Dear friends,
Hello from the end of summer on the farm. With a cool, crisp morning temperature of 52, Friday's 92 is a distant memory. We enjoyed a very busy summer season completing long-overdue projects and exciting improvements to the farm ... so apologies for disappearing. With so much to cover, let's get started!
First, we enjoyed many fun visitors and activities this summer, including camp outs, fishing, horse painting, wacky relay races, campfires, tractor rides, picnics and some late nights. A young mother had a unique first, with her baby in a carrier on her chest she was filming the alpaca when shaggy decided to spit into the camera. Both she and the baby now have good luck and the whole event is captured on film!
In June, we picked up 100 peeps and keats from the post office. Growing from cute puff balls to loud raucous teenagers, they're eager to see the world. This week we start delivery by order of Farmer Cyndi. For the older hens, the eggs production waned considerably the past months due to age, hot weather, molting, star alignment, election rhetoric, and who knows what else. Chickens can be quite fickle without any clear clues for their behavior other than, well, there are less eggs. Soon the main coop will receive a major renovation with a new door into a bigger pen, outside walls for winter and 3 new windows. The girls are clucking with excitement
Keeping with poultry we turn to the ducks. Sadly, a few months ago we lost Lady Duck to a predator. Fortunately, a high school student nearby raised a flock of ducks for the fair and she was able to sell us two females. Lucky Duck and the new ladies became quick friends and any day now we expect to collect eggs. For now, our greatest challenge is keeping the geese away while they quickly gobble their food like Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest. This year's winner in the men's category ate 58, pound for pound the ducks would crush him. The previous owner also taught them to eat by hand so Cyndi and guests have been enjoying that treat.
The ram arrived and is enjoying his time in the barn with his ladies and ample feed for energy. He is the same ram as last year which as I discovered at the fair produces some unique coloration in the lambs. The 4H students showed 6 of the lambs at the fair with good success. Although no blue ribbons for showing, they all received first place for fun memories and learning life lessons. Congrats to David, Kelly, Gwen and Lillian!
Congrats to Julia on the birth of two lambs in July. I had the joy of playing James Herriott, providing advice and medical services. All are doing great! Cyndi and I had a memorable time visiting their incredible gardens and spending time with Julia's grandfather and large family.
We have a new mile-long walking / riding trail circling the property. It has several bridges, jumps and surprising elevation changes. We look forward to enjoying it with guests all year round for years to come ... and possibly a few ER visits.
After many needed repairs to keep out the groundhogs and bunnies, the garden is going gang-busters, especially the cherry tomatoes. For some reason, Cyndi planted a dozen plants and they are all thriving. Out of ideas for recipes, we will gladly share a bag full if you visit.
In addition, we continue to enjoy countless wildlife sightings (except for the groundhogs). In May, sister Allison was kind enough to save two starling fledglings that fell from the nest. If you ever find a young bird that cannot fly, you can return them to the nest and the mother will go about her business as though nothing happened. If they keep falling out, don't feed them worms (there may be parasites and it may not be in their diet) and never give them water. Rather, call a wildlife rescue center for advice. They won't take all the birds! Starlings are considered an invasive species so you may be on your own. You can soak cat food and feed it to them EVERY HOUR! Or better yet, find someone else who will save them and ask Allison to Uber them down to Canton Ohio.
Lastly, it is with great sadness that I write the words I never wanted to share. Uncle Joe passed away in June. He would have been 103 in August. As expressed so many times, he was an incredible man, not just for his longevity but for his quick wit, mischievous nature, amazing work ethic, vast gardening knowledge and kind, caring ways. He survived a very challenging childhood during the depression (filled with rough and tumble adventures), work in the CCC camps in Utah, and WWII where he earned 3 stars for D-Day landings at Utah Beach, Omaha Beach and Okinawa as a Gunner's Mate. These challenging times taught Joe resilience and a love of life from which we could all learn. Cyndi's dad Rudy, Uncle Joe and my friend Jack Grace were the inspiration for our life today. For that we are forever grateful.
We hope you all enjoy a marvelous start to fall and find ways to enjoy each other and life's little pleasure like Uncle Joe.
Your friend,
Harry
