"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary....."

Finally!  We are out of danger of frost here in Central New York, though it has been a rather cool May.  I've been anxiously awaiting the planting of my garden. 






 It's been quite a few years since I've had a suitable location to grow anything, but I have such fond childhood memories of my many hours spent in the beautiful garden of a very special man - my Poppop Grimes. 




As the oldest grandchild by more than 5 years, I was blessed to spend many-a-long-weekend at my grandparents home where I had my own little garden tools and everything!

 
Poppop is well into his eighties today, still living in Southeastern Pennsylvania.  And he still gardens, though on a smaller scale, thanks to my aunt and uncle who own a small farm, too. 

See the large wood pile behind my children in this photo?  Well, that happens to be the sunniest, most level, and, ultimately, THE BEST location on our property for a family garden!  We used all, but a small amount, of this wood to heat our home this winter.  So the first order of business was...

early-April 2014

Splitting and moving the last of our wood.

late-April 2014

Then, William raked it up.

Using our composted horse manure from last year, we built up 5 mounded rows earlier this month.









Around here, you just don't put your veggies in until Memorial Day, at least,  which was a bummer for me because I had to have some minor surgery the day after, messing up my plans to dig in the dirt.  But, my family, knowing how badly I wanted to get my garden growing, decided to help me out with that....

 

We took a little field trip to a local garden center on Thursday and chose 3 varieties of tomatoes, 3 varieties of peppers, salad cukes and pickling cukes, onions, red lettuce, bush beans, and a couple of types of squash.  It's a good start!  If this year goes well, we'll expand and try some other things.  Unlike my husband, I am cautious in my own ventures, and like to start small!

The veggie garden is wonderful, and I am so grateful for my family's willingness to get it going while I am healing.  I will be thinking of my beloved Poppop and our cherished times harvesting veggies together, as I tend my own garden with my children this summer!

Next project:  Mulching.  We worked hard last summer to create some flowerbeds and my treasured little herb garden. (More about that next time...)  It's time to dress them up!

A note on the maple syrup:  While we've consumed quite a bit ourselves, (reaping the benefits of our hard work!), we've also been selling it steadily!  We've had folks from Canada and New Jersey, as well as New York, stop by for purchases.  While we are currently sold out of half gallons and almost out of pints, we have plenty of quarts and log cabin 1/2 pints, which are perfect for gift-giving! 

Stay in touch, and happy gardening, Friends....

"Why Chickens?"

As I mentioned before, we keep a small flock of chickens... so far, just for our own eggs and enjoyment. I love to watch them....just... be chickens! We began our colorful flock 5 years ago this month, with 12 hens.





                                   

"Why?".... some folks wonder. 

We enjoy keeping a variety of hardy breeds.

Is it more cost effective?  Healthier? More humane? Enviromentally-friendly?

Well, our justification for raising them and caring for them goes way back to our "dairy farming" days......well, actually, even farther - to our good ole agrarian roots!  Let me explain:


Way back in 2001-2005 Don and I had our own 60-cow dairy and farmed 90-some (rented) acres in Lancaster County, PA.  Because we have a heart for both agriculture and education, we opened our farm up for field trips for local school groups.  Every time we had a group come in, Don would ask, "Can anyone tell me where our food comes from?"  The inevitable answer, whether a kindergartner or 7th grader, was...."The grocery store!"  

His next question was, "How does it get there?"  To which the response was, generally, blank stares, or something like, "Trucks, I guess..." with a shrug of the shoulders.

Then, he would walk them all into the dairy barn and introduce them to our cows.

 

The fact that most of these children (and some of the adults) had never even thought about where their food came from....the countless hours and diligent care that farmers had put into raising their grain, dairy cows, beef steers, chickens, vegetables, etc.... dismayed us!

So, when we got out of the dairy business, we determined that our 4 children (then, just 7, 5, and 3) would always stay connected to their food source and their "inner-farmer".


We tried managing a garden, at least, but our lives in those first few years following our "dairy years" were... hectic, to say the least, with young children,  managing a horse-boarding stable, and Don working full-time.  Then, our next home was in the woods....no, really, folks....a log cabin on a rocky hillside surrounded by woods and a rocky slope - a garden wasn't even possible, so we got chickens.  Don built a nice little coop, we ordered a dozen chicks through the local feed store and the rest, as they say, is history!

We brought 10 hens and 2 roosters with us when we moved up here 18 months ago. (We're down to one rooster, now.)  We are raising more little chicks this spring, as well as having another homeschool family hatch out some of our fertilized eggs.  We plan to grow our flock to about 24, so we can sell our eggs to local customers, in addition to maple syrup.








We still believe, firmly, that it is so important, for children and adults alike, to stay connected to agriculture. To know where your food comes from and how it is grown. 

Heck!  Even to participate in its production on some level.





Here's my pitch:  Support the local farmers in your area - Buy locally grown products as much as possible!
I'm not here to bash big agriculture.... BUT , wouldn't you rather have access to the cows that produce your milk, the fields that produce your veggies, the orchards that produce your fruit, the family that raises your beef, chicken and eggs.  I would!  And, if their neighbors don't support them, those local farms won't last for much longer - the small family farm is dying in today's culture.
 

We are finally planting a garden this year, now that we have ideal soil and sunlight.   I'll share about that very soon.  I have high hopes, even though most of its care will be left up to me, "Black-thumb", while the actual farmer in the family is away at work!






Our future goals for our little farm, in addition to increasing our maple syrup production, include planting an apple and blueberry orchard on the south-facing hillside of our property (about 2 acres), and growing 1 acre of sweet corn in the relatively-flat field next to the house.  We'll need to build a little farm store of our own, at some point!

All these things take time....and money (Any investors or philanthropists out there? Give us a call, please!), so it may be a while before these things happen, however, we believe one can't move forward without a vision!

God has been so good to us, in so many ways.  No matter how it all plays out, we're enjoying it, and praising Him with each twist and turn of our current adventure.  For today,specifically, I praise HIM for the glorious sunshine and warm weather!

By the way, our pure maple syrup has been shipped to PA, DE, VA, and, even TX!  Send us an e-mail or facebook message if you want to have some shipped to you....