I Love Herbs!

Herbs!  I enjoy using them in my cooking, especially when they are fresh.  I enjoy smelling them, and now that I have a sunny location with great soil, I enjoy growing them!  I actually don't know much about using them, other than in my cooking, but that is one of those things I'd like to learn....I'd like to study some medicinal uses.

Last year, when we were building beds around the house, I envisioned this location, just off the corner of the porch, for herbs.

May 2013

 It is coming along very nicely!

June 2014

One Saturday in early-July 2013, Will, Grace and I traversed up route 90 to visit several yard sales.

A small, family fruit and veggie stand we happened upon had perennials and herbs for sale....dirt cheap!

Now, they looked pretty pathetic, clearly needing more space and water than the tiny plastic pots could provide.

I wasn't even sure they'd make it a week, but I decided it was worth a few bucks to find out.

Much to my surprise, most of them did!  As of today, I'd say they look really healthy!

















We've been mulching this week, which dresses it up a bit.

So far, I have a few "non-herb" perennials, plus thyme, lavender, rosemary, basil, oregano, chives and 3 types of mint in my little garden. Some are too small to use, yet, but I have been using the thyme and the mint.

Have you ever heard of meadow tea?  It's a "Lancaster County" specialty.   Basically, it is iced tea made with fresh mint and sugar.  There's no real recipe - it's uniquely made by each of my Lancaster County friends!  I chose 3 types of mint to grow so I could "jazz up" my meadow tea this summer.  Tasty and refreshing on a hot day....if we ever get one of those this year in CNY!

Last summer, my friend, Cathy, gave me a bunch of plants that she had separated from her beds - most of them came back for me as well, despite the hard winter.  I love the iris blooms!

Well, so far so good with the veggie garden.... All the plants have made it through the first 10 days!   We added a row of sweet potatoes.....  Here's hoping for a great growing season in CNY.

We'll be making more improvements to Westbrook Farm as we head into summer, so stay tuned!

The Story Behind Our New Addition....

Story time!

Some of you probably know that we have a new canine in our family.

Tig, 8 weeks old, May 26, 2014

"Why on earth would you do that?  Don't you already have 2 dogs?"

Why, yes, we do.  Ginger and Mac.  Ages 10 and almost 4. Both yellow labs.  They are super!

"The new pup looks different."

Yup.  Let me explain......

About 4 years ago, I met a woman, a fellow horsewoman, from whom I was considering buying a horse.  She always had with her this sweet, very attentive, fiercely loyal,  white with gray-black speckles (called "merle") dog with the softest fur.  All the young woman had to do was give a quiet voice command or hand signal and the dog knew exactly what to do.  And she was so athletic!  I was impressed. Very impressed.
"What kind of dog is that?" I asked.
"An Australian Shepherd", she replied.  "She's 5 years old. Been my best dog.  Travels everywhere with me, and I rarely need a leash."



At the time, I had recently lost my German shepherd and wasn't even thinking we'd adopt another dog anytime soon, so I cataloged this information in my brain for future reference.  A few months later, Don chose Mac as his new hunting partner, and I totally forgot about that Aussie shepherd.

Then, we moved to New York and met this great family with whom we shared much in common:  homeschooling, our faith, horse ownership, a passion for animals.  They had this sweet, petite, tri-colored dog, named Daly.  When her owner shared, "She's an Aussie shepherd!",  the memory of that horsewoman's dog came back to me. This pup was colored totally differently, but I could see all the other traits.

Shortly after this, through the recommendation of these new friends, we had our new equine dentist out to the farm for the first time.  Guess what she had with her??

Not Rozy.  Just a nice free image from the web.

An Aussie Shepherd!!  In fact, her dog looked very much like the first one I'd met.  AND, she was the mama of our new friends' young dog!  Well, I fell in love with Rozy on that first visit  and still look forward to each time the horses need their teeth floated, although I'm quite sure Lexie and LJ don't!



What I appreciate about Rozy is also what makes her quite different from the labs.  Don't get me wrong - I adore the nature of labrador retrievers - But, this dog, though quite friendly, is much more reserved. I like how she gives people space.  She is always very attentive to her owner, staying within a few feet and watching her most of the time, but she also knows when to move away from the horses.  Her intelligence was obvious in that first meeting.  Her owner barely said anything, the dog was so attuned to her body language.  Brianne, who clearly loves to talk about her terrific dog, shared everything she could with me about this breed, and her experiences with Rozy.  And, she told me what a great travel partner Rozy is because of her petite size and cleanliness, as well as her nature.  At just 45 pounds, she is half the size of my labs!

I told Don when he picked Mac (obviously the biggest pup in the litter!), I want a smaller dog next time!

That did it.  Now I wanted an Aussie of my own.  I did some more research on the breed and cataloged everything in my brain until the time was right.......

Then, Brianne sent me a  message in March:  Rozy is bred....her second and probably her last litter....was I still interested?

YES!!!!




I decided a male would be best for us, for Mac and Ginger.
He's named after the dog in my favorite cowboy movie, Open Range....."Tig".

I am hoping to do some things with him that I have not been able to do with my past dogs, like take an organized obedience class with others, try out dog agility, try some herding (he's already experimenting on our chickens!), as well as exploring more hiking trails here in CNY.

Puppy Love!! (Tig, 9 weeks old)

For now, though, we're working on basic obedience, lots of cuddling, adventures in the Westbrook Sugarbush, car rides, and visits to fun places, like TSC and the local farm market for rides in the shopping cart!

Aren't puppies fun?!  I will certainly be sharing more photos and puppy antics as Tig grows and matures over the next year - so keep following us at Westbrook Farm!

"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....