Day 14

We had a good day today! Beautiful weather. We're supposed to be getting rain tomorrow. Hope it comes through!

We harvested some asparagus today. It froze overnight Wed, so most of what HAD been up was lost. But, we still got a couple pounds of it.

Planted 500 strawberry plants. "Bare roots" she called them. Just a little bit of plant (a couple inches, maybe) and 6"-8" of root. They might produce some berries this year, but the CSA members that pay extra for strawberries will be getting them from another local farm. Next year, her plants will be able to fill the CSA requests.

One of the baby calves has been eating dandelion flowers! (They only have lower teeth right now!) And one of the others is trying to lap milk up from the top of a bucket (rather than sucking it from a nipple). My, don't they grow up fast!

We also built two composting toilets for the outhouse (used for pizza nights). It's a regular toilet seat, but it sits on a plywood cube. Inside the cube is a 5 gallon bucket with sawdust in it. After you make your "deposit" you sprinkle more sawdust (from a bin also in the outhouse) over the top and you're done. When it's full WE will dump it into a special compost bin. The temperature is monitored (that's what makes it safe to use eventually) as it composts over a 2-year period. Then it can be used in gardens. The outhouse will not smell as bad as the port-a-potty she had last year, because everything is covered with the odor-absorbing sawdust, and it's emptied more frequently. And, no chemicals.

Oh, and I also got to use a "Flame Weeder"... a snazzy contraption that's hooked up to a small propane tank and rolls over the weeds. Actually burns them away! How fun is that, barbecuing dandelions!?!?!

Day 13

Well, I guess I missed a day of blogging yesterday. Between "Lost" and Nora Roberts, it was bound to happen sooner or later!

Monday and Tuesday Heather was at a conference, and I was pretty much on my own. I had a list of pretty self-explanatory to-do items and I kept busy. There is lots of organizing, cleaning and straightening of things to be done to get ready for the Pizza Nights and when the CSA's start in June.

We're still planting things, too, of course. It was potatoes the other day with her Dad. Heather had "potato beetles" last year so she wants to make sure that is completely eradicated before she tries again. We put in more onions (these she calls "storage" onions--they'll keep for several months once they're harvested) and some strawberries and asparagus were delivered the other day, so they'll need to go in soon.

We had thought about a trip to Eau Claire tomorrow to pick up a new prep table for the pizza kitchen, but now they're talking about rain on Friday, so that might be a better day. I know she wants to get more stuff in the ground in case it really does rain.

Day 11

There are new faces on the farm today. Three baby (3 or 4 days old!) calves arrived last night. Less than a week old and they are bigger and stronger than my dogs! They like to head-butt you around, I think to see if you're hiding any food, or anything. Buddy, the farm dog loves them, but I'm not sure my Max would. But, who knows?!? I also helped plant potatoes today, and put some primer on 2' x 2' boards for road-side signs. I kept an eye on the temperature in the hoop house, and started making curtains for my room I'll be moving into in a few days.

Day 9 - Earth Day!

Today was beautiful! Just a little cool, but sunny and only a light breeze.

Of course, we did lots of other stuff too, but I think our biggest project today was mucking out one of the younger hens' room in the barn. The first task was to get the girls outside. Yes, we herded chickens. Not pretty. But, that might have been the most enjoyable portion of the task. Smelly, heavy, packed-to-the-floor straw had to be shoveled up and taken (up hill, of course) to the area by the hoop house to be layered with all the dying spinach we've been pulling. Will make a great compost pile. Then she pressure washed the whole room, ceiling to floor. So, that made us smelly, dirty and wet! The girls will be spending the night outside tonight (a first, I think) so the room can dry thoroughly. Tomorrow, we will put down a light layer of barn lime (whatever the heck that is!) to absorb moisture and supposedly neutralize the ammonia smells, then pine shavings as bedding. Then, back in the girls go!

They better appreciate it! ;-)

Day 8

Another beautiful day of planting! Lettuce mix, arugula, 2 kinds of radishes, carrots, zinnias, cosmos, etc., etc. I can't wait to see and taste all of this!

Day 7

I feel like I got a little workout today! Brought 13 flats of germinating seeds to the hoop house. We pulled more spinach that is going to seed, to make room for peppers that were planted on Feb 15, and have been under the grow-lights since then. We hauled wheelbarrows full of composted manure into the hoop house, and laid landscaping fabric. We planted 195 pepper plants. We moved some gravel around the pizza area and got more sand in the new sand box. We planted 166 watermelon seeds.

That sounds like a lot, huh?

Day 6

After a weekend home, I'm back on the farm! Even missing just a couple days, the trees in the valley seem to have exploded with green. As I look out at the rolling hills, what used to be the plain brownish-grayish trees surrounding me is now a soft, vibrant green. What a beautiful backdrop for the dark, rich dirt and the little sprouts fighting their way to the sun!

Day 4

Today, it was a little difficult to get out of bed! I suspect tomorrow will be a little worse.... I spent a lot of time laying straw over newly seeded dirt in an attempt to keep it from drying out. It was very windy, too, so I had to bend over quite a bit to get the straw in the right place without blowin away.

I also learned the difference between straw and hay. Not something normally taught in suburban public schools!

We talked a lot about chickens, too, and I find it amazing all the things I DON'T know. I think, we've only scratched the tip of that iceberg!

But, the seeds we planted on my first day here have started to germinate already! The circle of life has begun!

Day 3

More onions... Another 30 lbs, but RED this time! And more painting. Finished the trim boards and painted the floor of the pizza kitchen.

Collected 23 eggs from the chickens, and only got rained on a little. I'm sure all those onions would have liked more rain...hopefully tomorrow.

There are a few more projects to finish up before the wood-fired pizza nights start in May. Can't wait for that, too!

Then, the CSA's start and the other 2 interns arrive in June.

My back is sore today, and will be going to be VERY shortly!

Day 2 - April 13, 2010

Today is Day 2 of my farm internship! I'm having a blast and have already learned a lot.

Yesterday, I learned the routine for morning chicken chores, and I did it myself today. Not exactly rocket science, I know, but there is an electric fence involved...

When I was out to check on the laying hens at about 7:30, they had only laid 2 eggs. I went back later this afternoon and there were 23 more eggs!

Weird thing about chickens: They love to eat the eggs. Not the shells, and they can't break them open themselves, but they love the raw egg. Isn't that some kind of cannibalism?!? By the way, the family's dog Buddy loves them too! These eggs are a lot tougher than commercial eggs, too. We were literally throwing them on the ground, and they weren't breaking. We had to go back in to the pen and stomp on them to get them to break.

We also planted 30 pounds of 1/2"-1" onion bulbs today (think largest size of dog food bags) and primed some of the pieces of woodwork trim that will go in the intern rooms, and loaded up a 4' x 8' "wagon" with firewood.

Phew!

What would you do with the money if you suddenly received:

$100? I think I would do something impractical with $100. Maybe I'd buy a new wine kit (although, once made, the wine comes out to about $3 a bottle, so I'm actually saving money, here, right? That's not so impractical!?!). Or, maybe I'd use it for a nice dinner out, or some fancy ingredients I can't justify buying otherwise. Or, a fun, new gadget for the kitchen. And, maybe I could get a great new pair of shoes....

$1,000? This one's harder. I could accomplish a lot more with this. I could take a chunk out of the balance on the truck loan. I could buy some new tires. Maybe get the exhaust manifold fixed on the Jeep through a friend of a friend. I could pay off some littler bills that keep me awake at night. I could get some more dental work done. I could get a new oven that understands what the 350º setting really means. Oooh! I could get a KitchenAid mixer with the pasta maker attachment!

I could really mail in some of the donation forms I get. American Cancer Society, American Humane Society, American Lung Association, American Diabetes Association, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Lance Armstrong Foundation, ASPCA, Last Hope.

I could not have to worry about the mortgage payment this month. I could not worry about only having 20 hours scheduled at work for the week. I could get the fence in the backyard fixed. I could rent a dumpster and purge the mentally toxic junk that has accumulated in my house and garage. I could set up some organizational systems to help our lives run smoother.

I could talk my husband into taking his motorcycle in somewhere to get it fixed, so he wouldn't have to take the time to do it himself. I could get the other bike fixed, and sell it. I could take him clothes shopping. And maybe I could get a great new pair of shoes....

$1,000,000? I'd give away a lot of it. My kids, my family, my friends. Something desperately-needed, or always-wanted, or really-just-fun-to-have.

I'd find some really great land: 20 acres or so, with running water or a pond, woods, open areas for huge gardens and space for animals. Then, I'd build an awesome B&B on it. Maybe a few little cabins in the woods, too. Greenhouses, commercial kitchen, space for hobbies. Build all of this with an eye toward sustainability and maintain-ability. (Is that a word???)

The rest I would save. Create an emergency fund. A contingency fund. A nest egg. Whatever you want to call it. I don't need to have so much money that I can spend without thinking, but I want to have enough so I can regularly save money for the things that will need to be purchased. And maybe I could get a really great new pair of shoes....

The Countdown Begins

Ok. The Going Away Party is over, successfully, I think! It was so good to see everyone and to chat the night away.

Now, I've got just over a week to get ready for the internship. I need mud boots, rain gear, bed linens.... The list goes on.

But, hey... Lists??? I can do lists! I have the List Gene. Thanks, Mom and Dad! I know that List Gene will serve me well, just as it always has!