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June 13.2013 Derecho, Fungal Duff and the Great Turtle Migration

My apple trees have been struggling this year.  The chlorosis seems to have abated somewhat now that the weather has warmed a bit, but the cedar apple rust is horrific this year.  I’ve been so busy...

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6.15.2013 Deciphering Linear Bee

I paid a visit to my bees on Wednesday, (a few days ago, now.)  And I’ve been thinking about that visit for the last several days, trying to make sense of what I saw. First, honey stores have been...

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6.17.2013 Feed Sack Alert

Our rule for farm living is everything must have more than one function.  The horse, for example is both a lawn mower and a quadrupedal fertility generator.  The chickens are bipedal fertility...

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6.17.2013 Basil Attack

Yesterday, I harvested a bushel of basil.  Some of it was starting to bloom, but mostly, I cut that much because the basil was being pushy and crowding out my peppers.  We had some really fine pesto...

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6.21.2013 Wax Moths, Summer Dearth, Lettuce Worms and Broody Hens

It hasn’t been a great week.  More rain came early in the week and the farm was just about as soggy as I’ve ever seen it. Garden Problems:   With the soil waterlogged, I only managed to pull up the...

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6.26.2013 The Prickly Truth about Artichokes

When you’ve never grown artichokes before, knowing when to pick them becomes problematic.  And, if you happen to have grown your artichokes from seed, it’s even more difficult because seed grown...

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7.29.2013 Outwitting Thieving Crows and Hens

In the last month, my daily egg count has been steadily dropping.  I thought I had hit the regular summer slump, when the heat and the mites combine to stop egg production cold.  Then I started finding...

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7.4.2013 Garlic, Onions and Too Much Testosterone

Back on June 25, I harvested my garlic.  It never sent up scapes, the little curly sprouts that shoot up and make bulbils.  I kept waiting and waiting.  After last year’s tiny harvest I bought and read...

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7.10.2013 The Shade House

We really enjoyed the lettuce this spring.  It really was wonderful stuff.  But right when we were getting into a wonderful salad eating rhythm, the weather got hot for a few days and the lettuce...

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7.10.2013 Tomatofied

So.  The tomatoes came in.  My husband picked a half bushel on Friday.  I picked another half bushel on Monday and there’s another bushel sitting out there right now waiting to come inside. The cherry...

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7.13.2013 Straw Bale Gardening Update

Back on May 21st, I planted my ten straw bales.  Squash and melons. Seven and a half weeks later, there’s little good news to report.  And this is it:  2 of the 4 Ambrosia melons finally took off this...

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7.28.2013 Summer Doldrums

I’ve reached the summer slump.   We had a week of really hot and humid followed by a week of not so hot and not at all humid. I lost one hen to the heat, two have gone broody and the … Continue reading →

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7.30.2013 Full of Surprises

A friend came out for a visit today.  It was her first time out to my farm and I was a little nervous.  She’s a photographer and the garden is in that awkward and ugly transition from the much maligned...

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8.2.2013 The Bees in Early August

I just finished up a thorough inspection of my hives.  I am cautiously optimistic.  My captured swarm is a year old now and is by far the strongest of my hives.  There’s actually a little bit of honey...

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8.3.2013 Gimpy Ducks

My Khaki Campbell ducklings are now 4 and a half months old. They aren’t ducklings anymore.  The two males burst into their adult plumage a month ago.  One is khaki gray and one is khaki brown.  They...

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8.14.2013 Greenbeehives.com Small Hive Beetle Trap – Product Review

I confess, I was in a bit of a panic about my bees.  The Goldenrod has begun blooming and the bees should be filling up their larders, but they seem dispirited and incapable of filling out the corners....

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8.14.2013 Experimental Bee Sting Poultices

When I was installing the hive beetle traps the other day, I got stung by one of my bees.  She got me on the stomach, through my ventilated beesuit, as I was lifting the heaviest of my hives and using...

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8.14.2012 The Molt, already?!

On August 10th, I noticed a few scattered piles of feathers around the chicken yard.  The molt has begun.  This is almost two weeks before I noted the event last year. Early molt + early Goldenrod +...

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8.20.2013 The Biggest Hawk Ever

Today, I spent the morning canning the chickens we butchered this past weekend and then I had a little sit down on the porch.  It was a lovely fall-like afternoon and I was quietly contemplating my...

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8.28.2013 Chickens New and Old

Yesterday, my new laying flock arrived.  Well, in six months or so it will be my new laying flock.  There’s just something about a brooder full of fluffy, new born chicks.  They’re kind of like a seed...

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