Update on CSA Delivery

Late last night I got another email from the guy who does the deliveries. He informed me he got to the store too late, it had already closed. Duh! Like we hadn’t figured THAT out!

Supposedly he’s going to drop the baskets off this morning. The store opens at 10am, so The Farmer can go pick it up before his dentist appointment today. (Lucky Farmer!)

And, also supposedly, he’s going to start delivering by noon so the baskets can be picked up any time after that, because in his words, the afternoon drop-off “just doesn't leave enough time for anything out of the ordinary to happen and get taken care of.”

It took him three weeks to figure that out??? Apologies aside, why did he ever think that would work in the first place? If everyone didn’t get there at the same time, like minutes before the store closed, you missed the delivery and wasted your time, gas and money. (I might also mention that we were never told at what time the delivery would be made anyway, just what day.)

I hope this goes smoother for the rest of the season.

Waiting on CSA Deliveries

I had hoped to have a picture to put on here this evening of our latest batch of goodies from our CSA (Community Suported Agriculture) membership. This is our third week, and frankly, it’s not going as well as I’d hoped. It’s not the goodies we’re getting that’s the problem, but trying to connect to get them!

First off, they deliver to various areas. When we signed up, we understood there was going to be a drop-off in the town where The Farmer works. Before I ever signed us up, he agreed to pick the food up on his lunch hour, or after work, so no problem there.

The first glitch was the drop-off point. The store which is the pick-up point isn’t in the same town at all, but in the next one over. Okay, we made that adjustment, though it makes it harder and less cost effective since he has to drive further to pick it up.

The next problem is the timing. The first week the guy delivering the food baskets had to work through the delivery day, and stuff didn’t get delivered until the next day. Okay, beginning of the season, glitches happen, move on.

The next week the Farmer called to check if the food had been delivered before going to pick it up. He called right before he left work, and it still wasn’t there. Evidently the guy came soon after, and the storeowner called The Farmer on his cell phone to let him know the food was there, but he was already on his way home. Considering he was more than half way home and considering the price of gas, he didn’t turn around but figured he’d pick it up the next day.

Here we are on the third week, and due to Memorial Day our delivery date was changed again, and we could live with that, but it’s not knowing what time of day the stuff will be there that’s a major problem. The store closes at 5pm, and The Farmer was there at 4:30 this evening, and the guy still hadn’t delivered the stuff. I suppose he made it there before closing time, but then how is anyone supposed to get their stuff until the next day?

That means the greens and vegetables are going to sit in their basket yet another day. I understand they have to be picked one day and delivered the next, but the way it’s going, it’s the following evening of the third day before I finally get them. The produce has lost quite a bit of freshness by that time, especially since it’s not being refrigerated.

Maybe this is how all CSA’s are run, and maybe it works for people who can drop everything to go pick stuff up whenever they get around to delivering it, but it’s not working that well for us. The timing needs to be consistent. I’m beginning to regret I ever signed up for this. It’s not cheap, but for FRESH veggies I figured it was worth it.

If this doesn’t get better, I’m afraid I’m going to feel like it’s not worth the extra expense and trouble for tired vegetables. And if I feel that way, and really wanted to do this, seems like it would be awfully tough to get people just learning to appreciate eating fresh vegetables to bother with it.

How about it, how does this work for other people? Am I expecting too much, or are there better ways of doing this?

Picking up Pastured Poultry & Delivering a Single Sheep

It’s been a busy weekend, and it’s not even over yet since we’ve still got Memorial Day!

Friday afternoon I went out the back roads through places I’ve never been, and ended up at Mountain Fork Farm to pick up my order of pastured broilers.

Yes, I know we have chickens here on our farm. And yes, I thought about raising some for the freezer. There’s just one catch, but it’s a BIG catch. If I raise them, I have to process them, which is a nice way of saying I have to chop their heads off, scald, pluck and gut each chicken. I’ve done it in my time, but at this stage I don’t have the stamina for such a big project, so I decided to support some other farmer who does.

It was a nice drive, and what I saw of the farm was gorgeous. They had a canopy set up a little ways down their driveway, right before you go through the gate to their property, with chickens in coolers ready for pickup. I wish I’d thought to ask how many acres they have. It has to be pretty good sized, because I couldn’t even see their house from where I was.

The first thing you see is a big greenhouse in a field to the right of the driveway. They also sell a wide variety of vegetables that are grown using sustainable agriculture methods, so no doubt get a lot of use from the greenhouse.

They have a shed not far from the greenhouse with big coolers for the chickens and such.

There was a big field to the left, and the road winds on back through the trees. I could hear chickens way off, and I know from their website they raise turkeys, Berkshire hogs, Dexter cattle and horses. I was disappointed not to see any of that, but maybe I’ll be able to go back again another time.

Saturday I spent catching up on work in the house, with laundry and cleaning and baking a couple of Cherry-Orange coffee cakes, several pizza crusts, bread for us, and “Birdie bread” – made with whole grains and veggies, cut up in cubes, and fed to my picky parrot.

Today we delivered a ewe to a friend’s farm way out back of beyond. You even have to drive through a creek to get to the farm. I reckon they don’t go anywhere during hard rains! They were supposed to be home by mid-morning, having gone to a Fiber Festival earlier this weekend. We got there mid-afternoon, but nobody greeted us but the dogs.

Of course, that’s a pretty big greeting, considering they are HUGE Great Pyrenees, and there were about ten of them prancing around us. They will not, however, win any awards for vicious watchdogs, as they were far more interested in seeing if we would pet them. Of course, we’ve been there before, but even the young pups we’d not seen before were eager for their share of attention.

We wandered around the yard for a while. The dogs were all barking and the one inside was going nuts. I knocked at the door. No answer. What to do???

Fortunately, they have several pens, and there was one unoccupied behind the house, complete with shade tree, so we put the ewe in there, got her a bucket of water, left a note in the screen door, and went back home.

The funny thing is, a couple hours after we got home Kim called me. I figured she was going to comment on the new sheep and tell me where she’d been. Wrong! I said, “Did you find the present we left for you?”

Turns out she hadn’t, and she’d been home the whole time. I’m not sure where she was working, but her mother was in the house and never realized we were out there, or unloading sheep in the pen right by the house. I figured there was no way they could NOT know we were there considering how the dogs were carrying on, including the one in the house. We’d left a note in the screen door and left a sheep, so there’s no denying we were there!

At any rate, the sheep got delivered, and I got to check out a bunch of the ewes and lambs she had running around.

We’ll do the check and registration thing to each other through the mail, so … all’s well that ends well?

We tried a different route home, and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this lovely red barn we passed. Oh… and Robin… you won’t believe how many wild turkeys we saw on the way to and from their farm! They never stood still long enough for a picture, but I promise, we really did see LOTS of them!

Paul's Himalayan Musk Rose

This Paul is a rambling rose that was named after the guy who hybridized it and registered it in 1916. It's got a lots of thorns, light pink double bloom, , resistant to most rose diseases, and that nice rose smell.

It blooms once a year, in the late spring or early summer.

This one is growing beside a huge oak tree at the front right corner of our yard, alongside the driveway.








Every year it's gets taller and fuller, and it's so lovely when full of blooms!
I love rambling roses, even when they're named Paul.

Going to the Dogs

We have 3 kinds of dogs at our house.

1) We have two dog dogs, Toby and Neffie. Toby's an American Farm Collie and Neffie is a Maremma, a type of Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD).

Neffie on the left, Toby to the right. They're walking
towards me from the back pasture in the early morning sunlight.

2) We have a cat dog named Spot. He's a big white cat that follows us around everywhere we go outside, and comes when you whistle for him.

This is Spot Fencewalker, our cat dog.
3) Then there's my Bird Dog. She's an African Grey Parrot, and loves to imitate the dogs outside when they start barking. Remember, she's imitating it just as she hears it, so it sounds a little strange.

The picture is rather dark as I didn't have any extra lighting,
but it's the sound effects that are important anyway.

We have a strange household, and a farm full of strange critters. We're definitely going to the dogs here.

Welcome to the Funny Farm!

Firebugs and Berry Blooms

After a lot of rainy days, it was nice to see some sunshine today. Since everyone was home, it was also a good day to get a few things done around the farm.

The Cave Geek (aka Youngest Son) helped the Farmer get all the rotten particle board and other junk off the front porch and in a cart to be hauled down to the bottom pasture. Farmer Firebug likes to burn things, so he started a nice fire.


While Farmer Firebug is setting the world on fire, Toby the Wonder Dog is making an ash out of himself, chasing hot ashes all over the pasture and jumping up to catch them in his mouth. (This is the same dog who catches bumblebees. I'm not sure if he thrives on danger or is just an idiot.)

He seems mesmerized by all the floating ashes, either watching them or chasing after them.

While down in the bottom pasture, I noticed that the wild blackberries are in full bloom. Maybe the bugs and birds will leave a few for us to enjoy!

Critters in the Backyard

When I went out to do chores this evening, this is what I saw:
There's a goat to one side, a couple of llamas, a Maremma LGD in-between, and a rooster. But wait! Look closer! What's on that male llama's back?

Well, look at that, one of the Buff Orpington hens is resting her feet in llama wool.

As a matter of fact, the rooster was on Samson's back too when I first went out, but by the time I grabbed my camera, he'd gone off to see if I was putting out any feed.

Maybe sitting on a sheep or llama's back is like having warm, fuzzy slippers on your feet. Since it was a cool, rainy day, that probably felt good.

I just never know what those critters are going to be up to when I go outside!

Update from the farm...

I'm soooooo far behind on everything and anything these days! Briefly, the facts are these:

1) We're still working on the bathroom. The new (again!) counter/sink was delivered, and this time it is all in one piece, so The Farmer is going to install that tomorrow if all goes well.

2) The place is awash with blooms. There are azaleas blooming, and also coral bells, ajuga, iris, lenten rose, tea roses, tiarella, honeysuckle, geraniums, and all kinds of wild flowers. I have clematis vines blooming in purples, blue, variegated and white.

This particular clematis is on a fence alongside the yard. The blooms are about 6" across.
3. We've got a new occupant in our pond, a great big turtle. That's okay until The Farmer decides to stock the pond with fish. We don't want to buy sushi for the turtle, but for now he can subsist very nicely on frogs and tadpoles. We have a bazillion of those, ha!

4. I still haven't got the sheep shorn. Note to self... set a date SOON!

5. I've also been trying to give away 3 roosters. No luck. They're tearing the feathers off the backs of the hens. They need to go one way or another.

That's the short version. I just don't have time to write about everything that is going on right now. Why? Well, I'm taking a 6-week class, and it is INTENSE. I barely have time to keep up with regular chores, let alone any extras.

So if my posts are sparse, you'll know why!

Look what FedEx delivered!

While I was out doing chores this morning, I saw a BIG FedEx truck maneuvering to get into our driveway. I was trying to think what in the world I had ordered until I saw the HUGE package the guy was taking out of the truck. Aha!
Hooray, hooray! Our new counter and sink arrived in ONE piece this time!!! Guess I know what the Farmer will be doing next weekend. Yes!

It wasn't ME, Mom!

This morning I was sitting at my desktop computer in my office down the hall from the living room. I was concentrating on finishing up the day’s humor mailing so I could get it sent out, and kept hearing Young Son giggling. It sounded just like it does when I’m sitting on the living room couch, and he’s down in his room in the basement right underneath me, laughing at something he’s watching on tv.

It passed through my mind to wonder what he was doing up so early since he doesn't have to go to work today, and what in the world he was watching on tv that time of morning, but I was busy so didn’t think any more about it until he came upstairs a while later.

Then I asked him what had him laughing so bright and early, and he informed me it wasn’t him because he just got up.

Ohhhhhh…. picture the little light bulb going off over my head. If it wasn’t the Geek giggling, then it was our parrot imitating him. Sure enough, I heard the same sound a little while later when I knew the Geek wasn’t in the basement..

Mind you, the parrot stops the minute you walk in the room and gives you that innocent, “It wasn’t me!” kind of look. And she’ll probably never do it so Geek will get to hear it. But she has a perfect rendition of the sound, just like she imitates the sound of a dog barking in a distance. After all, she mimics the sounds just like she hears them.

No telling who I'll hear next.