Ranch Newsletter | May 2023

Originally sent to subscribers on May 31st, 2023

Farm Update

You know how I said May was going to be a busy month? It has been. But somehow, even though I KNEW it was going to be busy, I didn't fully comprehend that would mean my whole body would be sore almost every single day of May.

But June is here and the hardest part of gardening (prepping, planting, and mulching) is done. After moving about 10 yards of wood chips with a wheelbarrow, I gave up on woodchips and switched to straw for mulch. It's lighter, easier to move around, and spreads easier.

About mid May, my chickens all had their names changed, briefly, to Stew after they broke through a fence and got into one of the gardens. They destroyed several tomato and squash plants, dug up the green bean seeds, and ate all the leaves off my 40 pepper plants. But the following week I was able to replace all the plants that were destroyed, the peppers have started growing their leaves back, and the fence has been reinforced, so the chickens are mostly forgiven now.

Craig had to travel quite a bit for his job in May, but when he's been home, he's tirelessly worked on projects around the ranch. Repairing sprinkler lines, getting the field irrigation up and running, building me a trellis, building a chicken tractor, and so much more.

The trellis he built is for our new kiwi plants! Yes, kiwi! Craig found out that there is a variety of kiwi that grows in our zone. It's not the kind you find in the grocery store with the fuzzy outside. They're smaller, supposed to be sweeter, and have a smooth outside that is edible. And they grow on a vine - hence the trellis. 

June brings the starts of our CSA. I'm excited and a little nervous. I know we'll be ready and there isn't that much left to do to prep, but I've been so busy that it almost feels strange to have not much left to do. Part of me feels like I have to be forgetting a whole bunch of stuff I'm supposed to do, but really, it's just anticipation from having to wait and hoping the garden grows well this season. If you're part of our CSA, you can expect to receive one or two emails with all the details the week of June 11th.

In goat news... Honey is starting to develop her udder and seeing it has me both excited and nervous. Her due date is July 15th, so we have some time still, but it's starting to feel real. We're really going to have baby goats and I'm really going to be a rancher who has livestock that has babies. Eeek!

In chicken news... The two chicks from our first hatch attempt are doing well. We named them Peppermint and Chamomile. They're six weeks old and have lost almost all their cute baby fuzz and are fully feathered. It's always fun to see how the colors in their feathers develop as they grow up. Chamomile is a Swedish Flower and I believe a rooster, although I'm not 100% sure on that. There have been no attempts at crowing yet, so the verdict is still out. Peppermint is a mix of Copper Marans and Silver Laced Wyandotte.

We also hatched another batch of chicks in May. We started with 10 eggs, and were able to hatch 7 chicks. The last one to hatch had some trouble and I had to assist with the hatch, which is only recommended under very serious and very specific circumstances. In this case, the little one had made it partially out of the shell, but then didn't progress and ended up shrink wrapped inside by the membrane in the shell. It had trouble walking, so I made it a chick chair and put splits on it's legs. After two days, the chick was able to walk and is now happily running around with it's other six siblings. I'm so happy this batch was such a success. This is the last batch of chicks we are planning to hatch this year.

In soap news: There is a new art space in Huntsville and I may begin offering soap, lip balm, face mask, and lotion bar making classes. For the month of June I'll be working on some ideas. If I do move forward with these classes, they will begin sometime in July, so stay tuned!

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