Wednesday, January 1
Since last I wrote we have had another heavy snowstorm. The temperature has steadily declined every day until today which is minus 25. The prediction is that it will be minus thirty tomorrow. Martin and Amy and the kids came up on Monday and Martin has been helping me. He added valuable new insulation to the warming cabinet where the water system is.The hens had pecked it out during the summer when the door was open. I have tried a couple of times separating the calf overnight so I get more milk but mostly I am leaving the calf with his mother so I have less milking to do.
Tuesday morning I skipped milking completely since Elvis had drunk most of the milk.
This morning, Wednesday, I milked but I only got three quarters of a gallon. We are expecting the temperature to fall to minus thirty tomorrow morning and I expect to not milk tomorrow as today was very difficult. Despite the cold weather the animals are all doing fine although we are not getting very many eggs.
Last night, New Year’s Eve, Martin and Amy invited the family to their camp for a potluck supper. I brought baked beans, Marcia brought oven roasted potatoes with a spicy sauce and cupcakes. Amy made enchilada casserole and a green salad. Mitra made macaroni and cheese and cole slaw. Max was sick and didn’t come but sent an apple pie. Martin moved his little portable fireplace down onto the lake and made a jolly little fire in it and set a bench next to it. He was hoping the weather would permit him to take people on snow machine rides but it was too cold. He had made trails in the snow on the lake with a device that you pull behind a snow machine to make trails. The teenagers went down and enjoyed the fire for some time, and I went down also. The stars were brilliant, but it was about minus 25 so few lingered outside very long.
This morning dawned brilliantly sunny for new year’s. I needed twenty minutes to get together an outfit that I thought might enable me to survive the milking. The machine worked ok but I could hardly attach the hose it was so stiff. Martin arrived just as I was through milking and did all the other chores.
A neighbor who is downsizing brought me two Swedish Blue ducks, probably drakes.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Sally arrived back from Alaska on the 4th during a brief slot of good weather. Marcia picked her up in Portland and they did various errands on the way back. She has been very busy ever since she got here. The dishwasher had frozen up but the barn water system is a champ so far.
Today started with the discovery that the carriage house sliding door was frozen shut. We couldn’t get out without pouring water along the bottom edge to melt the ice. When Sally got to the barn about seven am she found the shocking sight of Fern with her head stuck in a bucket. I had given her a different bucket that she isn’t used to for her evening grain and she had gotten the bail handle over her poll so it was wedged on her head. She was so upset that she wouldn’t stop bellowing even after the bucket was off. Fortunately it obviously had not happened before she had gotten her evening drink as the water level had dropped. We had separated Elvis last nightand she gave over three gallons as a result. Once she settled down milking went fine. Sally killed a large rooster that she had caught last night after the birds were roosting. She brought a large new landing net from Alaska- new to us, anyhow. It has had a long and honorable history of catching roosters and even was once used to catch a wounded bald eagle. Her local raptor center was trying to capture it a few years ago and had not brought their own net so this one was used. It had to be cut off the eagle’s talons and as a result has a mend in it.
I went out with a letter that needed to go out this morning and discovered that the plow truck had knocked my beautiful new mailbox off its support, smashed it and left it in the snowbank. It continues to rain very hard for now but is expected to stop raining and freeze hard.
Please always fel free to efit…
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Ice on the driveway continues to be a daily challenge for getting to the barn. We now have more sand to spread thanks to Nancy. It continues sub-zero every night. Our current plan is to separate Elvis every night so we get over three gallons every morning. Elvis spends his day with Fern and he gets to nurse all day. Fern is getting about eight pounds of grain each day plus alfalfa cubes and all the hay she can eat.
Marcia’s son, my dear grandson Harper, recently received a shocking diagnosis of throat cancer. Yesterday he had surgery in Seattle. The doctor was not able to remove all the tumor because of its involvement with the carotid artery. When he is sufficiently recovered from the surgery he will be starting radiation and chemotherapy. Most of his family is with him right now, and Marcia will be visiting him soon.
Marcia’s daughter Abby Rose and her daughter Violet left today for their home in Venice Beach CA. It was so cold during her visit she wasn’t able to get outside very much.
It is supposed to rain tomorrow and we are looking forward to warmer temperatures.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Today it started raining sometime in the night which fell on frozen ground and trees so that everything was a sheet of ice this morning. I decided it was hopeless to get to the barn, looked at the scene with an expression of gloom. My ski pole wouldn’t even jab into the glassy surface. Sally walked ahead of me sprinkling sand and ashes. I crept along after her doing the penguin walk. We arrived safely having negotiated the last challenge which is the sloping ascent to the barn while dragging the sled with the milking equipment. At least it was a lot warmer. Everything was snug and quiet in the barn, and Fern gave her usual three and some gallons. Her behavior in the stanchion was not very ladylike, she never kicks but oh what a mess.
Sally has been helping the two new ducks build up their confidence. They are very a charming pair of Swedish Blue drakes, our neighbor Germaine gave them to us to make dinner out of but they are so personable that we are in no rush to part with them.
The power went out today for about four hours, but thank the Lord came on again just as the house was starting to feel really cold. The furnace requires electricity in order to turn on. The trip back to the barn for the short evening choretime was even worse than this morning. Son John is advocating that I get something with handlebars on the bark like a dogsled. He says that right now I am being the dog and I should get something where I could be the musher. He said “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to use an old-lady walker” but I didn’t think those things would stand up any better than I do.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
On Monday we were frozen in as badly as ever but Sally found that using hot water on the outside along with the sledge hammer broke it lose quickly. The trip to the barn was a big challenge to me. It took me about ten minutes to get there. Today was a repeat of yesterday only more challenging to get to the barn. Visitors today wouldn’t even get out of their cars because of the sheet of ice in the dooryard.
On Monday Sally and Marcia did errands in Farmington. Marcia brought home her little trailer that she has fixed up very charmingly. Sally bought new rainboots with very superior treads, and I have commissioned Max to pick up a pair for me, hoping I will do better on the ice. I borrowed Sally’s this evening and they seemed promising. While they were away I made Neufchatel with some of our tasty clabber. I also made a delicious soup out of the pot roast leftovers from Monday.
We let Fern out of the barn today despite the ice. There wasn’t much ice behind the barn and Sally spread hay and manure on the few places we thought she might slip.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Today for the first time in over a week the garage door was not frozen shut. The day was sunny and may have gotten up to 35. Very fine winter weather. Sally took Willie for a walk in the field and then started on the project of hauling manure from the sheep room to the garden. She likes to put it around the apple trees. I also took a brief walk around the garden as it was so sunny and warm.
Hoard’s Dairyman magazine had an article in their Jan. 7 issue about a lawsuit being brought against dairy farmers in Yakima, Washington. Environmental groups are targeting them for possible nitrogen pollution from manure spreading, claiming that “these people are destroying America”. I wrote a response which Hoard’s intends to publish advising the dairies to acquaint themselves with the Marin Carbon Project.
We separated Elvis as usual last night and then Sally let him out early at six am. She made sure he sucked from all four teats and got plenty of milk. Then she put him back in his stall until after I had milked. We did this because we were getting too far ahead on milk in the refrigerator. We have been getting over three gallons and this way we only got about a gallon and a half.
DDMarcia left on Wednesday. She has had some difficulties on her trip. Last night the wiring to the running and brake lights on her trailer failed, forcing her into the nearest motel which was a skanky place. She drove to Carlyle today where my granddaughter Helena’s husband Ryan fixed the wiring problem. She should be in northern Virginia tonight.
We had a delicious roast chicken last night and tonight we made the leftovers into yummy chicken salad. We also had fried apples with whipped cream.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Last night we had Martin, Amy and the kids here to dinner. We had brisket which turned out exceptionally well, root vegetables and salad. Sally made a wonderful rhubarb pie from rhubarb that Lester Averill gave me last summer.
The weather was very favorable again and Sally took more manure to the garden.
We are continuing with the policy of letting Elvis have an early morning feed so that we don’t have so much milk to contend with. Elvis is growing so fast and getting so fat that we are trying to figure out a better use for the excess milk, perhaps another calf or some piglets.
We are told that another polar vortex is coming and that our wonderful mild weather is coming to an end for now. In the meantime Sally and Willie got a fine walk around the fields, and saw tracks of fox and turkey. DS Max also reports seeing fox and turkey tracks at his house.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Today was cold, around zero. It was hard to be in the barn in the barn in the morning but no worse than previous cold spells and no worse than the 10 – state area. Martin hung a milkroom heater that blows hot air on me while milking that is quite helpful. I can reach out and put my fingers in front of it and that helps keep them from freezing. Our slightly tweaked management resulted in more milk this morning. We still let Elvis suck but shortened up his nursing period a little bit. He was drinking so much milk that he could hardly wobble. Fern let down better this morning too.
We kept the sheep in for convenience in sorting since today was the day that the two rams had an appointment with destiny. Max and Sally caught the two rams and it went very smoothly; thanks partly to preplanning and partly to Max’s calm demeanor. While he was here Max attempted to restore our kitchen plumbing problem. The outfall line is clogged in some way. He worked on it for an hour with the snake and was not able to free it. He said he would come back probably Thursday with a piece of PVC pipe to fix it.
Marcia is safely in Florida. She did not have any further troubles with her car and trailer.
It is my granddaughter Rosemary’s birthday today.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Cold weather continues relentlessly. It’s bright and clear and sunny though and I think we are getting used to it, or maybe we are assembling a better collection of gear. Sally made me a cute wool knit hat designed like a helmet with shoulder cape. It tucks into the back of my collar.
We are having plumbing problems in the kitchen and Max has come twice to try to help with it. He came again today and we also had a visit from Mark. I made baked beans and we had cornbread. Mark brought bread and warm waterproof gloves.
Sally’s been trying to introduce the ducks to the idea of going over and drinking from the sheeps’ water bucket during the day when the sheep are outside. It is warmed and would be much nicer for them, but so far they haven’t gotten going on the scheme.
Sally’s son Raphael and his wife Sally are going for a winter deer hunting trip today in Southeast Alaska. They have reserved a Park Service cabin and plan to stay for a week. It is out on one of the large islands, near Hoonah. Fortunately the weather seems to be clearing up so they have some hope of sunshine. It’s been raining a lot there lately.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
It’s still seriously cold. Yesterday it was about twelve below. We got a little new dry snow and it all blew around in a fierce wind. In between snow showers it’s brilliantly sunny so that’s cheerful. Sally and Willie had a nice walk yesterday during a brief intermission in the cold.
Yesterday we boiled several odds and ends from the freezer including half a pig’s head, a trotter, and two sheep hearts. We had been reorganizing the freezer and were also inspired by having found a cookbook I forgot I had, on making pates and galatines. Sally picked out all the meat and chopped it finely. We boiled down the stock to make a strong gelatine which I flavored with juniper berries and various herbs and seasonings. We set it in a mold with some chopped up olives that Marcia had cured, and poured the stock over it. It jellied firmly and sliced beautifully and we can hardly stop eating it.
Sally also made a pie out of my ricotta and a layer of strained, boiled blackberries and of course whipped cream. It was also very good.
We are finding many more eggs lately as the hens get back into business. Today we found a large nest of about a dozen, mostly all frozen of course as they had been sitting for a day or two. In this cold weather they need to be gathered regularly. The frozen ones we boil up and chop for the chickens.
Fern production continues to creep upward. Elvis has all he can drink and we still get a couple of gallons.
We gave Willie some of the pork bones as they do not splinter. He got a small piece of pig knuckle stuck across his lower jaw and was frantic, trying to get it loose. I shone a flashlight down his throat while Sally held his mouth open with a stick across it, and got the bone out using a table knife. He was very grateful.
Friday, January 31, 2014
At last a slight reprieve in the cold weather. It was above twenty and bright sun. For once I came in from milking without having to go straight to the fireplace to thaw my fingers.
With the recent butchering of the two rams I arranged to save the pelts with the wool on them for Sally. She laid them out today and cut off the fleece. She liked the wool a lot. It is crimpy and very soft. The staple is from two to four inches. She will now have a big job washing the wool. Some of the wool has burdock which will have to be cut out.
Nancy H. was here today helping for several hours. She vacuumed, washed the kitchen floor and cleaned the buttery. I feel like a new woman.
I got the word from my sister Barby she has bought a travel trailer and plans to pull it out here this summer from California. We are all so pleased.
Tuesday, February 04, 2014
After several days of moderately warmer weather it was cold again today, about minus twelve.
Harper is in the hospital for preparatory work that has to be done before his radiation and chemo. Mark explained a lot about the procedures for me today. He was here to take me for my shingles shot and flu shot.
I talked to Marcia on the phone. She has started a new painting and has commissions for two more. Sounds like she is actively enjoying her friends at dinners and watching the horses. She says she is keeping warm in her trailer.
We are doing our best to stay warm here. It seems like a fulltime job sometimes.
Sally made a pie today with rhubarb that Marcia froze this summer. She added some sauce from elderberries I grew and froze, and made the crust (as always) with lard that we made from Max and Mitra’s pigs. It was very successful. 
We are trying to evolve a better management plan that doesn’t involve the sheep spending any time with the cows as they get into the hay ring and mess up the hay. Also Agnes got stuck very badly yesterday and it worried us as she is pregnant. She got stuck halfway out of the ring and Sally had to push her back in and help her find a better way out.
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
Heavy snow began falling at dawn and kept falling all day. At dusk we estimated about eight new inches. Willie and the sheep seemed lost in it. He was helping to herd them. Total accumulation is over the bulkhead and about up to the kitchen window.
Our recent change in sheep management is working well. Sally has to go out with them every morning to take them to their paddock where they spend the day. They have a run-in under the buttery and have a hay drop. It’s fun to walk them around.
Yesterday and today we made liver pate. Sally used a wonderful recipe with lamb liver, ham and bacon and chipotle peppers. The resulting loaf did not hold together when baked; it just turned into a little pile of chopped liver- delicious through. Today when it was chilled she put it into the Cuisinart with a lot of melted butter where it became creamy and emulsified. It is ravishingly spicy and delicious.
I heard from Harper today. He has had two laser radiation treatments and was to get and is doing well.
Sunday, February 09, 2014
Following the snowstorm it turned cold again. Every day has been clear and bright, but about zero to fifteen below every morning. It warms up into the twenties during the day.
Our egg production is creeping up. We got about eighteen today. I called Red Hill to see if she wants to sell them now.
We are getting a couple of gallons of milk every day, beyond what Elvis gets. He is getting very big, he’s a beautiful blackish color and has learned to walk into his pen every night to be closed up.
DIL Mitra’s cousin Emiliano who is staying with them was having a wonderful time on the ski team but has now broken a bone in his foot and is sadly sidelined. We hope he mends fast.
We are enjoying some new books that Sally ordered from Chelsea Green. She especially likes Harvey Ussery’s “The Small Scale Poultry Grower”. It has a valuable forward by Joel Salatin.
For dinner today we had a delicious dinner consisting entirely of strawberry shortcake. I froze the strawberries this summer, Sally made the biscuits with almond flour, and of course Fern provided the whipped cream.
Sally’s daughter Rose is in Seattle now doing a scuba dive class. She hopes to see her cousin Harper.
Monday, February 10, 2014
We woke up to about ten above this morning with about an inch of new snow. Later on we got a very fierce wind and it was hard to keep the house warm. Besides, we are still suffering woefully from a nasty cold that invaded our premises. We are relying on our cedar tea which is highly efficacious but we are still only operating at half- speed and not getting much done.
Marcia reports that she is getting up early every morning to work on her art. She has two paintings going simultaneously. She has set up a screen tent so she can work outside in natural light.
Sally’s son Gabriel who lives in Kazakhstan and teaches at the University in Astana says that it is true that the President wants to change the name from Kazakhstan to something else. He reminds us that when the Soviet Union owned countries around there they were all called names ending in “-SSR” and it hasn’t actually been Kazakhstan all that long.
Despite the forbidding weather, the hens are laying like crazy. We are getting close to two dozen eggs a day. I made a fresh batch of peanut butter but that was about the extent of my creative efforts today, other than a fine noodle dish for dinner. Sally took two naps which is unprecedented.
Friday, February 14, 2014 Valentine’s Day
We are digging out from the big snowstorm that has coated the East Coast but we did not suffer any damage. In fact it was kind of nice as it warmed up so much. Today it got to about 25 but there was a big wind most of the day.
Max took us shopping on Wednesday into Rumford. We went to Hannaford supermarket and Red Hill health food store. Things are pretty quiet in Rumford. I think there must be quite a bit of unemployment. There have been more layoffs at the paper mill.
My son John called from Tasmania this evening. He is visiting his sons Jack and Tommy’s property there. He had been attending scientific meetings in Hobart and drove up to where their property is. John says it is beautiful, mostly in eucalyptus trees.
We made some nice little strawberry parfaits for Valentine’s Day. They had a layer of strawberries, another of vanilla pudding and a top layer of whipped cream.
Monday, February 24, 2014
The last three days the garage door has been frozen shut. Every morning I hear Sally beating it with a sledge hammer. Of course this means it was warm and melty during the day which was nice. The problem is that water to drip later and freeze against the bottom of the door in its runnel. Salt seems to have little effect. Teakettles of boiling water eventually free it up.
Martin came yesterday and brought some wonderful flour from a new gristmill in Skowhegan. It is called “Maine Grains”, grinding Maine grown wheat, and is ground at the Somerset Grist Mill. The flour was very fine and silky feeling and made a delicious nearly whole wheat crust for a vegetable pie. Soon we will try bread; we’re looking forward to it.
We are instituting a new protocol for the calf in the mornings. He is getting too huge and bumptious as always happens with calves, and it is getting hard for Sally to get him to stop sucking and go back into his pen. So we decided to have him drink warmed up milk in a bucket in the mornings for his first breakfast. He still gets his Mom after I milk and is with her all day. He took to his first bucket of milk very well.
The piano tuner came today. My piano is a Yamaha built in 1995 in Japan.
I have had an article accepted by Wise Traditions. It is based on my November talk in Atlanta.
Saturday March 1
Sally and I were hoping that the weather would be warmer. Saturday was the coldest day of the year so far at -20°, but the temperature rose as the day went on, and our spirits with it. It stayed milder through Sunday which cheered us. Sally went for a walk with Willy around her field. His legs sink in because they are so short. We’ve been collecting eggs three times a day, but half are still frozen.
We have a new system now with our calf Elvis. Sally takes him warm milk in the morning. He is getting so big and strong that she couldn’t pull him away from Fern. She gives him his milk separately early in the morning before I go off to milk. Then he spends the rest of the day with his mom. He is getting enormous.
We were trying to feed the chickens WOB (wheat-oats-barley) from Canada. It is a non-GM feed that we were giving combined clabber, but the chickens were not happy with that, so we had to go back to serving the high-grade pellets from Whitewater Farm.
DS Martin James came up on Saturday and stayed over at camp, and took trash to the dump. It took a long time, because it was not sorted well. He is particular regarding the sorting, so I’m going to have to learn how to do it better. We are getting to 3 gallons a day of milk, which is probably two thirds of Fern’s’ production.
The sheep are getting very wide. All four ewes look like balls of yarn propped up on twigs. We’ll have lambs by the end of March.
Monday March 3rd 2014. Sally and I were hoping that the weather would be warmer. Saturday was the coldest day of the year so far at -20°, but the temperature rose as the day went on, and our spirits with it. It stayed milder through Sunday which cheered us. Sally went for a walk with Willy around her field. His legs sink in because they are so short. We’ve been collecting eggs three times a day, I but half are still frozen.
We have a new system now with our calf Elvis. Sally takes him warm milk in the morning. He is getting so big and strong that she couldn’t pull him away from Fern. She gives him his milk separately early in the morning before I go off to milk. Then he spends the rest of the day with his mom. He is getting enormous.
We were trying to feed the chickens WOB (wheat-oats-barley) from Canada. It is a non-GM feed that we were giving combined clabber, but the chickens were not happy with that, so we had to go back to serving the high-grade pellets from Whitewater Farm.
DS Martin James came up on Saturday and stayed over at camp, and took trash to the dump. It took a long time, because it was not sorted well. He is particular regarding the sorting, so I’m going to have to learn how to do it better. We are getting to 3 gallons a day of milk, which is probably two thirds of Fern’s’ production.
Martin also brought us two large pickerel, which contrary to conventional wisdom, were very tasty (one for us and one for the chickens, roasted and cut into squares, and no bonier than any other fish):
The sheep are getting very wide. All four ewes look like balls of yarn propped up on twigs. We’ll have lambs by the end of March.
Friday March 7th 2014. I got started a little late this morning milking Fern, and she let me know it. When I walked past the barn I could hear her bellowing. It’s been so cold every morning, like 17° below zero this morning while milking. Sometimes she swishes with her tail and lets drop; this is her way of making a negative comment. The floor is so cold, it freezes on before I can scrape it away. We’re all looking forward to a thaw when I can do a big cleanup. Fern’s milk production is keeping up pretty well though, we get about 3 gallons every morning. Then she has Elvis the rest of the day. Although it’s bitterly cold every morning, It’s been warming up pretty well during the day because we have brilliant.
Sally has been pursuing her project of hauling manure down to the vegetable garden and apple trees. She she just piles it on top of the snow around the trees. It’s going to make a great big difference to those who come after us on this farm. In fact I expect great things from these trees this coming season. Sally is going to be with me a little longer this year than usual. She has a return ticket to Alaska for the middle of May. She’ll still miss the apple tree in bloom. But I think she’ll see the shadblow. The shadblow is the first thing every year to bloom if it’s wild in the forest.
We have not started any seeds yet. I understand all the Maine greenhouse growers are starting a little late this year. Granddaughter Shireen has two weeks off from school now. She has patched together three jobs to fill out her time. All three are greenhouse work. She’s experienced with greenhouse work. She has worked with Amy LeBlanc part time for several years.
DS Mark just a had a visit to Philadelphia to see friends. They went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and saw an excellent exhibit of Korean art and objects, as well as the large impressionist collection.
Sunday March 9, 2014.
I forgot to mention that yesterday Sally and I picked out our tomato seed order from Wakefield Farm. It’s always so fun to think about the about all the delicious tomatoes we’re going to have at the end of the summer. Today I cooked a large leg of lamb as Martin and his family were here. As often happens withh this lamb I have here, in the freezer the people said it’s the best one they ever ate. It was an 8 pound roast. I mash together rosemary from the plant on my windowsill, and Sally peeled garlic she got for me from her own daughter-in-law Sally B. I ground this together in my mortar and pestle with olive oil and pepper and salt, and I rubbed the roast with this. In the pan I put the meat on a rack and poured a cup of red wine over it, and also a handful of the olives made by daughter Marcia. And another handful of reconstituted dried tomatoes. I roasted it about 15 minutes to the pound my hot oven; I agreed it was a great success. I also made saffron rice. Sally made a big vegetable medley with frozen vegetables from the garden. And for dessert we had a fruit putting Sally made from frozen raspberries and blackberries, which we put on slices of cake that I had made on Friday. This was topped with with lots of with cream from our own cow. Everyone scraped their dish.
During little breaks during the day, Sally took more sled loads of manure down to the garden. The day started off about 12°. Later it warmed up to about 30, so it was possible to work outside.
The calf is been refusing to drink milk from a bucket. So today Sally left him inside to wait him out. After about three hours he decided he could drink from a bucket. During this time Fern was very angry because she couldn’t get to her calf. She called Sally all kinds of bad names. But finally they got together and had the rest of their day outside in the sunshine. We hope it doesn’t take too many episodes like this to persuade Elvis to drink his milk from a bucket.
Wednesday March 12th 2014. We have a promised blizzard going our way now. The lights flickered off a few times and then he came back on. They warned us we might get 18 inches of snow but I doubt it. It’s wet sharp snow blowing horizontally. All the animals are in the barn and snug. Two of the ewes look like they’re going to lamb any minute. Sally put one of them in a little separate pan to keep them safe. She people call this a jug. It’s just a cordoned off area that Sally created with some wire. It’s just so the other ones are together.
We just learned that Max has to leave for his job in Montana on the 31st of this month. It’s much sooner than he hoped. With any kind of luck he’ll be there through Nellies camping she’s due on the 24th. He’s hurrying around to get more wood in for Mitra.
I made a cake today. It’s called 1234 cake. It’s a cake that Grammy was used to make. Now that I can’t see very well I like to make something where the recipes is in my head. One of butter, two of sugar, three of flour, four of egg. It also gets salt, baking powder, and vanilla. It turned out very well. It was a layer cake, and we made three layers. Sally made chocolate icing. Our supper was a decadent meal. All we ate was eggs. Well with glasses of Fern’s milk of course.
March 20,2014
Sally has been looking at the Arctic Winter games in Fairbanks. Brett took his kids.They participated in badminton.They are good badminton players, and have been playing for years, but they were nothing compared to the Inuits and Greenlanders .
We had to report sad news on the triplets that our sheep Martha had. It was bitterly cold and two of them were born during the night and were chilled to death by morning. A third when we thought we’d save, and tried hard to. But it was still bitterly cold and it just couldn’t make it. The other ewe Agnes had twins. We are keeping them in a separate room. They are very vigorous. A recent sunny afternoon all the sheep went outside for the first time since lambing began. Martha, the one that had triplets, attacked Agnes, who has the healthy twins. I guess she wanted to have the babies for herself. It’s so sad.
We do finally have some signs of spring. Of course, snow is mounted up to the windowsills outside, but my willow tree is turning a beautiful chartreuse yellow. It’s always the first tree to show signs of life.
We have two ducks that were given us by a neighbor. She said they were drakes, but one of them runs in the corner everyday and acts like it’s trying to lay an egg, so we’ll see if it turns out to be a duck or a drake. She gave them to us to make duck dinners with, but Sally loves ducks and keeps them; she takes great care of them and gives them little pans of warm water.
Nelly continues to do very well. The baby was born with crimped under front hooves and couldn’t stand, perhaps because it was some days early. Now it’s legs are straightened out pretty well, but it’s convenient to kneel down like that to nurse anyway, because Nelly is slung pretty low.
March 29, 2014
Yesterday and today Sally and I put the sheep and lambs outside into the much warmer weather. The lambs hopped around and had a wonderful time. The snow remains deep. There’s no ground showing anywhere. Sally just took a walk with Willie down to the River. Right now in the middle of the day it’s up to 40, but they tell us not to count on it lasting. Max and Mitra are coming over today to bring my car back. I have made a cake to serve them.
Yesterday Sally B, DD Sally’s DIL sent us a box of her own pint jars of canned salmon. For packing material, she used cloves of the garlic she grew last summer, so now we have a great garlic supply. Sally just came back from the River, and she reports that it is not showing any open water.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Last Friday we did a weight check with the tape on Elvis. I guessed he was 350 and he came out 352 according to the tape. I was also able to determine that both testicles were now descended. He was born November 12 so is nearly five months old.
The weather is persistently cold and bleak but not sub-zero. It’s been snowing and raining a lot, causing the snow to compact and form puddles. It rained hard yesterday.
Max and Mitra came over on Saturday to bring back my car. Max left today for Montana. It’s been so nice to have him here so much this winter.
Sally now puts the lambs outside with the ewes. They are big and strong and bouncy. One is dark grey and the other is black.
Sally has been down to the river with Willie and saw the ice is beginning to rot.
All this icy rain has caused the garage door to freeze up again nearly every day. It was so nice for awhile after Martin chopped it out. Most days we are locked in by the big sliding door being frozen shut, unless it’s frozen open.
We are getting about two dozen eggs a day and two and a half gallons of milk, with Elvis getting all the milk during the day.
Friday, April 04, 2014
There was a brief bit of sun which alternated with overcast all day, but it was warm.
Sally got an early start due to having to leave for an appointment. When she was doing the early barn chores she had to go back because she remembered she hadn’t given Elvis his flake of hay. When she did she discovered that she’d left the water running in Fern’s bucket which would have caused a flood had she not found it. Then when going into Fern’s beefer pen to feed Elvis she discovered that the back door had been left open last night so that the place filled up with sheep, which she chased out. Then when she had fed Elvis and was getting his water bucket to fill that, Fern tried to jump her- it turned out that Fern was in heat. Sally had to give her a hard whack with Elvis’ bucket to get her to back off. After that, we decided to just let Elvis out to do the milking for me as I was going to have to do it solo anyhow, because of Sally’s leaving early.
Monday, April 7, 2014
On Sunday Martin and Sally and I made another creative attempt to use the elastrator on Elvis. Martin had bought a larger size elastrator but it still didn’t work. He worked on it for a long time but wasn’t able to stretch the rubber band big enough for the situation. Eventually we gave up and will probably call the vet. Elvis was very polite about it.
We adjourned to the house for a pot roast with the whole Grohman family. For dessert we had a banana cream pie. Hannah really likes whipped cream.
Today was pleasant, a very pleasant temperature. We even had a window in the kitchen open for quite a while. It was very sunny most of the day and the snow is going fast. It’s still pretty thick in places but around the base of trees you can see dead grass. There’s a wide band of no snow on the sunny side of the house. I managed to get down to the garden on a little trail that Sally had made. One place it was over my boots and I tipped over but I managed to get up again. I sat down in the garden about twenty minutes listening to bird songs. Some birds have come back but I don’t know what they were. Later Sally saw a lot of robins.
Sally worked on cleaning out the sheep room.
Later in the day clouds came in and it is supposed to rain. The ducks are learning to enjoy the puddles and will no doubt also enjoy the rain. Sally had to teach them to go out of the barn but now they race out on their own to find puddles.
Friday, April 11, 2014
When looking out across the fields, I still see mostly snow but it is receding fast and there are great bare patches of brown now. Fern and Elvis tromped down to one such patch to see it there was anything coming up yet. Elvis had never seen bare ground before and he was hopping around. He was enjoying himself so much that when his mother bellowed for him, he wouldn’t come.
The ducks were enjoying themselves so much that they got all the way up to the house, going from puddle to puddle.
Sally went down and did some clearing of black locust volunteers using large clippers to cut them out.
We never saw ice running but the river is now running clear and fairly high. There is lots of birdsong from many birds migrating through.
Sally has discovered heartbreaking mouse damage to several of my young fruit trees. One of my very best trees is hopelessly girdled.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Winter came skulking back last night. First it poured with rain and was windy, and then we awoke to three inches of new snow and temperatures down in the low twenties. Tonight is projected to be even colder. However, Sally saw a bird we haven’t seen in a long time- a flicker. It was on the birdfeeder thinking about the suet, looking gorgeous, and then flew over and landed on the windowsill about three inches from her nose. Pretty amazing.
It was cold and very windy most of the day so we didn’t do anything much. However, we are keeping track of the river rising and flooding into the lower field. Sally did some trenching to help drain the sunken garden and to encourage a swimming pool for our two ducks. Sad to say, a lovely ten foot tall apple tree that Sally has been caring for in the field has been badly girdled by mice. So far it looks like the young mulberry trees are healthy.
We are getting so many eggs we are doing a spring special to try to sell them. These are the very best eggs in the world and it is disheartening that so few people will take the trouble to stop and buy them. We are getting about three dozen eggs a day, and today Sally found a new nest with thirty-six in it, all quite clean and good. Since some might be a bit old though, she is going to boil the whole lot and feed them back to the chickens.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
We have had a few warm sunny days and there is a hint of green on the pasture, but no leaves yet on the trees. Fern and the sheep are finding some grazing along the edges of the fences and they are devoted to eating it. I already notice the flavor enhancement from the grass in her milk.
She was in heat today. She did some mooing but wasn’t much nuisance. We are getting about three dozen eggs a day. Sally has set up an egg selling stand by the road and are starting to sell some. The last few days have been cold and windy though, which slows things down. One lady bought seven dozen.
I let Elvis do the milking on Thursday and Friday because Sally was unavailable to help. She went to Lewiston to have her cataracts removed. This involved replacement of the cornea with a nice new one that gives her perfect vision, which was quite a surprise to her. They had said this would happen, but she didn’t believe it.
Today is cold and it rained most of the day, but not hard, only about half an inch. There’s still streaks of snow in a few shady spots. The river is very high but not over its banks. The ducks are having a wonderful time. So are the chickens which are ranging very widely now.
DS Martin came today and spread manure. It requires two tractors, one to pull the old-fashioned ground driven manure spreader, and the Kabota with its bucket to fill the wagon. My oldMoline that he’s been working on for years fired right up today. He spread two loads with no problems. Where he spread last year is showing a beautiful band of new growth. This is a great farming thrill.
Later he went out to spot turkeys. We don’t shoot on Sunday in Maine.
He also brought five baby White Pines and Sally planted them in the paddock garden along the road.
The first thing he did today was to make a trip to the dump and leave off our old dryer and a lot of other stuff.
I made another variant of the Guidepost Sponge Cake that I’ve been making, this time with cocoanut flour and white chocolate chunks and chopped candied ginger. It was quite a hit. For dinner I made tamale pie. Martin ran down to the river before dinner and picked fresh fiddleheads which were delicious. During dinner, a nice young man named Nicholas came to the door asking for eggs. We hadn’t put out our box for sale. Turns out he is the person who stopped to tell us a week or so ago that Willie was in the road.
May 12
On Friday Marcia, Sally and I went to Brunswick to see Abby. We left at six am in order to get to an eye appointment of Sally’s. We met Abby about ten thirty. We spent a delightful day shopping and eating at a wonderful restaurant overlooking the Kennebec River falls. I ordered mussels in green curry sauce which was outstandingly good. We tore ourselves away about three o’clock. We all agreed that Abby was looking great.
On Saturday the sheep shearer, Mark Phillips, came about eleven. 
We had four sheep for him this year and the first one, Eunice, had a very fine fleece but she was quite difficult to shear. She’s a huge animal and kept throwing herself around. The others behaved better. We now have four great big piles of wool, and Sally has already washed a good deal of it in order to send some back to Alaska. We took the occasion to dose with Ivermectin.
Sally has been throwing clover seed around in hopes of improving my lawn in the back, some of which is quite poor because of a new leach field. She saw a bumblebee evidentally hunting for a good site for her nest. The dandilions are just starting. We saw barn swallows today who were very excited about their nests. In the evening they were swirling through the air catching the first bugs.
Sally has to leave tomorrow.
As Fern loses her winter coat she is becoming quite white. She is getting a lot of grass now and is not eating her hay.
Tuesday, June 3rd
Since last I wrote winter finally released its grip and we finally have balmy spring weather complete with mosquitoes and black flies. Daffodils and tulips bloomed , the dandelions are providing a feast for the bees and the lilacs are at their peak. The barn swallows have already hatched their first lot of babies. The sky is full of arial feeding swallows.
There was terrible winter damage to our fruit trees, we lost many to mouse damage. I also lost most of my mock orange next to the barn but that was to cold damage. My roses have also been hit hard. I haven’t been able to get the lawn mowed yet and some of it is a foot high. Everything is amazingly lush, it’s like a sea of ecstatic green.
I have been having a great deal of trouble with my right knee which has worked hard for me all it’s life and has now decided to quit. Also my right shoulder is ratcheting around, every time I move my arm it feels like stripped gears. Therefore I am finding a new home for Fern. If it all works out as planned, this weekend Kelly Jacklin and her family will be here with her trailer to pick up Fern. I hope Fern will continue to be a perfect little cow as she has been here all her life.
Last week we got Dr. Patterson to come over and castrate Elvis. We hope we got him in time before he did any breeding. If he didn’t it wasn’t for want of trying, in fact it was all he thought about from morning till night. In fact he has the honor of being the randiest young bull I ever met. The last few days have shown a very different side of Elvis. I would say he has now been adjusted for field mice.
DDMarcia has gone to Portland today to pick up her daughter Abby Rose and my greatgranddaughter Violet who has just turned three. They are the first of our summer visitors and will be here all summer. I expect Violet will be an enthusiastic little swimmer.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
My sister, Barby, from California, is visiting me now. We are having lots of fun. She sees to it that I do not become too self important. She brought along her little dog, Rusty. He performs the same service for Willie.
Son, Mark, and DIL Annie, came for the afternoon. We all went up to Martin’s camp and had a wonderful lunch prepared by Amy and me. After lunch Martin took me and Barby and Rusty out for a sail in the Hobiecat. It was a perfect afternoon. We got home before dark and I collected the eggs.
Son John, and DIL Lou are here from Adelaide. John immediately began fixing things and now my front doorknob works for the first time in twenty years – I had been using a pair of scissors to rotate the catch mechanism. Now I get my scissors back. Lou is a noted Asian cook and began making some lovely Asian food. Last night we all convened out at the lake at DD Marcia’s camp. We made a blueberry crisp which we took along and had for dessert out on the porch.
Grand-daughter Helena is also visiting with her two dear little kids, Natalie and Logan.
Today we all met here at the farm for dinner and DS John made a lasagna for ten. It was a great success. It was a very nice evening – there were four beautiful little children who were perfect guests. We are starting to count the evenings out at Marcia’s camp, because she has found a buyer, so after several decades, it will no longer be in the family.
Old farmer’s joke: The manure spreader – the one piece of equipment John Deere won’t stand behind!
Thursday, August 28, 2014
DS Martin spread four loads of manure on the Oxbow Field where he made the hay. I did not get over to see it but he says it is gorgeous with fresh new grass. Wish we had animals to put on it or could cut it again.
Lots of apples are coming along now. It looks like a pretty good year for them! Martin and the kids brought me two buckets full from the edge of the field. Martin worked with Elvis the steer to teach him to eat apples. He had never learned from Fern, as he was a November calf.
I picked a couple of gallons of apples from the tree I have been working with. For the first time it had a real crop and they are remarkably clean. Two years ago I hung the tree with those perfumed papers that people put into the dryer. I was hoping to scare off the codling moth. I also trained the chickens to expect grain under the tree, so they would work over the ground. Then last fall I put diatomaceous earth all around the tree and on the branches, also Sally carried down a lot of manure. Something worked, as the apples are totally clean so far. I made a quick batch of applesauce for our supper. Also made Barby a caramel custard today, her favorite.
Nancy and Sarah worked a long time mowing and clearing bittersweet. Nancy is so pleased to have new pruning equipment that DS Mark contributed.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
All our dear summer visitors have now gone home. Yesterday we said goodbye to cousins Holly and Richard. Fall weather has been closing in. There have been three hard frosts. DDSally arrived last Wednesday. She has flown into action starting with digging the potatoes. Considering the small number of plants I had, it’s amazing that we seem to have gotten over a bushel. A special joy to me has been the reviving of an apple tree that I neglected for years. I took great care of it last year with measures aimed at discouraging the codling moth, generously sprinkling diatomaceous earth and giving it plenty of manure. Sally took the manure in sled loads on the snow. Most of the apples are too high to pick but there is a very good crop. I can’t remember what they are, but they are a hard winter apple and have a streaky pink side and a streaky green side. Sally promises to make a pie very soon.
The weather is warming up again and the katydids are calling. Sally discovered a hen with nine baby chicks this afternoon. The mother is a bantam so I suppose they will all be small. She set them up with food and water. We decided that we should start graining the sheep a little bit, not that there isn’t plenty of grass, but breeding season is about to start. Our one ram lamb from last winter is a pretty big boy now and looks like he’s up to the challenge.
I got pretty good crop of tomatoes but the garden was hit very hard by a marauding woodchuck. He’s been feasting on my swiss chard for weeks and I haven’t gotten any. He’s eaten all my winter squash.
Sally has been noticing two does with their fawns down in the pocket field. The fawns are about half the size of the does.
Everything is still very green but there is starting to be color on the hillsides. Sally and I went up to Weld today to visit Marcia and drink coffee on the porch. Marcia has sold her camp and everything is in boxes.
Sunday, October 05, 2014
We’ve had several weeks of beautiful fall weather with bright sun on memorable colored leaves. Now it is getting colder and windier and half the leaves are on the ground. Sally has been working outside every day as many hours as possible. Yesterday and today she worked down in the Pocket Field attacking the bittersweet that is trying to destroy the world. She also took down the electric fence which was mostly on the ground anyway, so that Martin can brush hog down there. He plans to fight back against the encroaching brush, raspberry, and saplings.
Marcia left on Friday pulling her cute trailer. She is on her way to Florida and has now reached Virginia where she spent the day with her daughter Caiti and the grandchildren, Lily and Jaxson.
I never did trap the woodchuck that ate so much of my garden but he is now cleared out. One of the rows he was attacking was my beets but a lot of them have survived despite lack of foliage.
On Friday, Martin shot a nice large Canada goose as the flight rose out of Lake Webb. He had been hoping for one ever since last year, and he went out in the early grey foggy dawn in a canoe to get this one. He also got a teal. We plan to have it for Thanksgiving.
Max and Marcia noticed that wind towers have now gone in near Lake Webb and can be seen from Marcia’s camp. It is a sad blight.
This is a great year for apples. Sally keeps finding another apple tree that is loaded. She also found hops growing on her field.
Granddaughter Shireen who is a student at University of Maine at Orono was selected with three of her friends at a large rally to be photographed with Michelle Obama. There is now a beautiful picture of them on her Facebook page.
Monday, October 13, 2014 Columbus Day
Martin and the kids have been here since Friday. We did lots of fun projects. Martin went out several times with his bird dog Milo and brought in several ducks, grouse and woodcock. The kids helped me make a cake yesterday and today we made peanut butter. Martin and Sally both brought in wild grapes and I made two batches of jelly. I make my own pectin using crab apples. Sally has been doing lots of fall projects such as burning slash. Martin spread manure on Sally’s field and ran the brush hog three times around the periphery to fight back on invading brush and saplings. Martin figures he rescued an acre of hay field. Sally was thrilled; it’s been a problem for a long time. He plans to go around my field next time he comes back.
Elvis and the sheep had no trouble figuring out how to force their way through the wire gate to the pocket field after Martin and the kids had closed it. Willie noticed them down there when he was accompanying Sally on the morning barn visit, and he shot past her when she opened the door, raced down there and got to work herding them home. He did an excellent job. He had to get out of the way when Elvis caught them up because Elvis does not think Willie should be herding sheep. Willie is nervous of those spiky horns. We were very proud of Willie.
Last night Sally and I fixed a very nice dinner for Martin and the kids and ourselves. I cooked a beef brisket and Sally made dinner rolls. I made a new kind of salad according to a recipe that Mitra got off the TV when she was down in Boston having her chemo treatment. The recipe was for a Middle Eastern carrot salad but I tried it with beets from the garden. It’s very simple. In a frying pan you put a few tablespoons of olive oil and sauté ground cumin, garlic and fresh cilantro (I had to use ground coriander as I had no cilantro.) Add the cooked vegetables and salt. Toss it all together and sprinkle with lemon juice. It’s outstandingly good.
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Our personal election success, our favorite candidate Martin Grohman, won a seat to the Maine State Legislature. Congratulations, Martin.
It’s really feeling like November. Last weekend’s storm took the last of the leaves. Sally has been working outside every day on fencing and today she finished the bulk of the project. She was able to let the animals into the Pocket Field which they haven’t been able to access all summer.
Last Saturday she had a close encounter with a rabid raccoon. It approached her crying piteously with its nose full of porcupine quills. She caught Willie and after the raccoon had gone across the field she carried him home as she didn’t have a leash with her. She didn’t recognize it as rabid, only as a suffering animal. She came back to the house and told me about it and got my 20 gauge shotgun to put it out of its misery. This took her awhile because she had never loaded the gun before. By the time she got back out there the raccoon had gone. She told her sister Abby about it and Abby looked up on the Internet and learned that porcupine quills in a raccoon is diagnostic of rabies. They wouldn’t have them otherwise. Sally called the state game warden and he confirmed that this was indeed true. We warned all the neighbors.
Sunday the second Marcia had a Uhaul and a crew here to load up her belongings to send to Florida. They have now arrived there and we look forward to hearing that everything is ok.
Elvis, the bull calf now one year old, has a significant bulge on his back end. It appears to me that one testicle retreated and didn’t get caught by the elastrator. This can easily happen. Sally feels that he is getting naughty, but he is really a pretty good boy.
All six sheep look fat and bumptious. We hope the ram has done his duty. This is important because Sally’s son Rafe will be here at Thanksgiving and has offered to put him in the freezer.
Wednesday December 10, 2014
Ramsey’s in the freezer now. He was pretty small. Time will tell whether he was up to his job. We’ll know along about April. Grandson Rafe and Sally B. were here for a week & we had a wonderful visit. Two weeks ago DD Sally and I were given the backstrap meat of a beaver trapped in the river near the Farm. I was sorry to see any trapping but thought I should have the meat, rather than see it go to waste. I have to admit the beavers were gnawing off the riverbank trees faster than they could regrow and mostly not even bothering to use the trees. DD Sally made a great stew from the meat… it was outstandingly tender & good.
Rafe and Sally B. took a lot of long hikes despite cold and snow, they were highly energetic. DD Sally has accompanied them back to their and her home back in Alaska. Sally will be back in three weeks. Willie is noticeably depressed, as Sally is the beacon of his life.
I have managed to overlook mention of our lovely Thanksgiving. An incredible home-grown turkey and wild goose, both delicious. There was the usual groaning board of 23 side dishes and 23 guests.
DD Abby is back from Brunswick & is moved back into her little house on the River; over here for most of the day. We fed DS Mark for lunch- Curried Coconut Milk Haddock. …He collected eggs and we are noticing the chickens are doing particularly well right now, despite cold.
Sunday, January 04, 2015
DD Sally and DD Abby are both with me now at the farm.
With their attentive care the chickens are laying remarkably well. The chickens have the run of the barn except for the hay mow, plus chicken feed and household scraps. Whenever the weather permits, they are also outdoors. We are getting two or more dozen of eggs a day, of excellent quality. We have about fifty chickens.
Sally was away for three weeks Christmas visit in Alaska during which time I merged the sheep and Elvis rather than bringing the sheep in at night. They were in the open beefer pen accessible to coyotes, which I heard at night several times. I did not worry about the sheep because Elvis stands guard and has big horns now and clearly takes responsibility. 
While this arrangement was satisfactory in most ways it tends to waste hay because we have to put the hay down where the sheep can jump all over it. Now that Sally is back, she will start putting them into their own sheep room at night as we previously did. In there they eat their hay out of a manger.
We are having lots of good dinners thanks to having three cooks in the house. Last night Sally wasn’t sleeping very well and she got up and made a beautiful loaf of bread and a pumpkin cheesecake.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
It was twenty below yesterday and ten below today. It got up to ten above today. It was pretty brutal but Sally has managed to keep the water in the barn. Also we are maintaining egg production, we are getting two dozen a day approximately. Elvis is frisky.
Sally cheered us up with an apple pie today. She flavored it with some of my cider syrup which I make by boiling down fresh cider. Abby made a nice dinner today with breaded haddock and scalloped potatoes. The haddock was seasoned with a Fiesta Lime seasoning with coriander added, and fried in peanut oil.
Our relatives in California are torturing us with their 70 degree days. There has been some surprisingly strong wind gusts, and last night one blew over the barbecue that is out on the deck. I think the deck must be subject to microbursts of wind. Last summer it demolished my screen tent. This is the first time its ever blown over the barbecue which is pretty heavy.
Sally has been studying the Fedco seed catalogue. Sally is the overseer of the sheep and reports that they don’t mind the weather.
We have two hens with new chicks, one has one chick and the other has two chicks. With help from Sally and Abby they are thriving though they have to spend quite a bit of time under their mothers’ wing.
Saturday, February 07, 2015
Winter continues to be extremely cold with lots of snow.
There was a drama in the barn yesterday morning. When Sally went out for the first pass she found that a fox had paid a visit. There were feathers around from one of the barred rocks, and one of the ducks was also missing. The evidence pointed to a fox so we think he must have been back twice. The remaining duck is grieving deeply. He won’t move and drinks very little. The hens were also much traumatized and didn’t want to come out of the rafters to lay their eggs. At least this gave us an opportunity to count them. There seems to be about 51 birds. We got very few eggs yesterday or today. We are doing a better job of barricading the door.
Sally worked on shoveling a path to the garden so she can carry deer and mouse protection to the trees. She is planning to hang more net bags with Irish Spring soap and put some near the bases of the trees too.
I heard from my sister Barby in California that the entire Bay Area has lost power due to a prodigious rain storm. Another ten inches is expected tomorrow. She is leaving her Inverness home which is in the dark and returning to her Woodside on Skyline Blvd. where the generator is running.
Elvis the bull/steer and the five ewes are all looking very good. We hope all the ewes are pregnant.
After years of frustration with unreliable electricity at Sally’s little house across the river where Abby lives, with the help of cousin Billy Leavitt, she finally got in a professional electrician to set it straight. We were afraid it was going to be an expensive and complicated job. Instead, he found that the previous contractor had failed to tighten the connection at the box to the ground wire. Many of Abby’s electrical devices had been destroyed.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Winter appears to have finally released its exhausting grasp. No more overnight temperatures in the single numbers, and 80% of the snow is melted. Our old ewe Agnes unfortunately picked the last really cold day of winter (two weeks ago now) to lamb. She had triplets. We rotated them into the house for warming and bottlefeeding and back to their mother to try to keep them attached which was a failure. By the time two of them had died we just kept the third one in the house on a bottle because Agnes was less than cooperative. Her udder was painfully engorged and she wouldn’t let the lambs suck. We were very surprised because she has always been a wonderful mother. We ended up selling the third triplet as a bummer lamb and understand that it is doing very well in its new home with a loving eight year old girl.
Now finally today we actually had comfortable shirtsleeve weather all day. Abby drove me to my orthopedic appointment for my bad knee where I got the second in a series of hyaluronic acid shots. I think it is helping.
On our drive home Abby’s cellphone rang. It was Sally all excited to tell us about a family of foxes she had discovered. Their den is down on the knoll in my pet cemetery. It was Willie who discovered the den and the vixen worked very hard to lure him away from it, running in little circles in front of him and screaming. She is very hungry and/or bold and snatched a chicken by the house right while Sally was watching. She dropped it when she saw Willie and it flew away. But no doubt she is responsible for the attrition we are experiencing among our layers. I guess we can spare a few, it is such a cute little family. The dog fox is amazingly bright orange and quite large. I understand that in some parts of the country the red fox is an endangered species.
That young sheep, a very fine animal, just lambed in the night- one lamb as far as I can see. I have been keeping them in at night until it would get to be five months after the ram died which it will be pretty soon. I was able to close the door between her and the other sheep- they have the run of the barn at night, and all had slept out on the main floor except her. The lamb is ok so far- she seems pretty worried though. It’s her first lambing of course.
Friday, October 4, 2015
Apple Tree Recovery
This is how I saved my Wolf River Apple tree. I planted this Fedco tree about 1980 and failed to remove the wire tag. I then neglected it dismally for the next twenty years during which it grew up and nearly died of strangulation. I was struck by guilt for the poor thing about 2013. It had managed to put out a couple of wizened little apples much afflicted by codling moth. I looked up on the internet how to bring such a tree back to health with organic methods. All authorities agreed that without using pesticides it was going to be a slow process taking several years. I decided to invent my own method.
Here are the things that Sally and I employed. The first thing I did was train my free range chickens to come down to the tree and work over the ground so they would eat the codling moth larva. I did this by dribbling a trail of chicken feed about 150’ long which trail they followed, where they found additional grain scattered around the base of the tree out to the drip line. They came every day and scratched around. This was in the summer of 2013. I also tied scented drier papers in the tree to deter the moths. I also sprinkled generous amounts of diatomaceous earth all around on the branches and around on the ground and on the trunk. I also carried down whatever whey I could spare. I also tied little mesh bags of Irish Spring soap into the branches to deter deer. Later when snow was on the ground Sally took several cargo sled loads of composted sheep manure and put that around it, this was repeated in 2014. She also worked on pruning. No poisons were used at any time. The following summer of 2014 the tree rewarded me with a few clean apples. This year, 2015, the tree was loaded with hundreds of large perfect apples. Admittedly this was a big year for apples in Maine but the production of this tree was dramatic. I am thrilled with my crop of exceptionally large well-flavored fruit. We don’t know which of these strategies was most important to success- we think they all worked together.
