Too Busy to Blog

It is always a delight to learn that quite a few people actually read this farm blog! I usually find out when they complain that I haven't updated it for a few days. Sorry about that, but life is getting pretty zany around here lately, with new cows and chicks, honeybees, seed-starting, garden-planting, bread-baking and becoming a Farmers Market vendor. It's getting harder and harder to find time to post on the blog.

So, here are a few of the recent things I haven't had a chance to post yet:

Yesterday, our farming friend Dawn dropped off the two ducklings we had added to her duck order. They are Black Indian Runner Ducks, a type of duck that stands upright and runs, rather than waddles (a la the duck that thought he was a rooster in my favorite movie, Babe.) Runner ducks are supposed to be good egg-layers. We have a male and a female, so our flock could expand in the future. They are very cute now --but I can't wait to see them racing around the garden eating weeds and bugs.

We've been planting berries, asparagus, lettuces, greens, potatoes, onions and trees- often assisted by our curious Jersey calf. He is growing so fast--he has probably doubled in size since we got him two weeks ago.

The Dexter calf is the exact same age as the Jersey (3 weeks) and he has grown as well, but the fact that he is a much smaller breed is more obvious each day. His mom now lets him frolic with Reuben, the Jersey calf, and it is a joy to see the two of them racing around the pasture, literally kicking up their heels. We call the Dexter calf "Lasso" because his mom was named Lariat (formerly spelled "Larriette," after the previous owner, Larry.) Both calves are beginning to eat a bit of grass.

Our first Farmers Market is this weekend. Last weekend we practiced making huge quantities of sourdough bread and bagels and growing larger crops of sprouts. We learned that we need several more huge mixing bowls. Of course, we couldn't consume all that bread, so we delivered many loaves and bags o' bagels to friends and neighbors to taste-test.

Sara has always been fascinated by foraging for wild foods, and she has been harvesting all sorts of fun foods for us to try. Last night we dined on a tasty dandelion green salad. She also made candied violets from the wild flowers growing in our yard. Each violet was washed, painted with egg white and dusted with castor sugar. They will be beautiful decorating a fancy cake.
Cadence continues to work on the granary/cabin a little bit each day, hoping to move in very soon. She and Rog completed the hardest job--drywalling the ceiling. Now they must tape and mud, install windows patio doors and flooring, and paint. We had a brilliant brainstorm idea for a little deck or porch out front: The Rochester Rowing Club (Cadence and Sara are former rowers)had a 10 x 10 cedar dock platform they had used briefly before replacing with a plastic dock, leaning against their building. They wanted to get rid of it --so we loaded it up on our little trailer and hauled it away for them. It will be about perfect!

The factor intruding on my farming and blogging time the most is that I accepted a seasonal, part time job with Sargents Nursery and Garden Center. What was I thinking?! Well, I was thinking that I could use a bit of extra income to invest in my gardens, maybe get an employee discount on plants and learn a lot. All of that is true. Plus, it is fun to work in a place surrounded by spectacular color and where everyone - coworkers and customers - shares a passion. I have learned so much already, but it is very physically demanding and I am working many more hours than I intended. I am conflicted, loving the work but wishing I could be putting all that effort into my own gardens!