Odds and Ends and Tidbits

I keep storing things up in my mind that I want to write about when there is a slow day...but that slow day hasn't happened yet! So I'm going to record some facts, observations, learnings and other tidbits that keep rolling around my mind. I've thought about some of things often enough that I'm worried that I may have actually written some of them after all, so I'm sorry for any repeated information or stories!

On several occasions since arriving at Waterpenny I've stopped to watch this goose couple fly over my head. They are usually flying back and forth between our fields and our pond. I've only seen the two of them frolicking around the farm, not a whole flock of them. It's reminded me (with a smile) that geese mate for life, right? So sweet to share the farm with these two lovebirds.

These are my thirteen-year-old boots. I've had them since high school. Got 'em to work at camp during the summers. In the last year or so my feet have grown a half size. My boots no longer fit. Weird, right? People say that sometimes happens when women get pregnant. Uh, I'm not pregnant. Anyway, we heard from the old interns that there is a "free room" at the county dump. I decided to send my old boots with Anika to the free room when she and Rachel dropped off our trash and recycling. When Anika and Rachel got back, Anika was carrying my boots. She decided to keep them for herself! I laughed, but was happy that they stayed in the family. I still see them everyday.

The main reason why we get the un-sell-ables of asparagus is because there are asparagus beetles that chew on the tips. They also lay eggs on the asparagus. You can see the little black eggs on the left side of this asparagus tip (click on the picture to make it bigger). I tried to get a picture of the beetle, but when you get close they stop, drop, and roll into the mulch below. Tricky little guys!

We got our first egg from the hens three days ago! We are 1 for 175! We have one hen laying one egg a day and are hoping that the other 174 catch on soon. If you're keeping track of numbers, we started with 235 hens, but that's because we hosted 60 of them until their owners could come pick them up. We are now down to the number that we will have for the season. Go, girls, go! Lay us some eggs!

I finally took my laundry off the line today. It has been there for three days while the rains have come and gone, drenching my clothes over and over again. Sigh. It rained again today, but I got my clothes off the line in time. When it rains we can't plant because we can't get the field ready. It compacts and is hard on the soil to drive over it with the tractor while it is wet, so we only plant on days when the ground has had a chance to air out. This week's weather has caused us to push back the planting schedule, but Eric said that the benefit is that we get to go back and care for the things that we planted earlier. Today we uncovered and weeded the flowers. They look great! We all remember planting the little, yellowed, scrawny things. These plants were affected by the greenhouse troubles earlier plus they experienced a few frosts since we planted them. Seems like they have almost all made it through and are getting established really well. We also uncovered and weeded the new spring kale. Since it loves the colder weather, it was pushing up against the row cover and exploding out of the holes in the row plastic! So exciting!

This reminds me of another thing. We have the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) starting in June. Eric and Rachel are having to make decisions about what to take to the weekly markets and what to stock pile for the first few CSA shares. Folks in this area and in the DC area buy a share in our farm at the beginning of the season to help us get everything bought and seeded; we then bring them a share of vegetables each week throughout the summer. We obviously have an obligation to these folks since they have already paid us a chunk of change directly up front. Eric told us that even though the spring kale was ready to start being harvested and sold at market, he is going to hold off and stock pile it for the CSA shares instead.

Did I write about the bees swarming? I was reading my book outside one day and thought a piece of machinery was coming around the corner because of the rumbling sound that was getting louder. When I looked up and saw hundreds (thousands?) of bees heading towards me I ran inside the house! I took a beekeeping class last year and learned that one reason why bees swarm is when they lose their queen. In general, it's usually a sign that something is wrong when bees swarm. I guess they were just getting adjusted, though, because they didn't swarm for too long, and it was shortly after the beekeeper dropped them off on our farm.

The Spring Peeper frogs stopped peeping a couple weeks ago. I had gotten used to falling asleep and waking to their sounds. I'm curious where they go? Or why they stop? Or if they got bigger? Now I hear the other frogs. I haven't seen one so I haven't been able to identify it yet, but it sounds like a single tinny banjo string being plucked. Doink. Doink.

When we had our team meeting with Eric today, he told us about how they lost several acres of vegetables in 2007 due to herbicidal hay that was sold to them as chemical free hay. He (and I both) got choked up when he talked about how several of his customers refused to take the refund because they said they joined the CSA to support the farmer, no matter what happened. Since I have been on the other side of a CSA as a customer, it was incredible to hear Eric's side of a bad experience as a farmer. He was touched by the support and connection with his customers. So for those of you who are a part of a CSA, hooray! And for those of you that aren't join if you are able!

On Tuesday of this week we drove to Clear Springs Creamery a couple hours away. We took a tour and learned about how they make 85 gallons a day of milk, chocolate milk, several flavors of drinkable yogurt, and several different kinds of cheeses from 40 cows. It's a small operation but they are loving it, despite quiting their jobs during a recession and never going back. The father got the land from his mother and it has been in the family for at least a hundred years he said. They sell at the Takoma Park market and a couple others.



We visited the Farm at Sunnyside again and had the official tour. Guess where the tour ended up? At the cherry trees! The trees are full of cherries, and they were delicious! I ate as many as I could and then was excited to see brownies with more cherries at the potluck. Yum!




I have flying ants in my shed now. Everywhere.



We have two pear trees in front of the intern house. They have baby pears on them right now, so again, we are eager for them to ripen! I wonder how long that will be?



I'm sure there are more tidbits that I am forgetting, but this at least gets a few of them off my mind...hopefully I won't forget and write about them again!

Oh, and I think I'm in love with this tree.
The End.