busy day 'off' with caring for the house and the animals.  The turkeys are so big they need feeding and watering twice a day and are even happier if I throw in some cucumbers and squash!  I will have to video tape them tonight when John brings home some cukes - hysterical!  I've brought water to the goats a few times and rewarded them for good behavior with horse treats - carrot and apple flavor!  The rabbits get to go outside to dig wholes if its nice so they've been having a blast getting filthy all morning.  Luckily they are good at cleaning up!

More great news - my sister and nieces are moving next door to us this month!  They are city girls and have decided to move out here with us!  We are thrilled!  I am hoping to encourage the girls to write you a few stories about thier adventures and impressions once they arrive.  I'm also hoping to encourage them to help me with the animals!  We will see.....

I'm so glad to be back on line with all of you and hope to resume blogging!  Be well!

reclaiming clay!

This pile is made from years of recycled clay Crissie had not yet reclaimed.  The best time to do that is in the summer, so when she has 10 minutes to spare, she'll run down to the studio, throw her shoes off, and get to work!

Lots of work to do!

Clean feet before the mess making!

Needs more water!

What a mess!  I'm glad she has a studio to do this in!

This is the red clay after 2 days soaking in the water.

It is actually very refreshing in the hot summer weather!

yuck!

Washing off the mess.

Again, I'm glad she has an art studio for the mess!

This clay will need a few more stompings, but it is looking better!

Back at the farm....

We have been busy increasing the size of the goat pen, building a movable flight cage for the growing turkeys, shaving the rabbits, and creating more space for the bees to produce!  Here are a few pictures of our happy farm:

The new movable flight cage made out of a half broken cover-it cost let than $80!

I think this one is getting sick of getting his picture taken!

Always curious Cricket!

Cricket pretending she's behaving when she never is.

I love this picture of Buttercup with her freckled lips and her long beard!

New Summer Hours!

Summer hours:

Closed Mondays

Tue-F 10-6pm

Sat 9-4pm

Sun 10-2pm

Super weekend of FUN!

This weekend we celebrated our anniversary with a dinner at our favorite restaurant in Willimantic: Opus Wine and Steakhouse on Main Street! They have an awesome atmosphere and great food! If you are looking for a nice night out, give them a try. Look up 'OPUS steakhouse' on facebook or go to http://opussteakhouse.com/

We also had the chance to visit Fort Hill Farms in Thompson, CT. We had vanilla ice cream made with the cream and milk of thier cows topped with lavendar syrup which was heavenly! Right now you can get organically grown lavendar from thier farm at our store - it smells wonderful! Check them out on facebook! AND visit them in person!  You can also go to http://www.forthillfarms.com/

Happy Father's Day ~ Get great gifts here!