New Elm Farm

CSA 2010

2010-02-07T13:53:00.001-05:00

“Deep peace of the running waves to you.

Deep peace of the flowing air to you.

Deep peace of the shining stars to you.

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.

Deep peace of the infinite peace to you.”

Gaelic Prayer

Dear past and future New Elm Farm CSA Shareholders,

Although there is snow on the ground, and the temperature is low, it is time to turn our thoughts forward to the eagerly-anticipated 2010 growing season. Planting of tomato and pepper seedlings will begin next week! Thus our season will officially be underway.

We are pleased to announce that our new farm manager, Luis Feliciano, brings with him several years of significant experience with various biodynamic farming operations. He also is certified in permaculture design and will be incorporating many of these ideas into our agricultural work here.

If you are interested in joining the CSA, please send in a 50%

deposit by March 1, with the remainder being due on May 1.

NEW ELM FARM CSA

2010

New Elm Farm is a small farm in Freeport that began its first CSA in 2007. This year the CSA will be 50

full-shares in size, and our season will run for 17 weeks – from mid-June through early October.

FULL-SHARE $400 (4-5 people)

HALF-SHARE $200 (2 people)

Pick-up days will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays after

3:30 at the farm.

FLOWER SHARE – a freshly picked bouquet of beautiful

flowers beginning in July - $75

As always, there will be you-pick opportunities for herbs and flowers on a weekly basis and for certain other vegetables as they ripen (e.g., peas, beans, tomatoes, etc.)

NEW THIS YEAR !! - We are erecting a ½ acre hoophouse which will guarantee a good supply of tomatoes and peppers – no matter the weather! (Remember last year?)

NOTE: Unfortunately, we will not be able to offer a pick-up opportunity in Falmouth this year. All shares will be available at the farm.

Last year, we were able to offer CHEESE SHARES

from Silvery Moon. We are not yet certain whether they are going to continue to offer this possibility. As soon as we know, we will pass on the information.

I look forward to a new and wonderful season of growing healthy and hearty produce for one and all.

Warmest wishes,

Cordelia Lane

27 Lambert Road

Freeport 04032

865-4019

Spring greetings

2008-04-29T10:28:00.002-04:00

Spring is finally truly here in all its splendiferous, grassy green and flowery yellow glory!
We have had numerous sunny days in a row, and today are getting a needed rainfall to moisten things up a bit again.

The greenhouse is full of seedlings in various stages of early growth. Peas have been planted on Patriots Day and on the 25th. (They are especially loving this rain.) Garlic is almost a foot high and strawberry plants are green and growing. Baby chicks are in the workshop for another two weeks.
Two month old pullet hens are in the chicken tractor on the pasture, and more baby chicks are due in two weeks. A gorgeous new fence has been built around the main pasture. ( A photo will be taken on a sunny day.) And there is a rumor about that milking goats might join us in a few months if all goes well. Things are busy and happening!

Blessings on this April shower that will surely bring the May flowers.

ZemYa House Concert! - rescheduled!

2008-04-29T10:26:00.001-04:00

The Zemya concert that was supposed to happen March 1st got snowed out by one of our many snowstorms this winter.

It will now take place Saturday, May 3rd.

Hope you can make it!

ZemYa House Concert!

2008-02-25T15:39:00.000-05:00

Zemya to Perform Local House Concert for Fuel Assistance Fundraiser
Saturday, March 1, 2008
7:00 pm
New Elm Farm
27 Lambert Rd., South Freeport (off South Freeport Rd)

Zemya, the nine-woman a cappella World Music group, will perform at a free house concert with special guest Connecticut singer-songwriter Kim Hoffman to help raise funds for local fuel assistance. Zemya sings a wide range of folk music in native languages from around the world. Their current repertoire includes songs from Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, South Africa, Russia, the Americas and the UK. Bring a dessert to share (optional!). All ages welcome. Donations accepted for local fuel assistance funds. FMI and directions, call 865-4019.

Happy New Year Thoughts for 2008

2008-01-01T14:26:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to one and all!

It is snowing again! Amazing!

Here are some beauty tips for our New Year:

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run her/his fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

People, even more that things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed - never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover you have two hands - one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.

(I borrowed this from Dr. Brad Weeks blog - these are "beauty tips" from Audrey Hepburn)

2007-12-25T12:54:00.001-05:00

This is Venus, my trusty and ultra-devoted Dalmatian. She is now 12 1/2 years old, rather arthritic and going blind. But she gets around amazing well and accompanies me on all animal chores...unless it is too cold.
In that case, she waits patiently for me in the mud room.

This is a peek in the hen house. This batch of hens is about 2 years old. they have been great egg layers up until about a week ago. Hopefully, they are just having a wee bit of a winter rest and they begin laying more eggs again before too long.

This a look at the other half of the hen house. Here is a new flock of 25 Rhode Island Red hens (plus one old Buff Orpington rooster - Golden Boy, by name). When I say new, I mean new to this farm. They are really about a year old and spent their first year in Chesterville. I saw that they were for sale in Uncle Henry's and thought that I was reeaaally lucky to find them. Ever since they have arrived, though, they have hardly laid any eggs at all. Not sure why, but I am surely hoping they will kick into gear by springtime. If not, their future doesn't look too bright...

This is our Barn Kitty who has been with us about a year. She was a stray and has a very spunky personality.
You can not really pet her as she does not understand at all about the "velvet paw" concept, but she is fun to have around. She is also very conscientious about keeping the rodent population balanced.

Just relaxing in the sun....
Life is good....

Chloe, our big alpha sheep, is on the left and below is Baby. (These are names they arrived with...)
They are hoping for a handout of apples which they have been getting lately, and they have become quite shameless at begging for them.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T12:16:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas to one and all!
This is the first blog in far too long.

More will be coming soon with updates of farm goings-on and animal anecdotes.

Spring, splendid Spring

2007-04-29T23:07:00.000-04:00

"In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy."
David Steindl-Rast
Benedictine brother

"Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there."
Josh Billings

The season of warmth and green growing things is well upon us, and for that I am exceedingly grateful...and happy!
Tender green shoots are inching upwards in the greenhouse. The garlic and strawberries have been relieved of their winter hay coats and are looking mighty lovely. Parsnips were planted for the first time last year and dug up on a blustery early April day. My oh my, they are tasty and sweet!

April 5th and 12th brought us blizzards and wet, heavy snow - about a foot each storm. Then came the big nor-easter on April 16th with lots of rain and wind. But by the 18th I was able to begin planting some peas in our upper garden which dries out relatively early. Then we were blessed with a series of warm and sunny days which we all sorely deserved and made us feel that Lady Spring was finally able to muscle her way past King Winter.

The hens are happily laying close to three dozen eggs a day. The sheep are still waiting for the shearer to come and for the grass to become greener and taller. We have a new kitty-cat who lives in the workshop. She was a stray who came to us in December, and her job is to keep the workshop as a mouse-free zone. So far, she seems to be doing a fine job. Sometimes her name is Fido, other times it is BD, but mostly it is...Kitty. She is very spunky and full of personality and lots of fun to have around the yard.

The winter did bring us at least one sad loss. Mrs. Mouse squeezed into the bigger, stronger beehive, made a big nest, gave birth to four babies and managed to eat thousands of bees. Afterwards I learned that the mouse guard needs to be put on by early September which was probably at least one of my mistakes.

Daffodils, forsythia and hyacinth are blooming! And a mere two weeks ago they were under snow. A miracle.
We are planting fruit trees this year! Eleven dwarf apple trees were planted a few days ago. A few more apples, plus peaches, pears and elderberries are going to arrive in the next week. We are also planting a couple dozen
blackberry bushes and more strawberry plants. In a few years, we hope to have lots of fruit to pick and savor.

We no longer have any resident geese or ducks, but we do have regular visitors to the pond - Mr. and Mrs. Mallard, Mr. Ring-necked Duck (mighty handsome), the occasional Canada Geese, and Harry the Heron. The osprey flies overhead hoping for a good catch, but there do not seem to be many trout left, so we will probably stock it again. Our ravens are back and nesting close to where they were last year. Mr. Raven - also known as One-Leg for he always flies with one claw hanging down - is very curious and keeps track of all our various goings on regularly. Mr. Red-tailed Hawk is another regular flying above the driveway. Yesterday we saw two red-headed, pileated woodpeckers together on a tree - that was quite a sight.

We are well on our way to another glorious growing season in this beautiful, peaceful part of the world.
Our blessings really do overflow.

"In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous." Aristotle

October News

2006-10-09T10:47:00.000-04:00

"O, it sets my heart a clickin'
like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the
punkin and the fodder's
in the shock.
- James Whitcomb Riley

"Be like a postage stamp, stick to one thing until you get there." - Josh Billings

Lo and behold! It is October again, and we have had frost on the punkins the last two nights! It has been a long and (paradoxically) short four months since my last entry on June 9th when we were still in the throes of the torrential spring rains. Well, they finally did stop, and from mid-June on, we had a gorgeous summer with plenty of sunshine and just the right amount of rain to have a good growing season. The rains of May and June in addition to poor soil in a new garden caused a sad (read: tears more than once) loss of hundreds of plants. In mid-June, I had to completely write off all the work of May and begin again.

But the new seeds and seedlings finally did grow and actually thrive in the main garden of the last three years, and so the season ended up being a decent one - even though I had no summer or winter squash, cukes or potatoes (all lost in the rains). The lessons I learned are threefold: never count on a new garden even if the soil test seems to indicate that things will be fine, never start seedlings inside so early again and be very wary of planting any seedlings or seeds much earlier than the first week of June since we seem to be in a "very rainy May pattern" these last three years. It's just so hard to wait, but wait I will next year.

Other farm news from the summer: Thirty new pullet hens arrived in June. It is the first time I ordered pullets - young hens just old enough to begin laying eggs - and I must say I like it! They have been great layers of eggs and seem to be a happy, frisky group of hens. They really love my almost daily offerings of piles of weeds and unwanted greenery from the garden. They tear into things and can demolish a very large pile in a few hours.

I also raised forty meat birds in the chicken tractor on the pasture. They were Red Bros - a variety that is supposed to forage better on the grass than Cornish hens. They all grew nicely plump in 9 weeks and, after their date at the abattoir, most of them weighed 4+ pounds. When I am raising all these chickens, I completely lose my appetite for them, so I ate no chicken for about the last three to four months. Just two nights ago we ate the first one, and my, it was succulent and delicious! Chickens raised in a healthy setting on good grain and grass are a completely different culinary experience than those things that pass for chicken in the grocerey store.

The poultry pens were rounded out with nine turkeys who were a really delightful crew to raise. Turkeys are the best! It is true they are not too bright, but they are comical, curious, pleasant and make the sweetest trilling sounds when they are happy. They are all now in the cooler soon to go in the deep freeze. And they got quite big, bigger than I had really wanted - two are about 29 pounds! Although I am happy to have one less chore to do, I do miss their contented presence on the farm.

The gardens have almost all been put to bed. Most of them have received a good dose of dolomitic lime, and another good dose of manure or compost. They have also been spaded with our wonderful orange, Italian spading machine which does not harm the soil structure. So things are settling down nicely here as we head into the colder months.

Have been thinking and reading a lot about apple trees, and I think we will take the leap and plant some next year.
It is a big commitment but having our own, juicy apples should be worth the effort. Also would love to learn about grafting and try that on one or two of the older apple trees here. So many things to do and never a dull moment!

flowers in June

2006-07-08T21:05:00.000-04:00

Turtle!

2006-06-11T20:48:00.000-04:00

Just showed up in the middle of the driveway:

I tried to pet the turtle- to put my hand in the shot and show scale- and I got snapped at!
Scribbler didn't though.

RainLa PluieDer Regen

2006-06-09T22:43:00.000-04:00

The rain in Maine is the bane of my brain.
The rain in Maine is reigning without reins.
Could the rain in Maine wane without being in vain?
The rain in Maine is inhumane and insane.
Must the rain in Maine remain?
May the rain in Maine refrain and constrain lest I become profane.
Perhaps the rain in Maine could deign to feign and then abstain.
The rain in Maine causes many a Mainer to complain.

In Memoriam

2006-04-26T11:15:00.000-04:00

" Like the dew on the mountain,
Like the foam on the river,
Like the bubble on the fountain,
Thou art gone and for ever!"
- Walter Scott

Tom the Amazing Swimming Turkey met his Maker last night. His white feathers trimmed with black stripes are strewn about the fowlyard this morning. There is another pile of them further out in the pasture. It was probably the big coy dog who has been regularly visiting the area and who clearly has developed quite a taste for our birds. He or she has already happily dined on seven ducks.

It is a sad day for the farm. Tom, you will be sorely missed. You were a wonderful, if quirky, bird. Life on the pond won't be same without you.

Sheep Escape!

2006-04-12T20:52:00.000-04:00

swimming turkey

2006-04-08T12:21:00.000-04:00

here's how the game works:

1. entice the little dog out by the birds with a plate that she presumes has dinner on it
2. the dog sees the turkey and starts to chase it
3. the turkey realizes he is less afraid of the pond than the little dog
4. and since all his geese and duck friends can swim
5. the turkey hops in the pond and swims away from the dog.

what the video doesn't really show is that the turkey SINKS as it swims further.

*edit* this post was written by brook- and dad has pointed out that it reads like the turkey sunk permanently. it did not, it just appears to become "waterlogged" and float lower the longer it stays in the water. The turkey is fine.

HAPPY VERNAL EQUINOX

2006-03-20T10:22:00.000-05:00

"As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more."

Jules Renard

"For every minute you are angry, you lose sixty seconds of happiness."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yes, Blessed Blessings on this happy day of the equal parts of light and dark in the renewal time of the year to one and all! But a mighty cold one, it is. So far, my weather forecast is right about that one - even if I did not quite get the several days of rain right. The official log date for Ice Out of the pond was Saturday, the 18th- three weeks earlier than last year! My, the ducks and geese are happy, happy, happy to have their pond fully back again. And the new ducks - the ones that arrived in January - have really taken to it like "ducks to water" (unlike the first group of ducks who took months to get their little webbed feet into the wet stuff.).

Tomato seedlings planted last Sunday are up and already two inches tall, joyfully straining toward the light. The new greenhouse, alas, is not yet operational.......but they say it will be soon. Also have planted 7 flats of onions and leeks, 3 of various flowers and today will be planting several of kale, mustard greens and other leafy things. Once I get into the greenhouse, planting will be happening every day until it is full!

Last Saturday, the 11th, we had our one and only warmish, spring-like day so far, and I spent it happily carting out numerous loads of chicken coop guano mixed in with shavings and mulch hay. These loads were placed in layers with old compost, soil, lime and rock phosphate to begin a new, bigger and better compost pile. My compost making these last three years has been too haphazard. It is my 2006 resolution to make better and even truly superb compost! I will keep you posted (composted?) as to the results.

I am really in love with this time of year. Can hardly wait to have it warm up a bit more so I can really get out there digging, planting, cleaning up and seeing all the spring bulbs and bushes come alive. Last fall I planted several hundred crocuses by the front door and many tulips too. The crocuses started to send up their shoots during the warm spell in January, so I covered them up with hay for a couple of months. They are now uncovered and almost two inches high. I'll put a phto on when they finally bloom. Last year it was April 10 when crocuses bloomed here. It will surely be earlier this year.

Time to sign off for today. Must eat my oatmeal and plant my seeds. Enjoy the light and the growing warmth!

Weather Forecast for 2006

2006-02-12T17:17:00.000-05:00

I know - this may seem really bold, or perhaps stupid, but I am going to make some weather predictions for this year. My source of "information" was the weather as we experienced it here during the Twelve Days of Christmas. In some circles, the dreams and weather of these important twelve days are viewed as prophetic for the coming year. Although I did not keep a very detailed, hour-by-hour account, I did note the weather conditions generally.
Each day of the Christmas period corresponds to a month for the next year. Each hour of the day would correspond roughly to the date. This is approximate as there are 24 hours and 30 days. So here goes:

December 25 was unusually mild and clear during the AM and we had light rain during the PM. This day corresponds to January, which was for the most part unusually mild. We also had some rain on the 27th, which would correspond to the PM. - January

December 26 - It rained on and off all day - heavy at times. I remember it was raining very heavily noon to 1:00 or so. That would correspond to precipitation on February 12 and several inches of snow are predicted! It also might mean that it will be quite wet with either rain or snow for another 1 to 2 weeks. - February

Dec. 27 - Quite cold all morning., clear, sunny and windy during the middle part of the day, cold in the later PM - March

Dec. 28 - At 7:00 am it was 10 degrees, hazy with some sun.
By 10:00, it was warmer, still hazy and some sun.
2:00 pm it was 40 degrees
Evening was very mild and it was above freezing all night
April- sounds fabulous!

Dec. 29 - 6- 9 am it was mild, foggy, very misty-moisty
9am til 11pm was solid rain, at 9pm it was 52 degrees!
This could mean 2 weeks of rain from the 9th until the
23rd. I surely hope I am wrong.
May

December 30 â€“ 6:30-8:30 am mild, overcast
9-11, mild, overcast
11:45 sunny with cool wind for the rest of the day
June

December 31 â€“ 6:30 â€“ cold, clear 12 degrees
8:30 â€“ sunny, partly cloudy
Middle of day â€“ overcast, 20â€™s
Light snow during the night
July

January 1 â€“ Overcast all day
August

January 2 - Sunny all day, 20 degrees at 7:00 am
September

January 3 â€“ Overcast, mild but cooler than yesterday
October

January 4 â€“ Sun at 8:00
Overcast by 8:45
Colder than yesterday
November

Forgot to take note of the weather of the 5th.

Summer in Winter

2006-01-15T20:33:00.000-05:00

cloe

2006-01-15T08:24:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Egg Report

2006-01-05T09:06:00.000-05:00

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."
Confucius

"A person who wonders discovers that this in itself is wonder."
M.C.Escher

What a season of beauty and wonder we are going through now! The sunrises are glorious, the snow and ice scintillating, the animals harmonious and the hope of new possibilities everywhere. The hens are laying beautifully this past month or so. About a month after the time change at the end of October, I finally switched on an automatically-timed light bulb in the too dark chicken coop. As soon as the light increaased, the hens switched on their egg-laying units, and we have been reveling in two to two and a half daily dozens of their glorious golden orbed eggies! You go, girls! This is out of about thirty-five hens total. They are wondrously lovely to look at, too - as there are about 11-12 blonde Buff Orpingtons from last year and 25 Silver Wyandottes from this year. The latter have beautiful black and white feathers with the bright red wattles, and they make an interesting contrast with the yellow Buffs.

Golden Boy is still with us - he is the sweetest rooster of the past three years. This means he has not gone after me even once. A new rooster came with the silver wyandottes, but when he reached adolescence, he began pestering every hen in the flock. All of whom squawked indignantly at his every and frequent advance. He just was too inharmonious and so was dispatched in October with some of the oldest hens. Tom the Turkey spends his days happily with his six geese and seven duck friends. We sadly lost one female duck in October to a particularly aggressive hawk. The wonder is that this flock has only suffered this one loss.

It took an amazingly long time for the geese and ducks to discover and enjoy the pond. For at least a month or two, they would get close enough to look at the water, then suddenly they would all turn around and run back home to their night pen area. Then they began lingering at water's edge, drinking and sometimes wading a bit. After a few more weeks of this cautious behaviour, we saw them actually swimming but still staying very close to the shore. Finally, one day, they all swam across the pond en masse. That was a big day - must have been mid-to late October. After that, they spent all their waking hours swimming all over the pond. It was wonderful for everyone - everyone, that is, except Tom - who, I think we have mentioned before, isn't all that fond of swimming. In fact, I don't even think he gets his lovely big toes wet. He just hangs around the shore waiting for his buddies to get done with their silly swimming. In November, we noticed a new resident in the pond - a muskrat! We weren't totally sure the first time or two we saw him (or her), but one day I had a great view of its very long tail. That confirmed that it must be a muskrat. We are wondering if he (or she) eats trout. That would not be such a good thing. A google search on muskrat habits also revealed they are as prolific reproductively as rabbits. That is also not a good thing. At the moment he (or she) seems to be hibernating. We'll have to see what happens in the spring....

The sheep are well, but are on a diet this winter - because they got way too fat last winter. The problem was that they baaaed every time they saw me, and almost every time they baaaed, I fed them. This year, I am being strong and just ignoring the in-between mealtime baaing. When I finally had some time in October and November, I naturally died all their fleeces (except the gray one), and now I have almost twenty pounds of beautiful rainbow colors of fleecy roving wool. Some of the dyes I used are brazilwood, madder root, fustic, onion skins, indigo and cochineal. I will sell the wool gradually through the coming year and hopefully make enough to cover the cost of feeding the sheep through the long winter.

My newest addition to the farm "products" are all organic/biodynamic herbal salves and lip balms. I love working with the herbs and hope to do much more with them in the coming years. 2005 was a fine year for us here at New Elm Farm. We are grateful for the enormous blessings of family, friends, animals, plants and all the friendly nature spirits who make it all happen. May the beauty and wonder of our world be in the hearts and minds of every person.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!

Tom the Turkey Adventure Tale

2005-10-08T12:46:00.001-04:00

"In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous."
Aristotle

Tom came to us three years ago in what was called a "Barnyard collection" from Murray McMurray Hatchery. He was one of six turkeys, two geese and seven ducks. Sadly one goose and one turkey died as babies, but the rest grew up happily quacking, honking and gobbling all together in one flock. When they were five months old, I couldn't stand the smell of their pen anymore. It was time to let them roam, and I just hoped and prayed that the dogs wouldn't chase and eat them. The dogs were great! They had come with me everyday for those five months while I was caring for all these little birds, and they seemed to understand that they were part of the family now - not to be chased after. Anyway the turkeys, goose and ducks were all very happy to be roaming around and lots of fun to watch. But one time, we couldn't get one of the turkeys into the pen at night.

The next morning, there was a big pile of feathers. That was the beginning of the end. The attrition rate slowly but steadily grew until last summer when there were just three of them left: Tom the turkey, the gray goose and Ms. Brown and White duck. They were a marvelously inseparable trio. It was quite a blow when the goose disappeared last November. She was always kind of like Tom's girlfriend, whereas the duck was more like the tag-along kid sister. It was a long, cold sad winter with just Tom and the duck. But spring came, and with it , all seemed lighter and happier again. Until the day that Ms. duck did not come back. She had been disappearing into the woods daily - probably to lay her eggs - and no doubt met her fate at the paws of the local and very busy and very well-fed fox.

Tom the Turkey was now alone - totally and utterly alone. (Because the chickens don't count for him.) And he began to wander - further and further afield. One day in late April or early May, I received a call from someone who lives about a mile and a half away by car (probably about a half-mile as the crow flies, or rather as the turkey trots) and she said there was a big white turkey looking in the window at her. She was wondering if it was mine. Of course, I knew it was. We put a cage in the truck and went right over with high hopes of bringing Tom home. Boy, he can really run fast and dodge well when he wants. After fifteen minutes of many "just missed hims", we gave up and came home. About a week later, I got another telephone call. This time from a neighbor about a half mile in the opposite direction. "I've got a big white turkey in my yard. Is it yours?" I explained that it was, but that he was too hard to catch, and that he was wandering because he was lonely.

A few days after that, Tom showed up again in our yard out of the blue. I then coaxed him into the pen and locked him up. His roaming days were over for the time being, because I had learned in the meantime that the State frowns greatly upon domestic turkeys being allowed to go wild. So now Tom had to stay in his pen all alone. He stood in one corner almost 100% of the time with intermittent pacing. It was really sad to watch.

But a new batch of buddies were on the way - six gray weeder geese and eight gorgeous Rouen ducks arrived as day-old babies in late May. By mid-June, they went out to the pen with Tom. Life, of course, wasn't all hunky-dory. It's not that easy all of a sudden to have fourteen new little brothers and sisters to contend with. But at least Tom wasn't lonely anymore. By early August, the geese and ducks were big enough (and the pen smelly enough!) to open the door and let them all go a-roaming again. They don't ever go far, and they are so happy running and flapping their wings and nibbling on all the luscious grasses and clovers. And it is my hope that with this larger number of geese that they can protect themselves - and maybe the ducks - from predators. I'm not worried about Tom, though. He seems to be a top-notch Survivor.

Biodynamic Agriculture

2005-09-28T11:35:00.000-04:00

The form of organic gardening we are doing here at New Elm Farm is called biodynamic agriculture. It seemed high time to mention it here in the blog. Biodynamic agriculture is a HUGE topic - not that easily summarized, but here is my two-paragraph attempt: Biodynamic agriculture utilizes numerous naturally occurring plant and animal substances fermented according to specific recipes to enliven and enhance the vitality of all plants in the garden. The most important of these are cow manure, silica, yarrow, valerian, chamomile, dandelion, stinging nettle, oak bark and equisetum. It was developed in 1924 by Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian, and thus predates organic agriculture by about twenty years. The biodynamic preparations are similar to homeopathic remedies in that a small amount is used for a large area. Recognition of the importance of planetary influence on all growing things is also an integral part of biodynamic agriculture. Don't worry. I haven't forgotten the Tom the Turkey Adventure Tales. Next time.

The Almost Semi-Annual Egg Report

2005-09-25T12:49:00.000-04:00

"In time take time while time doth last, for time is no time when time is past."
Anonymous

At long last, I shall take time today to blog. The summer was again a bblluuuuuurrr. Cliche though it is, it is unbelievable sometimes how time can go by so quickly. Though it was a fast and blurry summer, it was a good one. The garden was a bit better than last year - in general - and we had many, many beautiful days. Our lovely pond has been a delight in so many ways. It was refreshingly wonderful to swim in on our hot days. And the variety of wildlife it has attracted has been both intriguing and amusing. Choruses of loud bullfrogs, herons, egrets, little shorebirds we think might be willets, thousands of dragonflies and even a plump woodchuck who took up residence in the stonewall are among the many visitors to the pond this summer. Our new silver wyandotte layer hens have just started to lay their first eggs - tiny ones about a third the size of a normal egg. And our flock of six geese and eight ducks are very entertaining. Tom the turkey - a real survivor - is still with us! He very dutifully has taken the fourteen new geese and ducks under his wing - so to speak - and is lonely no more. (A little update is in order: shortly after my last blog about our one and only brown and white duck, she disappeared, leaving Tom all alone in the fowlyard except for the layer hens - and they don't count for him. It was a sad time for Tom. But all is well now.) That is all for now. It is still a bit too dry and there are a few plants I need to water. Next time, I'll tell a few Tom the Turkey Adventure Tales.

Farm News Flash

2005-04-17T12:15:00.000-04:00

Ms. One and Only Lonely Brown and White Duck finds swimming partners and is lonely no more! Last Sunday, Ms. Lonely Duck was swimming all alone in the middle of the pond looking really blue. Suddenly, she began to quack, and after quacking rather loudly and persistently for several minutes....lo and behold, in flew Mr. and Mrs. Mallard duck from up the creek a bit. They landed right beside Ms. Duck, and they all spent the next hour or so happily swimming and splashing together. On Monday Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were back with their friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ring-necked Ducks ( I had to look them up in the bird book.) The latter couple were so enthralled with the setting that they spent all day long swimming about - all very friendly with our resident duck as well. On Tuesday, the Mallards made another appearance. On Wednesday, a lovely pair of Canada Geese showed up and right away were good friends with Ms. Brown and White Duck. They have been back on and off ever since, and as I write are preening themselves by the side of the pond with our duck close by. All this has happened just after we were wondering if we should go find another duck for our one and only. It seems there is no need. She does have her other buddy, Tom the Turkey, but he is not much for swimming. He is, however, very interested - or concerned or jealous - when Duck is so happily swimming with her new friends, He stands by the side of the pond and gobbles a lot. And that is the news from New Elm Farm Pond for today.

The Almost Quarterly Egg Report

2005-03-20T11:15:00.000-05:00

The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in his heaven-
All's right with the world!
-R. Browning

Yes, we made it to the Vernal Equinox - finally. But outside hardly resembles Browning's words here. The piles of snow are still very high. It will take quite a few warm days to get rid of this solid layer of white. The six sheep and the various members of the fowl family all seem to be doing well. But the hens' egg production seems to be pathetically low...yesterday only four eggs for about 30 ladies. The second year hens seem to have given up egg-laying altogether. And the first year hens are only pitching in about every 2-3 days. Very unimpressive and definitely worse than last year. I wonder if we need either another or a different rooster? In another month, many day-old chicks will begin to arrive - meat birds, more layers, great white turkeys for Thanksgiving and more ducks and geese.

Last year over eighty chicks arrived in a week - all housed in plastic swimming pools in the garage. The place was covered with a thick layer of poultry dust by the time they all went outdoors. It was gross. This year the chicks will be arriving in smaller batches every two weeks or so. Somehow I am hoping that the place will be not so messy this way.

We'll see... Will be planting my first flats of seeds this week - tomatoes and onions. There is still no greenhouse, but some kind of temporary rig is going to be set up in the next few weeks to house seedlings through April and May.

Had a fabulous vacation last week in Provence, France. C'etait merveilleux de parler francais tout le temps, de manger la delicieuse nourriture francaise, de voir le beau paysage provencal, de visiter les villages medievals aux falaises.et plus encore.

"Il faut se contenter de decouvrir, mais se garder d'expliquer" -Georges Braque Eh bien, mes amis, a la prochaine fois!

The Almost Quarterly Egg Report

2004-12-25T14:10:00.000-05:00

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men."
-Longfellow

Yes, may we all repeat that last line (with a bit of editing) loudly: OF PEACE ON EARTH,GOOD WILL TO ALL WOMEN, MEN AND CHILDREN!! May we shout it from on high, low and everywhere. May there be peace in every heart. The hens are quite peaceful, happy for any and all grain and vegetable parings that come their way. The Buff Orpingtons are all big and beautifully golden. The rooster's name is Golden Boy and so far, he is still being a sweetie to me at least. And their egg- laying has been very good. Most days they give me 15 - 18 eggs. One day, the cup really overflowed and I found 23 eggs!

Tom the Royal Palm Turkey is still with us, as are the last duck and the last three Narragansett turkeys. Sadly, we lost the last goose about two weeks ago one night when the pond was frozen and she and the duck wouldn't go in the pen for the night. In the morning both were gone, but - Hallelujah - the duck showed up a day and a half later. We conjecture that she(the duck) must have flown off into the woods and hidden for awhile. I am sorry to lose that goose as she was quite delightful, and the turkey, goose and duck made quite a trio of inseparable companions. In the spring, we shall get at least four more geese and perhaps a few more ducks to raise. At Spring Brook Farm where I get the hay for my sheep, there are four geese. The farmer there says they manage to ward off all predators. Sounds good to me.

Otherwise, all is well on the farm. The sheep were happy with an extra dose of hay this morning. Hopefully, they 'll have a peaceful day and not be up to any sheep shennanigans like they were a couple of days ago. I had gone out in the morning and when I arrived back about noon, I saw something I had never seen before - all six sheep were out of their pen and inside the little barn helping themselves to a bale of hay - and Belle had her head inside the grain bag! Luckily, Noah was here and could help me get them back into the pen - not until after the required amount of rodeo running around, of course.

So, I think I will shout it out once more: PEACE ON EARTH TO ALL WOMEN, MEN AND CHILDREN...TODAY AND EVERYDAY!!! May you all have a blessed, holy Twelve Days of Christmas and the Happiest of New Years!

The Almost Monthly Egg Report

2004-10-17T12:35:00.000-04:00

"The year's in the wane;
There is nothing adoring;
The night has no eve,
And the day has no morning;
Cold winter gives warning! "
- Hood

"O, it sets my heart a clickin'
like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin
And the fodder's in the shock."
-Riley

Where did the last four and a half months go? They were a flash and a blur. When I close my eyes, it is like time-lapse photography seeing the garden go from bare brown beds, to fresh, delicate baby shoots and seedlings, to lush midsummer rampant growth to wilting, withered, drooping leaves back to bare brown beds once again. The baby Buff Orpingtons are all grown up, big and beautifully golden and laying lovely eggs. Of the original roving flock of two turkeys, one goose and seven ducks, we have three Survivors: one turkey, one goose and one duck. They are quite a crew, and the goose now seems to think that she is the mayor of the farmyard, loudly honking at anyone who passes by. Two batches of meat chickens were raised in the chicken tractor. In late July a second batch of turkey chicks arrived - Narragansetts. They moved into the chicken tractor after the meat birds met their maker. All was going delightfully well until.....yet another predator strike in which a raccoon decimated nine of them. Oh, weh. Had fun selling vegetables and our naturally dyed wool fleece at the Falmouth and Cumberland Farmers' Markets. Learned large amounts of what NOT to do next year and plenty of what TO do. The sheep are still out on the pasture - probably for another two to three weeks at the most. The garlic has been planted and most of the beds composted and spaded.
All is well in the autumn of this year.

The Almost Monthly Egg Report

2004-05-31T04:57:00.000-04:00

The year's at the spring And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in his heaven -
All's right with the world!
- R. Browning

That pretty much sums up this glorious day - the third in a row of blue skies and golden sunshine. (We won't talk about the many days of cold and wet preceding today...) Much has happened. Gardens are being planted. Chicks have been raised, have grown up and some are already in the freezer. Predators have had their day, too. Three attacks, no less. Gone are several chickens - not sure how many, ALL twenty, four-week old turkey poults (that was a SAD day), and two ducks. Two of the four remaining ducks are sitting ferociously on their eggs, so much so that I cannot collect any more eggs until they are finally done. Being a beginner at all this, I am not even sure we had a male duck, so all their determined, laudable motherly efforts might be totally in vain. The baby Buff Orpingtons have doubled in size since their group photo last month. We slowly integrated them into the existing flock. Now they are all together and everything seems to be copasetic. Except I think Doodle-Doo is a bit more confused with twice the number of hens running around him. He also has bcome more aggressive toward me - three surprise attacks - one while my back was turned (a favorite rooster trick) and twice while I was cleaning the egg boxes. I yell at him mightily each time. The sheep have been out on the pasture for the last week and a half and are very happily munching the fresh, spring grass. Unfortunately the sheep shearer STILL has not yet come. Hopefully next week. The daffodils and forsythia looked grand, and now the lilacs are blooming with their fragrant purple. The colorful dancing parade of the flower fairies has just begun. Hooray for Lady Spring! Oh yes, the egg report.....the hens are pretty much back up to speed - 10 to 12 eggs a day with the occasional baker's dozen thrown in along with the occasional off day of half a dozen or so.

The Almost Weekly Egg Report

2004-04-23T09:12:00.000-04:00

Spring is very gradually springing here at New Elm Farm. Just noticed buds on some daffodils and forsythia yesterday. Have been hanging laundry on the line again. The turkey hen has laid many eggs - fourteen at the last count - and we are hoping some of them actually hatch. We have eighty-five baby chicks that arrived via the post office in the last ten days - 50 are meat birds, 15 are Buff Orpington layer hens and 20 are turkeys. They are all staying warm in the heated garage until they get feathered out (four weeks), then it's outside onto the pasture. We are hoping to get the sheep shorn soon - as soon as the sheep shearer responds to my telephone calls.

Yesterday there was an interesting encounter. Three wild turkeys were on the far side of the lower pasture in front of the house. Gradually they came closer and closer until they were face to face (beak to beak) with our roving flock of ducks, geese and turkeys. Our one male turkey got all fanned out as did the wild one - quite a sight! Then they started jumping up and down, flapping their wings and bumping one another - a male testoserone, dominance, territorial thing, of course. The wild one was bigger to begin with, and he proved to be the stronger. Before too long, our turkey kept falling down after his jumps, being all tuckered out and such. He just didn't have the stamina of the wild one who has a much harder, more demanding life. But things didn't turn ugly or violent. When our Tom got tired, the wild one mosied over to our turkey hen to see if she was interested. She wasn't, so he slowly moved off with his own two hens to the other side of the field and that was that. The hens' pens were all wet and mucky for a couple of weeks, so I let them go completely free range. They loved it, going further and further afield.

Egg production remained at a meager five or six a day. So I am quite sure they were laying eggs in some hidden spot in the woods. Once things dried out a bit, I put them back into their pens. The next couple of days there were nine and ten eggs. I can tell they are not quite as happy, that they are sad about their liberty being curtailed. As a compromise, some days I will let them out for the last couple hours before dusk after most of their egg laying is done. The ducks have been laying 5 to 6 eggs per day, and I get some big goose eggs every so often. We painted a few of those on Easter. The rest I will save for next year. Blessings on this blossoming time of year

The Day After

2004-03-28T07:27:00.000-05:00

What an amazingly total transformation in personality! Mrs. GooseyGander, now know as The Widow Lucy GooseyGander has completely stopped hissing and attacking the hand that feeds her(a detail that was left out from earlier reports - not wanting to dwell overly on the negative...). Wow! I can hardly believe it. Now that the badass gander is gone, she seems to have transferred all interest to us. She joined David, the two dogs and me on a long walk around the property - even going up to and walking on the road a short way - just as if she were a third dog. The photos here are of her later in the afternoon a few hours after the walk. I happened to walk by the door, and - surprise - look who is peering in at us! Looks like she is going to settle down and blend in just fine. That is good news.

The Almost Weekly Egg Report

2004-03-27T14:48:00.000-05:00

Well, to make a long story short, Mr. and Mrs. GooseyGander haven't completely worked out all that well. This afternoon, Mr. G-G had to go to paradise, with the help of Noah who seems to be a bit of a natural at these things. Mrs. G-G is still here, already seemingly fairly subdued with her man gone. Hopefully, in the next few days she will settle down and join in with the rest of the happy roving band of fowl. Egg numbers are still way down - disappointingly so. Not sure why, but surely hope that the longer, warmer days that are bound to show up one day will encourage the eggs to roll freely once again. Planted a couple of flats of seeds the other day - leeks and onions. Oh, Joy! Earth and seeds and water and sun! Hallelujah!

The Almost Weekly Egg Report

2004-02-29T09:04:00.000-05:00

The Almost Weekly Egg Report', 'TA DAAA - Here they are. Introducing Mr. & Mrs. GooseyGander! They arrived mid-morning today, hissing and honking all the way. Their owners are looking for a foster home or at least respite care from these two big birds as they have been hissing, honking and harrassing their little two year old son. When I enter the pen to give them food and water, they do plenty of hissing and honking at me, too. I am wielding a broom to keep them at bay. So far, so good. It is our hope that they will become acclimated here and then assimilated into the present group of roving fowl. They are beautiful Pilgrim geese. May their anxieties lighten up and their personalities sweeten up in the days to come. Amen.

The Almost Weekly Egg Report

2004-02-28T11:39:00.000-05:00

Eggs number have dropped severely this week. The only reason I can think of is that the hens must be beginning to molt, although there is not nearly as much precious missing of feathers as I would have expected. Every warmish day this past week - which was pretty much every day - the hens and Doodle Doo were out in their yard happily pecking about. It is a lovely sight seeing them busily puttering about outside. When the chicks were babies, I would always chant to them a little chick-chick song as I approached their pen for feeding time and while I was filling their feeders. As they got older, I gave it up - though I am not sure why - perhaps just feeling too busy or just going through my chickens chores a bit too automatically. Recently I re-instituted the little chant, thinking it might jog some old and fond memory in Doodle Doo's little pea-brain and help him take a non-violent approach to my entry into the chicken coop every morning. And guess what? It seems to be working! He has not gone after me once since I have been singing the old song. He comes up close to me, as if he is thinking about leaping at me, but then he just goes about his business. Two points for that bit of rooster psychology, eh? Tomorrow, two newcomers are coming to join the roving band of fowl. They are coming on probation, as they have a bit of a tarnished reputation. That is all I'm going to say about them until they actually get here. The rest of this story is going to stay secret for a while. Stay tuned....photos and further revelations to follow.

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2004-02-14T04:47:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official now ... this is the Almost Weekly Egg Report instead of almost daily). Since the last blog, the egg numbers have gone up a bit, 7 one day, 8 on two days and.... (drumroll, please) on February 11 we were back up to a dozen for one day!!! That was the day that the temperature got to 50 degrees and the bees were even out enjoying the warm sunshine. Speaking of the temperature, it has been bouncing back and forth between cold and mild quite a bit - like King Winter is really yanking our chain. But the feeling of spring - the hope, the increased birdsong, the longer days - is definitely here and not going away. Big Henny Penny continues to do well. Doodle Doo was especially feisty yesterday evening, attacking my garbage can cover shield several times. His days are really going to be numbered if he keeps that up. Last week we had a nice bit of snow, just enough to give me a lovely cross country ski session along the creek on Sunday. But since then, it has mostly become crusty and icy. Got out the red construction paper this morning to make hearts for my three Valentines. Happy Valentine's Day!

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2004-02-03T15:42:00.000-05:00

On Sunday afternoon, Big Henny Penny seemed well enough to rejoin the flock in the henhouse. I grabbed her and put her in my carrying box, but before I could pop the top on, she flew out and made it to the other side of the garage. Speaking in my best, high-pitched, sweet-talking, you-are-the-best-hen-in-the-world voice, I slowly crept up behind her, grabbed her again, put her in the box really fast and put the top on the box even faster. I have learned a lot this past year about how to catch various fowl! Out at the henhouse, no sooner had I put Henny Penny inside, when Doodle-doo immediately begins chasing her around and around, even hopping on her back and pecking her head a couple of times. There were also a couple of wing-flapping confrontations with a few of the other hens. After a few minutes, things seemed to settle down. I guess what they say is true - that it is not that easy to go home again.

Yesterday, it was up to 40 degrees (OH MY GOODNESS!) and numerous hens were outside for the first time in about a month. It was lovely to see them pecking about the yard again. I was hoping we might see some more eggs, but there only seem to be about half a dozen eggs per day coming down the chute these days. The glitch is gone, and I was able to upload the photos of the new gazebo today. The weather report is for a bit of snow and freezing rain tonight - the first precipitation in a long time now.

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2004-01-31T12:11:00.000-05:00

I guess this has become the Almost Weekly Egg Report this week. The temperatures and egg production have been slightly warmer and better the last ten days... but not by much. A couple days ago, I noticed that Big Henny Penny was not looking too good. She was listless, her top comb looked anemic, and worst of all she had diarrhea. I brought her into the warm garage to try to revive her a bit. Following the advice in "The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable" by Juliette de Bairacli Levy (a GREAT book), I had her fast with only water for the first 24 hours. I decided to add some Five Flower Essence (a biodynamic Rescue Remedy) to the water, and by evening she had perked up considerably.

Yesterday, we had Sullivan, our handyman woodworker, make a chicken hospital to upgrade Big Henny Penny's accommodations from a makeshift cardboard box to a wooden framed box with mesh netting all around. She has a nice bed of hay, and yesterday she ate some pressed garlic and herb tea. Today I gave her some mustard greens, and good herbs like comfrey, nettles and yarrow. I am also giving her some sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and more garlic. Hopefully , she will be able to return to the flock in a few days. The twelve-sided barn is beginning to grow. Tried to post some photos, but there seemed to be some technological problem with the server. Noah the geek, isn't here to fix that problem, so the photos will have to wait until the glitch is gone.

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2004-01-21T14:52:00.000-05:00

I could scarcely believe it! I kid you not, there was a big beautiful, brown owl in the duck pen this morning! Haven't been able to find my Audubon book, so I am not sure what type of owl, but there it was, flapping its huge wings trying to get out. All the ducks, goose and turkeys were in quite a tight cluster at the opposite end of the pen. It must have been a very interesting night! Here is my conjecture as to how it got in as there are no discernible holes in the netting and fence. It must have just walked right in sometime the day before to eat the duck food. On these cold days I have left the food out with the door open. Usually I close the ducks, goose and turkeys in around dusk, and that owl must have been in the pen behind the house where I didn't notice him. It was a truly gorgeous bird with huge yellow eyes and big eyelids that blinked one at a time. After finishing my chores this morning, I decided to get my camera to photograph it for this blog site. But just as the duck pen came into view, I could see that the owl finally found the open door and flew off east to his welcome freedom.
That was an exciting morning!
P.S. I just found out that it was a horned owl.

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2004-01-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

The numbers have been even worse this week. Since the last report, the daily eggs have been: 8,6,5,7,2 and 8. That day of only two eggs was a major disappointment. It has continued to be cold, although mostly above zero. Another factor may be that my light broke and was out for a few days before I replaced it with a new one. When it is dark, the girls are not so inclined to lay their fine eggs, so I have a light on a timer and it comes on around 6:00 a.m. and turns off at 9:00 p.m. Those are long work days, I know, but believe me there is a lot of loitering, traipsing around the henhouse, snacking, and dustbathing going on during these hours - it's not all just sitting in the nest boxes like good little hens and pushing out the eggs. Anyway, I'll be glad when we get back up to a dozen eggs or so a day. David's counting on that egg money to retire.

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2004-01-14T07:49:00.000-05:00

Well, the numbers have been down in the henhouse since my Fabulous Day of Fifteen Eggs. Since then, the hens' daily number of eggs has been: 9, 5 (this was on the fourth day in a row of verrry cold weather), 10, 9 and 10 again today. On Monday and Tuesday this week, we had a balmy respite of 10-20 degree ABOVE temperatures, but today the Arctic Blast is back and the early morning temp was 20 below and mean. The ducks, goose and turkeys have been barely moving at all today - really staying hunkered down. The sheep seem fine if they can have hay every time they see me. Their wooly coats are lovely and long, and I am looking forward to the eventual natural dying, spinning (first I have to learn how...),felting and knitting of their luscious fibers. Work has begun on a large, twelve-sided barn. Concrete pads were poured yesterday, but nobody is working today - it's too cold.

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2004-01-10T11:20:00.000-05:00

'BRRRRRR - We are having a serious cold snap. I have definitely been noting the early morning temperature since the last blog - 10 below zero on Thursday, 15 below yesterday and today. The dogs are not wanting to spend much time outside. And the turkeys didn't even budge when I brought the fresh water this morning, For a few moments, I thought one of them might need to be brought in for a while, but when I went closer to them they both moved on. I left the water closer to them, they partook and seemed to be OK, albeit moving rather slowly.

The cold hasn't yet seemed to effect egg production. Yesterday I (and the hens, of course) had our biggest day yet - 15 eggs!!! I attribute this at least partly to the fact that I really loaded up all the nesting boxes with fresh hay, thinking it would help the hens feel a bit more cozy in this cold. They, the hens, did indeed seem to appreciate the extra creature comfort and rewarded me in the way they best know how. The sheep are ploughing through the hay, so shall have to make another trip this weekend to the hay farm for a fresh supply. Always something to do!

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2004-01-07T09:01:00.000-05:00

My fine hens have had a pretty good week - Saturday - 10, Sunday - 10, Monday - 12, Tuesday - 11, and today 12 again. Some of them have names: Big Henny Penny, Little Henny Penny, Hickety Pickety, Domeniqua, and Fatty Pants. I think I'm calling the one lone rooster Doodle-Doo, who, by the way, is gradually becoming more aggressive - which doesn't bode well for his long-term future. For the moment I'm able to fend him off with a trash can cover that I use as a shield. But the day that doesn't work any longer is the day he will be a goner.

It was very cold today - not sure how low the temperature was, but the buckets of sheep and duck water were solid frozen when I went to check on them. They are saying twill be colder still for the next few days. But, hey, that's OK. It is January in Maine, after all. We just need a couple more feet of snow, and we'll be all set. Haven't even gotten out on my cross-country skis or snowshoes yet, because the two previous snows disappeared too quickly. Took off all the ornaments of the Christmas tree this evening and out it will go tomorrow. Thus wraps up another Twelve Days. May this season of Epiphany bring blessed revelations to one and all!

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2004-01-03T11:49:00.000-05:00

On New Year's Day, the Egg farmer packed 4 dozen eggs into her pickup and delivered Free New Year's Eggs to friends and family in Freeport - the Mahoneys, the Rheas, the Sturtevants and the best mother-in-law-in-the-world Irene. The last stop was the Sturtevants ( Irene happened to be there, too) and we all settled in for a delicious cup of tea and enjoyable New Year chat.

Oh! The latest farm news is that David has spent the last week training the ducks, goose and turkeys to come when they hear our new doorbell (see latest farm photos) ringing. This is a beautiful, big, bronze bell sculpted by talented young artist, Harry Gold who also did our fish hinges on the hobbit door and who painted a gorgeous mural in the potting shed (no photos on website, yet - sorry).

So, back to the ducks. Every day David made the bell gong, shook his can of feed, threw out the feed and after about a week...they got it! Yesterday, as soon as he gonged the bell, the whole band of roving fowl lifted their heads in unison and their webbed feet (except for the turkeys) started marching in a beeline for the bell. So, when you come to our house and ring our doorbell, expect to be greeted by a band of hungry, quacking ducks, et al. Oh yes, the Hens laid thirteen eggs on Thursday and ten on Friday.

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2004-01-01T14:51:00.000-05:00

Eight eggs on Wednesday. They, the hens, really laid more eggs, but I have to reveal the darker side of chickens to those of you unfamiliar with farm ways: often they will break and eat one or more of their own eggs. Yesterday, I think they might have nabbed two, because when I collected eggs in the afternoon, one of the nesting boxes was pretty messy with the sticky residue of raw egg innards. Some days I go out three or four times in hopes of getting the eggs before the hens start pecking at them. And some days I succeed...but some days I don't. It's sort of the great story of being a human played out between the hens and me. The sun is shining brilliantly, the sky is lovely blue with puffy cumulus clouds floating about. It's the first day of the new year. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!!!

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2003-12-30T09:35:00.000-05:00

10 eggs on Sunday, 13 eggs on Monday, 11 eggs today. We are living in mud city here - the huge dump trucks transporting the clay that the excavator is digging out of the future pond are wreaking havoc with our driveway and roads. The muck is deep and very mucky. It would be wonderful to have full-time frozen dirt until these trucks can move on. Come on Jack Frost. Hang in there, I know you can do it! How about some lovely piles of snow flakes, too?

The Almost Daily Egg Report

2003-12-28T11:22:00.000-05:00

What a relief - the girls are back on schedule and they have given me an even dozen each of the last two days. Today is cold - 10 degrees- and clear. The sun is beginning to shine over the tall row of evergreen trees on the eastern edge of our field. Looks like it is going to be another beautiful day, thanks to the Powers that be.

Egg Report

2003-12-26T12:06:00.000-05:00

Today, St. Stephen's Day, is much colder, rather blustery and some snow was flurrying earlier while I was doing my animal chores. The warmer weather of Christmas Day did not encourage the hens to lay more eggs. Au contraire, most of them seemed to take the day totally off, as by dusk I had gathered only six eggs total. They, the hens, must have tapped into the collective unconscious of thousands of relaxing humans and decided to do likewise. The ducks and goose were slipping with their webbed feet on the lightly snow-covered ice of the puddles they were splashing in yesterday. The sheep will be happier today as they will get more hay.

Christmas Day Farm & Egg Report

2003-12-25T11:05:00.000-05:00

The ducks are thrilled to be able to drill their bills into the soft earth and to splash and wash in the puddles this morning. The chickens are all out happily picking and pecking about in their muddy yard. The sheep are bleating for more hay, but they don't really need it because it is so mild....like a late March day. The farmer would prefer that all that snow that swirled down upon us earlier in the month still be here. But such is the fickle finger of Lady Weather. My fine hens laid a baker's dozen of eggs for me yesterday. Maybe this warm air will spur them on to laying even more today.

On Christmas Eve, we had a lovely visit at Mary Ellen & Ron's annual open house. Great Eats!! Perhaps the best fish chowder I've ever had (guess I didn't try it last year). Ron's secret ingredient is ...dulse (oops! don't tell anyone you read it here.) MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Egg Report

2003-12-21T09:43:00.000-05:00

This is my first farm blog report! My lovely collection of 19 ornamental hens and one rooster are laying a dozen eggs for me most days. Usually I sell 3-5 dozen to friends here in Freeport. This week I'll be giving fresh organic eggs for Christmas to various friends and family.

New Elm Farm

CSA 2010

Spring greetings

ZemYa House Concert! - rescheduled!

ZemYa House Concert!

Happy New Year Thoughts for 2008

Merry Christmas!

Spring, splendid Spring

October News

flowers in June

Turtle!

Rain*La Pluie*Der Regen

In Memoriam

Sheep Escape!

swimming turkey

HAPPY VERNAL EQUINOX

Weather Forecast for 2006

Summer in Winter

cloe

Happy New Year Egg Report

Tom the Turkey Adventure Tale

Biodynamic Agriculture

The Almost Semi-Annual Egg Report

Farm News Flash

The Almost Quarterly Egg Report

The Almost Quarterly Egg Report

The Almost Monthly Egg Report

The Almost Monthly Egg Report

The Almost Weekly Egg Report

The Day After

The Almost Weekly Egg Report

The Almost Weekly Egg Report

The Almost Weekly Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

The Almost Daily Egg Report

Egg Report

Christmas Day Farm & Egg Report

Egg Report

RainLa PluieDer Regen