The modern homesteading lifestyle has been trending in the U.S. for a while now and the internet is loaded with chum (I mean, uh, content) to help you find the best chicken breeds for your farmlet. I love research and data analysis so I frequently revisit this subject to see what the hatcheries, blogs, youtubers, and assorted advertising pyramid schemes are recommending. Over the years I’ve noticed a number of valuable chicken breeds that are never mentioned…
Read moreThe Cycle of Life
Farm life is cyclical, filled with ups and downs. Some are planned, others take us by surprise. And some weeks are more of a roller coaster than others.
Read moreNot Bad, For a Monday
Our first sheep had their one bad day today. As with our first pigs, I grew more anxious over the last week, mostly in anticipation of what could possibly go wrong. Sheep grow fast and local processors are perpetually scheduled a year out, so this time the labor of it could not be bought – it was up me to get it done.
Read moreThe True Cost of Food
Certain topics are so important and wide-reaching that they make a writer feel like an ant staring up at a skyscraper. Which is why I have procrastinated on tackling the true cost of food.
Read moreCommunity Salad
I was over the proverbial moon to attend a recent cheese-making class followed by a decadent meal centered around cheese. Cheese is one of my favorite food groups, and Shona’s Food Company never disappoints. Plus, it was a chance to spend time with some lovely ladies. But what struck me most is how the experience embodied the sense of community.
Read moreHopeful Farming at Hop Frog Farm
While we have tried new things on our farm each year, it is still easy to fall into a pattern of “the same old way you’ve always done it.” Watching a kazillion farming videos on the internet until 3am can be a fun way to spend a Tuesday night, but we’ve found it much more productive to get hands-on experience under the guidance of professional farmers.
Read moreFull Speed Ahead?
Living through only our third “spring” in Washington has convinced us that weather here is certifiably insane. Snow in mid April, followed by rain, more rain, some cold, and more rain throughout May. Pay no mind to my salivation and crazy eyes, I’m just chomping at the bit to nestle plants safely into the ground.
Read moreThe Hard Decisions
Let’s start with the obvious: farming is not easy. Sometimes the heartaches come from Mother Nature— weather or wildlife ruining a crop or killing an animal. But then there are times where we have to make difficult decisions of our own.
Read moreYear of the Sheep
Another year, another lesson (or two, or twenty) in self-taught farming. The Sheng Xiao says this is the year of the Tiger, but on the Star & Sparrow zodiac it is the year of the Sheep.
Read moreTo Market, To Market
While I didn’t grow up with farmers markets, I always appreciated their older cousin—the roadside produce stand.
Read moreMeetings About Meetings
I read an interesting statistic in early April claiming that white collar workers are now spending 250% more time in meetings than they were pre-pandemic. As I remember it, just about all my non-entry level white collar jobs involved meetings for at least half my time.
Read moreBe Careful What You Wish For
Last year I was doing a little tractor work for a friend and had to stop in my tracks several times for mother hens and their chicks. To the owner’s frustration, two free-range hens decided to sneak off and hatch out clutches of fluffy cuteness. It was a welcome intermission to a dusty job, and I found myself growing envious of their self-sufficiently reproductive chickens. Thou shalt not covet they neighbors chickens!
Read moreCh-ch-changes
One day you wake up, and it’s hard to measure the distance from where you were to where you are now. Sometimes changes smack you in the face, and sometimes they are tiny and only add up over time. But stepping out of the daily grind shines a light on the differences, big and small.
Read moreBelly Rubs
An hour ago I was saying to Farley “I don’t think I’ve been off the farm in over a week!” She then reminded me that I was in town several hours yesterday for an appointment. I guess my body was there, but my mind really wasn’t. Instead, I’ve been almost singularly focused on the culmination of our pig-raising efforts over the last 8 months.
Read moreEgg Hunt, Minus the Magic
This post was written in two parts, with a week or so in between. The first section came into being while I was bemused and cheerful, the second after I was hit with a harsh dose of reality. Such is farm life.
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