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Dear friends,
Time flies by too fast!
Three months passed since our last Hill House Farm newsletter... too much to cover in words. So, please enjoy a short video that shares the farm friendship, fun and nature we enjoyed since summer began and our last update
Best for now,
Harry
(726 words, a 3 minute and 47 second read)
Dear friends,
Welcome from a glorious Hill House Farm. After days of rain, clear skies with bright sun bath the landscape and cool summer temperatures prevail. The farm garden, pastures, pond, and of course Cyndi, are stunning!
July saw many changes at Hill House Farm. We retrieved 135 new peeps and keats from the post office. Per Lauren, "I lost my mind." In addition, a young farmer Ashley hatched 5 peeps from our broody hen. Based on the last reader survey (of Leslie) we will keep the details light. We took advantage of a broody Black Maran hen, gave her 5 fertilized eggs and moved them to Ashley's duck house. A week later, on a magical moonlit night, with 3 wise guard geese keeping watch, the peeps hatched! If anyone is interested in raising peeps this way, please let me know and we can give you our next broody hen with some fertilized eggs. Ashley also took two of their fertilized duck eggs and put them under their broody hen named Midnight, hoping she will hatch two ducklings. Watching a life being born and a new mom care for her babies is always special. In addition, please let me know if you would like to buy some pullet hens or older hens as we may have extra.
Last week we started the sheep breeding process by giving more feed to the ewes (flushing) to optimize ovulation in preparation for introducing the ram next month. Kelly successfully showed one of our wethers at the Ohio State Fair, doing quite well in her showing class and especially for the skillathon, earning 5th place in the state for 13 year-olds. The lamb weighed 158 pounds (~ 6 months old). Congratulations Kelly!!
The garden at our house and orchard at Uncle Joe's appear ready for bumper crops. Joe expects to start picking peaches next week and his apple trees are overloaded with fruit. He and Cyndi agreed that knowing when to pick is sometimes the hardest part of gardening, when the vegetable / fruit is ripe but before the raccoons and other animals take the bounty. He looks forward to an apple pie to celebrate his 102nd birthday next month. Joe shared his secret to longevity ... Stay active and eat lots of garlic and sardines with onions and crumbled saltine crackers. Sounds like a recipe developed during the depression and finely tuned at the CCC camp and during WWII. Yummy!
As always we enjoyed many visitors, including Eleanor from Boston, who enjoyed (we think) holding live tadpoles and salamanders from the small pond. Young Harry and Lauren helped her catch the little amphibians and were undecided if the experience will drive her to become a biologist or live forever in a city. Oliver visited with his "GG" while grandpa Dave put 70 tons of granite boulder around our pond to stop erosion. Great to know good friends with big equipment!
Lastly, young Harry (our Ansel Adams), took advantage of the trip home to shoot some cool photos, including the ducks which successfully made it to adulthood and can now fly! Oh and congratulations to our nephew Kevin and new wife Alyssa. To bring unbridled energy to the dance floor, they played 8 songs from the Dancing Farmer Spotify playlist by Hill House Farm, an eclectic selection of disco, motown and club music used as inspiration for innovative moves finely honed during countless hours splitting logs and blowing leaves.
Fun facts about Marshmallow Peeps: Ok, so we should have shared this for Easter but with peeps dominating the farm news, here goes! Peeps were once made by hand and required 27 hours to allow the marshmallow to cool. They also used to have wings. Now they only take 6 minutes. Enough peeps are produced each year (1.5 billion) such that if lined up they would circle the earth twice. The machine that makes peeps, called the Depositor, has not changed in 50 years, which is also true about the recipe (sugar, corn syrup, gelatin and vanilla) creating a decadent treat with 28 calories of fat free happiness and joy. Two thirds of the people who eat peeps bite the head off first ... a trait shared with chocolate Easter bunnies.
Have a wonderful end of summer and remember to be good to each other and our environment!
Your friend,
Harry
Dear friends,
Happy Father's Day to dad's everywhere. I hope everyone finds time to celebrate and remember the dad's in their lives, as well as other father figures, who mentored, encouraged, motivated and taught us how to be better people. In celebration, I am excited to receive some wonderful notes, special phone calls and a huge slice of Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake!
On the farm, with spring behind us and longer, warmer days upon us, we enjoy a familiar summer rhythm: Weekly cutting and trimming of grass, feeding the animals morning and night (the lambs serenading us every visit), tending to the garden, cajoling the guineas into the coop at night, daily cleaning and selling of the eggs and often enjoying outdoor dinners overseeing the sheep in the pasture. Most days are "rinse and repeat," thus providing a sweet, familiar lullaby refrain to the halcyon days of early summer. Lucky and Lady duck both enjoy and add to the soothing rhythm as their infatuation with each other continues to grow and they constantly remain by each other's side.
But alas there are always surprises! We already experienced our first dry spell with 21 days without rain. Thankfully 5 days of rain broke the mini-drought and the farm returned to its green, growing ways, now accompanied with an incredible chorus of frogs (of all variety), apparently awoken from a deep slumber, or just in search of a mate, their calls deafening in the evening.
Two weeks ago, we discovered new visitors to the pond, a hen mallard duck with 3 ducklings. Apparently the hen hid her nest in the high grass under the trees. The ducklings continue to grow (avoiding the snapper), nap in the sun, waddle around the high grass and quickly plop into the pond if we approach, skittering across the water after their mom. They are a pleasure and highlight to feedings. Not to be outdone, we observed evolution in the making with our resident dinosaur. After 15 years of fishing on the edges of the pond, the Great Blue Heron realized that fishing is easier if you swim out into the pond and pick off the fish while they eat the floating fish food. The Heron's skill and incredible appetite are both stunning and depressing. Heron's eat up to 2 pounds of fish a day (25-50% of body weight)! Thankfully, after 15 years of feeding the ducks, the pond is packed with fish.
Away from the pond, we enjoy many young visitors and the lambs continue to grow, both with us and the students preparing for State and local fairs. Thanks to Ron and Dave, we collected more firewood for next year. Aimee introduced a new mare to the farm, named Pixie. She is a painted horse, used as a jumper under daughter Lucy, and is a very pretty addition to the pastures. Slightly smaller and less aggressive, Dixie keeps away from the boy ponies who behave like bullies. Our High School farm helper Adam had a broody chicken of his own at home and wanted to raise peeps. He gave the hen 6 eggs from our coop (that has 3 roosters). After candling the eggs he discovered 5 were fertile. The hen dutifully sat on the eggs and on Thursday, after 20 days on the eggs, the peeps started their birthing process. Adam heard the peeps chirping as the chicks broke a hole in the eggs to allow air, thus breathing air for the first time. This process is called pipping. Friday the peeps emerged for the first time to a very protective mother. Adam purchased additional peeps from Tractor Supply which the hen quickly adopted as her own, for a total of 8 peeps! For anyone wanting to raise their own peeps, we are happy to share eggs from the coops. Incubators are not that expensive and the process is quite simple and a great learning experience.
We have fresh maple syrup again. Our Amish Mason had a huge spring production, producing 800 gallons. Bring your own container and fill up. The cost is 50 cents an ounce, much cheaper than store bought, and an easy, fun way to try real maple syrup. Once a week, it is a nice indulgence and although essentially still sugar, it does have many healthy benefits (e.g., antioxidants, lower glycemic index and many healthy minerals and nutrients). Pick up some free guinea eggs when you visit and come see Cyndi's garden!
Our sheep were shorn, and for 12 fleeting hours they were a brilliant, clean white, before returning to their familiar dirty grey / brown hue. Mack Campbell sheared the sheep with his grandfather Jay. Last year, as a high school senior, Mack won the US National Junior Championship in Black Hills South Dakota. He previously was a state champion like his dad Chuck. In competition, shearers average one sheep every 90 seconds!
Fun Fact for Puffins: Unrelated to the farm, our fun fact comes from young Harry who recently celebrated graduation with a visit to Machias Seal Island in search of Puffins. Located off the coast of Maine, the 20 acre Island, essentially a large meadow on top of rocks, is claimed to be part of the US and Canada. It is the only part of our shared 5,500 mile border in active dispute. The island is home to nesting colonies of Razorbills, Common murres and Arctic terns and the especially adorable Atlantic puffins (see Harry's photo). Only scientists and 30 visitors a day can visit (15 from the US and 15 from Canada). Scheduling comes available for the season in February and sells out in 15 minutes. It is a great experience if you are looking for an adventure!
Hug a dad today and hope to see many of you soon!
Harry
Friends,
After a winter that never was, yet seemed to never end, Spring arrived. With ample rain, warm days and abundant sun, the many shades of brown-filled mud season gave way to the exciting shades of green, growth and promises of a glorious Ohio summer.
And with the change of season, love is in the air at Hill House Farm. After a few lonely years, Lucky duck has a girlfriend. Her name is Lady Duck. With her loud quack, thin long neck, slender body and peachy bill, Lucky fell madly in love. As she softly dropped into the pond, Lucky made a beeline straight to his new lady friend. Hunter, her owner, exclaimed "he is booking right to her!" And from that first sunny afternoon, Lucky has not left his beauty's side, waddling around the pond, swimming together and waiting with her patiently while she occupies her nest. She is 1 year old and quite fertile, laying an egg every other day. She needs a physics lesson, however, as she often deposits her eggs on the bank of the pond, where they proceed to roll into the water. We will soon be selling the dry ones after building her a better nesting area, please LMK if you are a baker and interested in buying some duck eggs. Or, with 295% of your daily cholesterol needs, you can enjoy a cheese omelet and totally blow your next Lipid Panel.
The gaggle of geese gave way to 2 remaining pairs. While one pair nests in the woods, another set made the pond their home to (hopefully) raise a family of goslings. The dame has been sitting on 5 eggs for nearly 3 weeks while her gander ensures intruders stay away. With a gestation period of 28 days, we expect little fluff balls to appear soon. Unfortunately, the track record for raising goslings to adulthood has been poor, likely the result of owls and our big snapping turtle : (. In addition, duck pairs frequent the pond, song birds busily build their nest, spring peepers sing to their mates, and at the smaller, shallow pond, frog eggs masses cover the surface and three turtles gather on the sunny banks.
Over the past few weeks, we sold and shipped 7 of our lambs to 4H students: Kelly, Julia, Madelyn, Wyatt, Lilly and Hunter. They range in age from 9 to 17. Several of the students are showing multiple lambs, doubling their learning, fun and profits. In addition to the Great Geauga County Fair, they also plan to show at Jackpot Shows and the Ohio State Fair. Madelyn and Wyatt plan to keep their 2 ewe lambs for breeding and as such will be showing in the breeding class. Madelyn, a Harry Potter fan, named the lambs Mae and Luna. Let's hope they work their magic and win at the fair! We have one ewe lamb remaining for sale if you know of anyone interested in buying a lamb.
In addition, other farm pursuits are ramping up! Cyndi filled the greenhouse with seedlings and planted lettuce in the garden to join last year's herbs. The chickens continue to lay well and enjoy the outdoors and we expect the guineas to soon be laying as well. And spring cleanout continues for the stalls and coops for compost to sell in 2025! We harvested 10 very large oak, maple, ash, cherry and locust trees around the property for firewood sales in 2024. And Laura, Bill and Mayor Bruce graciously donated additional large logs to the farm for firewood sales. In the future, if you have any trees coming down, we are always hungry for more timber to augment our HHF inventory. And of course, we enjoyed many special visitors, including Lillian with especially big blond curls. Every day we operate our tiny farm, I have more and more respect for the farmers that depend on farming for their livelihoods and our well-being. Their skill, dedication, investments and work ethic are incredible.
Fun fact: Why are duck eggs so good for baking? The extra-large yolks help baked goods rise higher, creating richer cookies, bigger cakes and fluffier pancakes. For gluten free baking, this can be especially helpful as it is often difficult to create the same fluffiness and texture desired by chefs. Duck eggs can also help meringues and souffles keep stable all the way to the dinner table.
Lastly, it is with great sadness we lost our dear brother-in-law Bob earlier this month. He was a very kind man who loved watching and playing sports, maintaining a perfect yard, completing house projects and making hot peppers. Most importantly, he was an amazing husband of 48 years, great father and beloved grandfather. He will be deeply missed by the entire family and countless friends.
We hope you also are enjoying your spring, filled with sunny days and hope for the future. But at the same time, I hope you can take time to remember those that make our lives special through their love, dedication, mentorship, inspiration and sacrifices.
Your friend,
Harry
Friends,
Writing this newsletter can be tough. Despite the intellectual stimulation, excitement hitting "Send," and joy of receiving your wonderful notes, the creative burden can be a bit much, and well, motivation can be an issue. So with creative, clever writing eluding my grasp, I ventured outside to split firewood. We certainly had colder weather this winter and this morning was not too brutal ... wishful thinking. The negative 5 degree wind-chill was an understatement! As my body temperature dropped, my writer's block evaporated.
Lambing this year was a season of surprises. The night the lambs were due, we watched an inspiring episode of All Creatures Great and Small, checked the cameras, waking every three hours, and waited ... did the taxes ... and waited ... cleaned out files ... and waited ... organized our closets ... and waited. The first lamb was born 5 days after the due date. And then in 16 hours, 4 ewes delivered 8 lambs, 1 ewe every 4 hours. The smallest ewes had twins, while two of the larger ewes had singles. One lamb was born at 19.2 pounds, literally the size of an average 1 year old toddler!! One ewe had all female triplets and is feeding them completely on her own. Another ewe delivered a second lamb an hour and a half after its first lamb (typically 20 minutes), and somehow birthed the lamb through the bars of the lambing jug into the next stall. Luckily, I saw it standing alone via the lamb cam ... But that little Houdini was not done with his tricks. The next day, I found him walking the aisle of the barn, completing outside of the sheep stall. Two ewes have yet to deliver, despite their large and growing size and appetite. And sadly, one ewe lost a twin 5 days after it was born, typically well past having issues.
But with the surprises came many beautiful moments. Spending time with Cyndi preparing and caring for the ewes and lambs. Experiencing the joy of successfully helping a ewe deliver her lamb with our neighbors and friend Adam intently watching. Having Lauren call to ask where the extra ewe came from in the stall, and realizing it was actually me she saw in my dirty, light tan jacket. Birthing 8 lambs one night over the course of 16 sleepless hours. Sharing a spiritual bond with the ewes to deliver their lambs, pulling when needed, and then cleaning and drying them together as partners, especially for twins and certainly when triplets. Stepping outside the barn at 2am on a perfectly still, crystal clear night, the snow covered ground lit by only a sliver of a moon, and the sky exploding with stars. I was again on a mountain in Wyoming, living the lyrics of a country song. And of course, the joy of watching 10 lambs perform their own ballet, circling the stall as a troupe, bobbing and weaving and jumping with joy, while their mothers dine at the feeder.
We have had many wonderful visitors (and are happy for more), especially our niece and nephews who loved being with the ewe and her triplets, naming their favorite Daisy. As well as the building department and planning and zoning leadership for Hunting Valley.
Despite my intro, the farm does not slow down during the winter. The chickens keep us busy with upwards of 3-4 dozen eggs a day. We just ordered 120 peeps and keets for delivery in July, delayed due to the price of eggs and popularity of backyard chickens. And we are deep into firewood splitting for next year. Cyndi will soon be starting vegetable plants in the greenhouse, and spring will be here before we know it. Buckeye Chuck predicts only another 6 weeks of winter : )
Today's fun fact concerns egg prices. As mentioned last newsletter, eggs prices are high, essentially doubling the past year. Prices are driven by a few factors. Generally, overall prices are higher due to inflation. That affects everything from labor costs to material costs for cartons. Feed prices in particular are much higher. For us, the average cost of a 50 pound bag of feed is up 25% since last January. The war in Ukraine contributes to higher feed prices as Russia and Ukraine are key suppliers for grain. Petroleum prices are also higher, raising the cost for transport and fertilizer that also feeds higher grain cost. The avian flu killed about 44 million hens (over 10%), especially during periods of peak demand for Easter and the holidays, greatly reducing supply. There are few alternatives to eggs, and generally speaking, they are still a great bargain as a food source.
Thank you as always for your friendship and support of the farm. We hope to see many of you soon
Harry
Dear friends,
Happy 2023 and welcome to a new year as we hope for a better world and health and happiness for each of you!
Brought together by family, faith and familiar festivities, the holidays will soon be a distant memory. The decorations departed for the attic, parties have passed, family said farewell, we hope to say goodbye to the damage left by extra holiday helpings, New Year's resolutions are already mostly forgotten and we resume our normal cadence of life during the cold, January winter. At the farm, we are starting our most exciting time of the year ... lambing.
We are as ready as possible for the lambs to arrive. We completed our 31-step checklist. The "lamb cam" is up and running, and always in the background. The ewes alternate between uncomfortably roaming the stall and then laying down in complete exhaustion. The lambing jugs are set up for the new arrivals, including in the garage, and our clothes are carefully laid out for "fire drill" midnight deliveries. Sadly I will be missing my best lambing partner, as Lauren is working in Boston. This is the "calm before the storm." We hope to share happy news and photos next time!
In other news, egg production is way up, and interestingly, egg breakage is way down. With molting complete, all of the protein now goes into the egg shells vs. new feather production. The new nesting box is also a big help. Across the US, last year egg cost went up 49%! So while I thought people loved our great tasting eggs, I discovered Whole Foods selling similar eggs for $11.40 a dozen. We are just the cheap alternative! Thank you to everyone who continues to donate egg cartons. We now have 264 egg cartons (yes, I actually counted each one) and have not ordered cartons in over 3 years. We would love 18-egg carton holders if you have them at home, for the smaller pullet eggs.
We received a wonderful note from Jessicka, the student you helped support through college. She has a 6 month old baby named Itzel, a new house under construction with her partner, who is an architect, and she has a good job in the village. She is "paying forward" your generosity by helping support another student enrolled in the ESSOC program. Per Jessicka, "this is the best way for me to say thanks for helping me and believing in me." Her determination and spirit continues to be an inspiration.
As always, thank you for your interest in the farm, great support and very meaningful friendship. We know 2022 was not easy for many of you, and we hope in some small way, that connections such as this newsletter, and our friendship, help bring peace and comfort.
Your friend always,
Harry
