In a world that’s been anything but peaceful for the last year, it’s nice to sit back and simply enjoy the peace and quiet of winter here in New England. Even if it is starting to make us a bit stir crazy. February seems to be starting out to be more cold and snowier than December and January were! I closed the shop due to large snowstorms once in December, opened late one … [Read more...]
Smudging with Sage & Other Herbs
“Smudging” is an ancient spiritual ritual used by some Native American tribes and other cultures around the world. The practice of sage smudging – the burning of herbs to purify and bless people and places - is believed to improve your well-being and can provide other benefits as well. It is now not only used by indigenous peoples but has become a New Age custom as … [Read more...]
A New Farm Venture – Hatching Eggs in the Winter
After a rough spring and fall in 2020, with many flock losses due to predators, we were feeling a bit discouraged on the farm. Egg production was way down, and we couldn’t keep up with demand from our regular customers. We decided to stop selling eggs at the farm, and I even had to go to other farms so I could have eggs to sell in my shop! It was too late to hatch more eggs … [Read more...]
Let it Snow! – Benefits of Snow on a Small Farm
The Benefits of Snow on the Farm Even though I’m not a winter enthusiast, it’s always been my thought that if it’s going to be cold, it might as well snow too. Snow is so much prettier than a drab brown and gray landscape! However, beauty aside, there are far more important reasons that snow can be a true benefit on the farm. Benefits for the Birds Neither the chickens … [Read more...]
Merry Christmas from the Farm!
It's been crazy busy at the store, which is such a good thing; but I think I'll be ready for a break when Christmas is over! I have lots to catch up on; and hope to get back on a regular blogging schedule in the new year. Meanwhile, I did find some time to make a Christmas card in-between shop customers at least. We wish you all the best for Christmas and New Year's, … [Read more...]
Flock Dynamics – Guinea Fowl & Chickens
Life with Guinea Hens - Part 8 We are continuing our series about life with guinea hens that was started on Wag 'n Woof Pets in the Summer of 2018. Just search "life with guinea hens" in our sidebar if you'd like to read any previous stories! Flock Dynamics - Guinea Fowl & Chickens You can read all the books and websites you want before raising poultry, but you’ll learn … [Read more...]
We’re Back!
It took a bit longer than anticipated, but we are finally back! I did enjoy the break, and it made it easier for me to focus on getting my shop ready for Christmas shopping season, which has started out well! It's been keeping me quite busy, but Luke and I wanted to get a quick post up to say hello to those who have hopefully missed us! I have lots of farm stories to tell, … [Read more...]
Moving On
As much as it is sad to see the end of summer and then harvest season, there is something satisfying to me about putting the gardens to bed for the winter. After a slow day at my shop, the physical labor in the garden was just what I needed on that Sunday after work. It was a comfortable autumn evening, and my hubby came down to help me pull up plants, tomato cages, and bean … [Read more...]
A Crisis of Faith
Our angel Labrador retriever mix, Maggie, was only my second dog. My hubby had dogs growing up, but I never had any until after marrying him and building our own home in NH. We had lost our first dog, Shelby, at only 6 years old from lymphoma. We got Maggie as a puppy in 1999 just a few months after Shelby’s loss. It was especially fun since my sister and her hubby also got a … [Read more...]
Back So Soon?
I barely had my “Taking a Break” post published before I had my answer to my quandary of where to go with the blog. Even by the time I posted that, I had a good idea of what direction I would be heading. However, I still thought it would be prudent to take some time off to see how I really felt. I couldn’t break away from blogging completely….I was still visiting other blogs … [Read more...]
Taking a Break
As our 8th blogiversary passed quietly, along with our angel beagle Cricket’s birthday, I’d been feeling blue without really knowing why. I had a busy week at my shop that week, end of the month means vendor payouts and I was moving things around, adding more display fixtures and products. Getting a blog post written was an afterthought, and I was feeling uninspired. Soon … [Read more...]
Farm Mystery
One of our pullets (young hens), from our hatch of 4 back in early July, has created a mystery for us! This beautiful young girl (we hope she's a girl!) reminds me so much of one of our older hens, Anne. I wrote about Miss Anne back in the spring. In that post I stated both that Anne's eggs were different in shape than others, and also that I did not think she was mating with … [Read more...]
Wanderers
I've always loved this saying, especially back in the day when we went hiking a lot. These days, while we stick close to home, Luke and I (or Luke and the Dadz) are often wanderers. We both let Luke mostly choose where he wants to go when we're out on our walks. Some days Luke sticks closer to the trails, other days he likes to follow his nose through the woods. On my day … [Read more...]
Small Farm Scenes
The one thing I will miss the most with summer ending is the evenings spent out on our deck simply watching our birds enjoying their free ranging. We've already had some evenings that were too chilly or rainy for sitting out, but there will still be plenty more to enjoy. The colors in our gardens are slowly fading but they are not giving up yet. As you can see in the … [Read more...]
Farm to Table – Kale BLT Pasta Salad Recipe
This is such a great summer harvest recipe, but I've gotta tell ya - it does not feel like summer here right now, our weather has plunged into autumn quite suddenly! However, it's still harvest time for the veggies, and this is one of my favorite recipes for using fresh kale and cherry tomatoes from the garden. I shared our other, Baked Eggs with Kale & Cherry Tomatoes, … [Read more...]
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