The House on the Rock

The rains came down and the floods came up,

The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,

But the house on the Rock stood firm.

This little song from Sunday School kept going through my head as we watched it rain and rain and RAIN…and then rain some more!

Living in the country, working in agriculture, you are told to never, ever complain about rain. 
Never!
Spring showers are expected and very necessary.  This is not the first time that we have had to change our plans due to the weather.  …and I am fairly certain it won’t be the last!

Case in point…read these entries from  May 2011 and May 2012.

These are field FEEDERS---full of rainwater (for the THIRD time)

But, after nearly SIX inches in a little over 24 hours…it gets a bit old and very soggy.  After all the late winter/early spring snow…the potential for flooding is very real.

The creek paddock turned into a raging river on three occasions yesterday.

the creek is rising

it's getting pretty high

those posts are at least 4 feet above the ground

the creek paddock looks like a POND or maybe even a LAKE

Thankfully, we don’t graze the creek paddock in the springtime (mainly for this reason) and the house is on the top of the hill.

water swirling under the bridge

looking downstream
oh dear! Lester and Jerry's poor "potato"  garden!

When the Boss and I went out  to take some pictures of Back Creek looking very unlike itself, we went on down Mishbarn Road.  Despite the fact the water level was on the definite decline, there were still amazing amounts of water in some pretty amazing places. The low-lying areas of the county are still in for some serious issues…and school was delayed for a couple of hours this morning.

"Cow Island"

Cline's flat field was a roaring river

the  homestead is perched there on top between the trees

Rain always makes me incredibly thankful that we live on top of a hill…a hill that is mostly rock…with just enough soil on top to provide for our gardens and pasture grass.  It would take a flood of Noah-like proportion for us to have issues up here.  Although, it could be problematic if the bridge washed out.  But, that didn’t happen during countless storms or even Hurricane Fran, so I’m not going to worry over that one.

the creek is starting to look "normal" once more

There is rain in the forecast again tomorrow…and to be perfectly honest, I can’t say I’m real thankful for that. But, it leaves me with no excuse for spending some time cleaning out the refrigerator, as I am  "sort of" caught up on  farm bookwork and any greenhouse jobs.

 …and that will make the HENS
  very thankful for all the goodies!

                 

In the Truest Sense of the Word

I love words.

I spend a lot of time thinking about words, searching for just the right one, and stringing words together.

Words are amazing.

They grant expression, release, insight, and are our best way to communicate...well, everything we feel it necessary to communicate.

Think about it…

…there are words that just sound like what they mean…like 

                    angst 

or 

                     
                                               languish 

or

                                             exhilaration.

                  …there are funny sounding words like fungus that can be paired up randomly…

                                         ...like “the fungus among us”

          …there are silly words

                                        …sad words

                                                          …tender, tragic words.

Words are used to communicate our most basic needs to our most lofty dreams and all points in between.

You can have words with someone…one’s word can be his bond…you can find some sort of therapeutic release with a well-placed swear word…there is wordplay…the sarcastic usage…special intonation...

There is the double entendre…you say one thing that can possibly mean something else…oh, I love that!

That is why the first time I saw the bumpersticker at the beginning of this post I knew I just had to have it. Check out I Love Farmers.org.

I also realized the Boss would never agree to put it on any of our vehicles.

So I hung it on the bulletin board over my desk, where it makes me chuckle on those days when everything seems to have gone wrong.

Because while there are those who think hot and dirty mean…

well, you know…hot and dirty…wink, wink…

maybe something like this?

But, when you farm…

It simply means…that you are indeed…

HOT

And...

DIRTY

                            In the very  TRUEST sense of the word!

Have a great day!

An Odd Place for an Epiphany

You just never know when a moment of enlightenment might happen….or where.

I must admit, it sounds more than a little strange to say that “I had an epiphany at the veterinarian’s office. Oh, and it had nothing to do with animals!” 

But, I did! ...and yes...I DO know the definition of the word.

For the record: “An epiphany (from the ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, "manifestation, striking appearance") is an experience of sudden and striking realization. Generally the term is used to describe scientific breakthrough, religious or philosophical discoveries, but it can apply in any situation in which an enlightening realization allows a problem or situation to be understood from a new and deeper perspective.” (wikipedia)

I guess I should begin at the beginning…

Well-puppy vet visits are not unlike well-baby pediatrician visits.  They tend to involve a lot of bored waiting, a whiny baby and a cursory exam by the doctor.  During the bored waiting period of one of Jed’s puppy visits years ago, I happened on a magazine that completely captured my attention. I nearly missed the doctor visit. I even took notes and had the Boss check it out online when I got back home!

The premise of the article was that Organic was not the “gold standard” that it had once seemed to be and that maybe something else was in order.  Maybe there was some other way to point consumers to produce and other products. Surely there should be other considerations...carbon footprint, time in transit, and post-harvest handling, among other things.  Food purists everywhere were having lively debates over the benefits local versus organic.  (change comes late to our corner of the world, so this was news to me)  hmmmmmm…..

Back in 2002, the USDA began the Organic Certification program.  Before that, each state had its own standards and inspectors.  When the USDA took over, regulations were put in place to keep folks from using the “O” word without USDA certification. Anyone doing so would be subject to a civil penalty up to $10,000. Tiny producers (under $5,000 in sales) would be exempt.  This left medium to large producers (we fit in this category) scrambling for words that would describe their products and growing practices.

After much discussion, both among ourselves and with our customers, we decided to let our Organic Certification expire when the USDA took over.  Our customers didn’t care…they knew us…knew our practices…in short, they trusted us.  We felt that the whole Organic certification could prove limiting to the farmer and some of the rulings were often arbitrary.  We did need a easily understandable way to describe our products.

I read the article with great interest, thinking the whole time….THIS is the marketing word of the future for farms like us. This concept could change everything.

This is the next BIG thing.

Here is the article in its entirety. (I warn you...it's fairly long)

It seems I was right. 

Since the article’s publication in 2007, “the whole world has gone LOCAL”. Yes, I am being facetious. You might want to read  this... Some folks think the whole world is going "organic" and I really don't see that, either.

LOCAL food is hot. Just try googling it.  Last time I checked, there were over 2.5 BILLION entries.

LOCAL food is trendy.  Just check out a few restaurant menus.

LOCAL food is growing exponentially.  Seems everybody is talking about it, looking for it, wanting to get it, grow it, and eat it.

LOCAL food has gained a huge following.  Many assume that because it's LOCAL, it's greener, more sustainable, more environmentally friendly, better for you and free of any sort of "bad stuff".

But…

LOCAL food has absolutely NO real definition. Presently, it's a vague, cool, uber-trendy marketing word with  NO guarantees or standards...

No one seems to be able to identify exactly what makes something local.
A two-hour drive, 100 miles, the same time zone, zip code,…what?  Wait...someone says 185 miles.  ?

As a shameless plug for the Staunton/Augusta Farmers' Market  …when you shop with any of the vendors…you are getting LOCAL…by a specific definition.  While it seems that a lot of folks may not know this…anything sold at our Market must have been produced within 50 miles of the Market.  The committee agreed to this limitation as a guarantee to the consumers that the produce they buy is indeed local. This was put into the rules back in the early 2000's, long before LOCAL became the desirable definition for everything.

While I instinctively knew that LOCAL was going to be a big deal, I had no idea that it would become SUCH a big deal.  There are cities discussing getting LOCAL food for all the residents, universities and school systems wanting to serve only LOCAL food in their dining facilities, and food hubs popping up in hopes of distributing all this LOCAL food.

LOCAL food is being heralded as some sort of savior for the economy, social justice and health and well-being of citizens everywhere. It is hoped that by going LOCAL, our food system will become safer and more  nutritious. It is thought that communities will be more vibrant and interactive as small gardens spring up everywhere. Proponents dream that childhood obesity and hunger could become things of the past with the abundance of fresh, LOCAL food.

The only limiting factor to this phenomenal growth and interest is going to be… well…LOCAL food.

But, that’s a topic for another day.

Maybe I need to plan another trip to the vet for another bit of enlightenment.

Sunday Walkabout 5-5

from our front porch...
this is the MOST popular picture I ever posted to Facebook

This week was one of extremes...

It was either dark and dreary and WET...really wet!

Or dazzlingly bright and "breezy".

Here on the hill, we just laugh whenever the forecasters call for breezy conditions.  That just means the wind is going to blow even more than usual!

We moved chickens this week...as a matter of fact...we moved chickens almost every day...and, not just in their portable field pen.

Broiler batch #2 had to move from the brooder to the field pen.  I got the fun job of catching them inside the brooder.  The Boss got the even “funner” job of cleaning the brooder. (sorry, no pics of that!)

Batch # 3 arrived at the Post Office and was tucked into the brooder to eat and grow for a couple of weeks.

We weren’t done with chickens yet!  The oldest of the hens needed to be re-homed. 

Josh and Betsy were heading to a big poultry sale outside of Richmond, and were going to act as our sales agents.  So in true farm family fashion…we had a chicken catchin’ and the old hens headed out on a roadtrip.

Hey, guys, I just remembered.  The chicken catching job is supposed to include dessert! (sorry…next time)

The first of May is always weaning day here on the hill.  The sheep were all herded into the barn and sorted out.  After a dose of de-wormer, the ewes headed out back and the lambs headed out front for the summer season.

  *A word about de-wormer…with the incredibly damp conditions, internal parasites can become a real problem; living on the lambs’ blood and sucking the nutrition that the lambs need to grow. The de-wormer gets rid of the parasites, and keeps the lambs from certain death. It is in no way harmful to humans.*

The amazing snail population is indicative of the moisture level

The overwhelming noise and general mayhem of weaning quickly subsided and all went back to grazing on the lush spring grass.

With all the moisture, you could almost watch the plants growing. 

The potatoes are looking great, despite the fact that we have had patchy frost for the past three nights. 

great onion plants
(and great weeds)

Look at this onion…this year's crop is doing very well.  They say that the perfect onion has 13 leaves. Each leaf represents a ring.  Most of the onion plants have between 5 and 7 leaves right now and more are coming. The onion crop will not be ready to harvest until late June.  Maybe they’ll all be PERFECT!

Since it was too wet to work outside, the Boss got hoophouse #1 all tidy and weed-free.  This week’s job…plant all the seedling that are ready for the newly cleared spaces….and on to hoophouse #2.

Checking on the lambs, I found that the autumn olive trees are blooming profusely.

Even though they are scrub trees (no good for anything) they smell delightful! 

As evidence that the season is getting a very late start, look at the oak leaves…they’re still very tiny and furry.  But the peaches, pears, apples and plum trees are all showing little fruits.

Proof positive that Spring is here…I watched them haying on the other side of Mbrook.  This is one of my favorite sights!

The first week of May is also Mbrook days, complete with Fireman's Parade and chicken barb-b-que.  Every year I have been asked to make a cake…this is the sixteenth homemade chocolate cake I have baked for them.  I plan on always doing this….because…well, read I Love Mbrook.

Chore time Saturday morning before Market
The lights are from the brooder and barn

It was very dark and very cold heading to the Market.  It seems like I have been saying that for a LONG time this season.  But, the sun did shine.  It was a good day.

I keep hoping to get Market pictures
...maybe next week

That was our week.  Hope you had a good one.  Thanks for visiting!

Happy Sunday!