Another day of canning.  Got the pot of spaghetti sauce on right now.  Still have to get the farm entry for the county fair in, that is next on my list.  Have to do the home-school paper work as well.  Busy day and just found more tomatoes on the freezer...salsa anyone?  

Always waiting and always fighting

The world can be a rough place for a little farm like mine.  No one really seems to understand that farming is a choice and a sacrifice. Each day I awake up with an over whelming desire not to leave the safety and comfort of my bed.  Yet each day I pray my morning prayer, and rouse myself to the task.  Some days are lovely, others not so much. Some days I feel as though the world is against me and the farm.  Endlessly my little farm in the middle of no where is under constant fire.

This week I must deal with the NAEC, the  electric company in our area and their killing my Organic status.  I had a long talk the other day with a person I know who works for him.  I expressed to him how my heart was truly broken over this event.  I did not blame him, I just wanted to understand what happened.  At one point I expressed to him that if one of his workers had found a gold nugget on my right away if they would take it.  He said, no of course not, well my soil my plants and my trees are my gold.  That he understood.

My next conquest was with the Fish and wildlife people who explained to me that any animal found in the wild is under their charge.  I explained that my entire farm has animals found in the wild, my goats come Africa, my ducks from Mexico, etc . The nice man went on to explain that that they were only interested in quail at the moment.  I took a deep breath, expressing that my quail did not look like wild cortunix quail; I had been told in February of this year that as long as they did not look like the wild cortunix, we would be fine. So now I have to work on having cortunix quail re-qualified as farm animals. Their reason for the need for a permit was simple to them, they flat out told me that want access to peoples farms and that this was a way to do that, and also that  these birds could make the wild quail sick.  I asked him if he was kidding on the making the wild birds sick.  Any domestic bird could make any other bird sick, I agree with this, but than why do I not need a permit for pigeons?  Pigeons carry disease I expressed.  He explained that no one raised them for food or to sell.  REALLY!  I dropped it at this point, realizing that this is a man behind a desk who has most likely never seen a live bird.  I have to call back tomorrow and talk to the biologist in charge of this.

Some of you nice people might remember that just two years ago I was fighting them over the Muscovy ducks that they willy nilly added to the migratory bird list.  They banned them, and at a time when so many people relied on them for food.  Thank Goodness they came to their senses.  Now we can raise our muscovy ducks in peace.

The gardens are coming along, I am doing a ton of canning.  We are also still working on getting of grid, I hope to have our first solar panels here soon. Being a non-subsidized farm is not easy, but it is rewarding.
Love you all...Be Blessed

Fall is looming in the air and our choices are becoming clearer by the day.

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My Daughter has left our home, giving us some much needed space.  I turned that room into our new food storage and winter plant storage area.  I feel that this is a good change.

We have started drying off the Holstein cow, as we cannot afford to keep her. I tried very hard to sell her as she is a lovely cow, with great manors.  Sadly I could not find her a new home, so in a few weeks we will buy a new freezer and take her to be processed.  We are keeping the other cow that Moo, she is a Jersey cow, and much easier to care for than the Holstein.  We were blessed earlier this year when she gave us a sweet little red heifer.  The heifer we are keeping and have named her Ruth.  Moo, looks like she is bred again and I will get her checked soon.

Our Jacob and the Loughtan sheep are recouping loses of the spring and year and the babies look amazing.  Our family has decided to eat our Loughtan sheep ram, Joshua rainy day, as he is getting to be a handful and we know have a baby from Moses to replace him.  All the sweet little four horn babies that did make it are strong and healthy.  We are actively looking for new ewes and rams to add to our flock.  So if anyone knows anyone who has any please send them our way.

Goats, well…I am never happy with my goats.  I always have the wrong color, the wrong type, honestly sometimes I think I should just quite.  My adopted sister gave us a lovely buck, he is Alpine.  It is a lovely boy, right out of the box he breed our little alpine doe, sweet heart and gave us two little bucks.  We have had a rough year with the goats and this is the sum total of our work.  I do have other goats that are due any day now.  I think he is the daddy; our little spotted nubbin buck is more interested in the sheep than in the goats.  We have a nubbin ready to kid and maybe my hybrid Italian milk goats.

Our garden was not a total waste, but in no way is the blessing we had hoped for.  We did gather a lot of wild food, but you can never put up enough.  I am disappointed in my own efforts this year with both the garden and canning. Working full time has taken quite a toll on me emotionally and physically.  It is hard to get it all done and teach the children and manage any of the farm chores.  We still have winter stuff growing and tomatoes so I hope to feel more up to dealing with that stuff as the days pass.

The new kitchen will not be ready before winter, unless a miracle happens between now and then.  The money I was to use for it will now be used to buy hay feed and straw for the farm.  It saddens me, but there is nothing else I can do.  I will have to work a bit harder and come up with a new dishwasher somehow as it has become clear that this is a needed item.  Earlier in the season I thought I could have pulled it off and done the whole thing, but the cost of the plywood alone was more than I could manage.  So we will work on it as we can and pray for a better tomorrow.

Over all the farm is hanging on, and we continue to try to push forward in the face of it all. 

Grain prices are on the rise, food prices are on the rise and the world over all seems a bit sadder with the loss of so many farms in such a small span of time.  The loss of the farms goes by almost un-noticed as daily life lays its heavy toll upon us all.  Days seem to fly by and it will not be long until fall has stretched out her hand to paint the few living trees with her palette of bright colors.  For many farms this fall will turn into a winter from which there will be no return, and the long standing battle between corporate farms and small family farms may be at an end. 

Bitter in both the mouth and the belly is the thought that a country founded and based on farming has turned its back on those who for so many generations have placed the very food upon its table, from which it drew its strength.  We as a people have long ago passed through the plight of the dust bowl and depression, never thinking that it could happen again. Yet, today as farms dry up and the memories of that by gone time return too many farm families; it is with heavy heart that they wonder why they even do it.  Many like us feel unwanted in this age of automation and commercial farms.  Left to the road with no thank you, and no prospects of better times ahead, it is a sad and lonely road we follow, the last of a dying breed of hard working Americans, who have lost their place. Many people talk to me each day of the many green programs and expanding ideas on natural/organic foods, in the case of many small farms it is too little too late.   The small farm can in many cases no longer survive; there is no time for another new plan, no big idea to save them from their fate. 

On our farm as an example, it is quite improbable that I can pay $65.00 or more for a round bale of hay, not to mention feed for a cow or goat and then sell at the price of a corporate farm that can feed cheaper feed with no fear as they are protected by a government system who encourages the large corporate farm, all the while creating laws that a small farm could not in any way adhere to.  If I put three hundred dollars into feed, I cannot sell the goat for one hundred dollars; a two hundred dollar loss on a small farm is unthinkable, more than that it is impossible being too great of a lose to take on.  To make matters worse prices continue to rise and supply nowhere meets need.  There are days you can go down to the local gas station where you can see trucks lined up from other non-drought areas of the country selling hay at the most alarming prices and amounts, it is likely to buy hay this will you must commit to at least if not more than 40 bales.   I was told by one of our local farmers that the bales he bought were eighty five dollars and that he had to buy 40 to get such a low price…that means he spent 3400 dollars for two months’ worth of hay.  I was shocked to say the least.  In a normal year we pay thirty seven per bale, delivered.  In a normal year we would go through nearly 100 bales, this year we can only get around 30, at nearly one third less hay, we needed one third less animals.   So the selling began over a month ago, we sold off most of our chickens and non-food ducks, in hopes of staying some of the money towards hay. We have sold a few goats, I tried to sell a cow, but made little progress and now we are faced with keeping it till it calves and then most likely will need to sell it.  Breaks my heart as I saved a long time to have a second cow, but with the laws regarding selling of milk, she is of little value to us.  My husband talks about throwing a couple of bottle calves on her and having veal…maybe that is a good answer for us, right now I don’t know.  It is a hard path to go down, knowing that we may not have enough hay to get us through, but I have faith we will find a way.  So this is where we stand, much like other farmers on the cusp of failure…

Scaling down

We are scaling back the farm; due mainly to our issues with trying to get hay.  Right now most of what I make goes towards the feed bill.  The weather has been so dry very little has grown.  We have replanted most of the garden at least twice and even the wild plants are struggling to make it. 

Our Holstein milk cow Tov is for sale for $1000.  She is six years old, has been running with a Jersey bull and currently gives around 4 gallons a day.  She can be milked by hand or machine and accepts calves willingly.  She is very healthy and has had her shots.

We are also selling around 100 quail off or eating them, 20 Cayuga ducks, 10 Americana chickens, and 10 guiena’s (might eat these).  A Tennessee walking horse, broke to ride, a bit touchy around the head, could easily be used as a carriage horse.

Another lovely day here in Arkansas and so much time has passed since we all touched base.

School has become the endless challenge of many of my days.  I find it harder and harder to keep it all together, thank goodness for the summer and few classes.

 The younger children Elijah and Elisha are doing well in their studies.  Currently they are helping with the animals and raising baby frogs for their science journal.

 Dah’veed is studying world literature and psychology this week and continues to keep up with his lessons in animal science.

 My daughter Rachael, who is now attending college, struggles but I feel she could do better with a little more effort in her work, but I am sure all parents feel that way.

 My son Isaiah has moved out and started a new chapter of his life and pretty much excluded us from it.

              The onions we planted in February are almost grown and look so lovely with their white flowery tops and dark green leaves, dripping with morning dew. It has been a mild winter and our decision to plant early has really paid off.  Currently we have harvested lettuce, dandelions, mint, onions, lemon balm, sage and some wild greens.  We have tomatoes the size of your fist and peppers on our pepper plants.  Our Jerusalem artichokes are almost as tall as I am. Our asparagus and rhubarb are doing well too.  Our broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are fantastic. This year’s garden is so incredible that I have already harvested our first green beans, even before the peas…lol

              We have also planted potatoes, tansy, tarragon, basil, and a huge variety of corn, tomatoes, peppers of all colors and types and well more herbs.  There will be plenty this season to can dry and ship to others.

              We did lose our lovely doe and then two more.   Age does not play favorites and does not recognize love. We also lost our lovely Jacob ram Moses.  He is greatly missed.  We have watched the sheep ever so closely this year to see if we would have a son from him.  The first lambs were born, first an almost black male, the son of Joshua, not Moses.  Another ram is born, white, son of Joshua.  A yew is born, son of Joshua.  When we had all but lost hope a small spotted male was gifted to us by G-d and he is the son of Moses. 

              Moo cow blessed us with now Carmel colored calf whose name is Ruth, she is named after my husband’s mother.  What a little spit fire she is, jumping and playing in the fields, a true blessing!  So far no calf from Tov cow, but we will wait and see.  Our bull now two years old is looking plump and happy.  We still have wiggle cow, at least until I can find a good butcher, than hamburger for the freezer. 

              We have taken on a cart pulling mini-horse that we thought was a pony, lol and a Tennessee walking gelding in.  Steak sauce the little mini horse lives with the cows right now as we still have the stud colt and a baby from him would kill her, beyond a doubt.  Our colt is now the size of our full grown  old world Missouri fox trotter and he is such a stinker.  Too smart for his own good, and can often be found in the morning hours feasting on grass in my yard, unfenced, the little bugger. 

              The kitchen is coming along slowly, as the back roof has jumped ahead of it on our list; I still hope to cook in there this fall.  I have most of the parts, just need the time…

              We have purchased a milk pasteurizer, but I have to get a different cord for it.  Makes me mad, since I paid like 50 some bucks for it and it was sold in working order….but other than this small set back, but we will move forward and go on.

Be Blessed dear ones from all of the kids and critters here on Mahanaim Farm

Life on the farm, Febuary 1st 2012

It is a lovey day here in Arkansas and if I did not feel like I was dying, I am sure it would be even better, lol.

We have started planting today. I bought a few dozen onion starts yesterday and some seeds to start cabbage, as well as a growing tray with soil. It is also time to start the leeks, I have to look threw our seeds and see if I have any. I may try some cold weather peas, you never know in Arkansas if the weather will hold or not. So far we have had a week in the 50to 60's with pleasant nights staying far above freezing. the first of the strawberry plants have peeked their heads above the soil and are looking good. The Jerusalem artichokes are looking they are coming back too...Egyptian onions are still alive and the red onions are doing good and have survived the weather.

My oldest doe is leaving us, we have done our best to make her comfortable. Our oldest sheep, the founder of our farm Moses is also showing his age, poor dear. Our new babies are growing up fast and our little buckling Beastie is growing with leaps and bound and should be a good breeder for the heard latter this summer.

The sheep dogs are getting along well with the family. It seems as though the other dogs are adapting as well.

We have begun work on the new kitchen, with the main roof issue settled it has given us time to focus on the other projects around us, such as fixing the van ($611.00), replacing downed or unrepairable fences ($700+),  We are still in the market for one more Jacob  ewe, and last but not least buying or trading for the new kitchens, windows, door and floor.  We have priced out a floor made of recycled urethane.   It is 20 mills thick, linoleum and should last 20 years.  It is a designed to a be free floating floor, so that saves a lot of time on the install.  I only wished when I went to look at it, that i had realized that there is an order to redoing a building that has been gutted. 

When redoing a gutted building one must first do the roof, (done), than the windows, than insulation, electrical and plumbing, the wall and lastly the floor....ops.  So in this grand order I am so far from where I would really like to be.  I have bought some windows over this past week, all on clearance and the size and kind I wanted, so I am happy with having done that.  they are all triple paned glass with argon gas, vinyl windows.  I bought two for $88.00 each the same size to replace windows of the same size, very common ones.  a new one for above the sink that slides, so I can get it open on my own...lol  and one for the studio that is a lovely wooden framed window that opens out.  All have screens, a wonderful feature to have here in Arkansans.  So progress has been made, I am sure it will clean out my income tax return to do all that needs done here on the farm. 
 
Nothing else fantastic to report hear. Looking forward to hearing about your farms and what you are doing.
Be Blessed dear ones and know that I think of you all often.
Shekhinah, Michael and all the kids ans critters on Mahanaim Farm.