Cooking on the Farm

October 24, 2010

Whitney

Even as the days get colder and shorter and our garden gets emptier there is one thing we continue to do in abundance: cook! We’re getting into the delicious and hearty soup and stew season which fits the autumn weather so well. (more…)

The return of the prodigal kitty

October 19, 2010

Kristin

This is neither timely nor important, but I want to record it for posterity.  We had a moment of triumph and jubilation here on the Thomas Farm on Friday evening.  A moment I will never forget.

While Caleb and I were back in Minneapolis last weekend, at a high school friend of mine’s wedding, Lena disappeared.  Poor Matt and Whitney turned the house upside down looking for her, not wanting to be the cat sitters who lost the cat.  They called us to let us know, but both Caleb and I figured she would return by the end of the night.  When she hadn’t come back by the time we arrived back in VA, nearly 4 days later, we were worried.  (more…)

It’s Blue!

October 9, 2010

Matt

The Ameraucana's first blue egg (click to view larger)

This afternoon, I was pleased to discover that our Ameraucana chicken laid her first egg, and as expected, it’s blue!

As you may recall, in posts dating back to July (Chicken Drama I and II), we’ve been having trouble creating harmony between our only surviving chicken from the original three, Marcia, and our three newest chickens (the kids). After a few days of the four of them living together, it became clear that the Ameraucana (the grey one) was receiving the brunt of Marcia’s negative attention. Even after we separated Marcia from the other three, the Ameraucana’s younger “siblings” continued to pester her; as a result, we separated her from Marcia and the younger two for almost a month. (more…)

Lucy’s Birthday Shindig

October 6, 2010

Caleb

This past weekend we hosted a farm-themed gathering to celebrate Lucy’s first birthday. We went to Fluvanna County’s “Old Farm Day” and enjoyed refreshments back at the homestead.  Don’t worry; we took pictures.  In addition to plenty of Lucy pictures, we took a couple photos (1, 2) of some machines to see if people could guess what they do.  We think we know.

In other news, things are wrapping up pretty well in the garden.  I planted an oat cover crop and a clover cover crop over parts of the garden.   The clover should give the soil a charge of nitrogen and organic matter, and the oat crop will hopefully provide a bit of cover for garlic that we’ll be planting soon.  I hope to get the rest of the beds planted in the next week so there’s at least a little growth before winter kill.  We expect the three younger chickens we have to start laying in a couple of weeks.  With days shortening like they are, laying will probably not be an everyday thing.