Friday, May 16, 2014

May Days

Food is in production here at Grace Note Farm!  I didn't actually completely kill my asparagus bed (phew!), and so I've gotten enough for a few meals.  I can honestly say that fresh asparagus right off the garden bed is one of the most amazing things I've ever tasted.  A very complex flavor of sweet and bitter at the same time along with a fresh "SNAP!" that you'll never get from grocery store stalks.  So amazing in fact that I went and got 8 new root balls to put in the soil and am hoping for a nice big harvest of them in the future.  Just outstanding!

The big chickens have been doing their part to keep us in food, also.  We've had plenty of eggs to keep us going and they, in fact, made the perfect birthday breakfast for me.  Along with lending their part in the waffles Music Man made for Mother's Day, amazing!


And here's my handsome roo, Snowball, or just Snowy for short.  Behind him there is my little Egyptian Fayoumis (pronounced fay you me), Wilma. 

She's one of our original chickens and has turned 3 this spring.  She was one of the ones hit by the virus I had go through the coop last year where we lost 3 birds, and her reproductive system seems to have been affected as well.  She lays eggs very sporadically and often times they don't have a shell on the, they are just the membrane you see attached to the shell when you crack the egg.  The insides are fine, but we don't eat them because of the bacteria factor.  Plus, they just look kind of gross.  The other hens usually eat them before we see much of them as well. I know, disgusting, but chickens are like that.

We've had plenty to keep us busy, these little buggers are finally out of the house and in their own little pen and coop.  This is the view I see when I open the door in the morning.

They have absolutely voracious appetites and attack me the second they can get a peck on me when I'm reaching for their feeders.  I was afraid that I would not be able to slaughter them when the time came, but honestly, they are so aggressive and tend to stress me out a little, it's not going to be a problem!  Because when they were this cute...

But now, the roosters are sparing off with each other, they attack anyone who comes near them  for food.  Mainly that's me as I take care of the animals around here...not sure how that duty came to fall on me, but it seems to have done just that.  Good thing I like animals.  And we're adding a dog to the mix next week, more on him when he arrives from his shelter down south soon.

Work continues in earnest, here are a couple of the things Music Man has been up to, pretty self explanatory...

Coaching...

Sawin'...

 

Hauling...

 
 

Tuning up...

 
 

Funnin'

 
 
 

See why I'm so incredibly lucky?  You can't beat a handy husband, and he's one of the handiest going.  We have never a dull moment here on the farm.  The list of "need to do" far outweighs our available time, but we just keep on plugging along and doing what we can do.  The boys sports schedules tend to dominate our time, especially Music Man's, so that's always a precarious balancing act.  But, somehow, we're making it work.  We always do. 
 
 
 Spring cheers to you, ~Peacemom
 
 
 

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