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It's been a week of the weather whipping you back and forth, as it has for much of the country. The hens have had to deal with some discomfort but the seedlings are growing happily in their special attic space which I crawl into and check on them every morning and every evening (just like I do once they are planted outside and I have to tuck them into their various frost protections every night and open them up to the sun every day). It's good routine! And even if the hens are unhappy with the weather, the ducks are ecstatic and have been busy laying egg after egg! Hopefully I can get back to tinkering on the many tiny construction projects next week (the workspace is essentially a wind tunnel) because before I know it all the little baby seedlings will be grown up and ready to get planted outside! What was snow one day, was a slushy slurry the next!  Every year I'm tempted to get a fancy seeder that can seed a whole flat in under a minute and then I don't. There are multiple reasons, like they use a vacuum and vacuums are noisy, I often don't seed a flat with the same single variety (especially with the flowers), and they won't work with a lot of the more irregular shaped flower seeds, but truly it comes down to this: I like to touch the seeds. Creepy of me right? It may be 'woowoo' but I like to give them a little sense of hope, a little feeling of gratitude for their current and future self, a 'seed hug' if you will. So go forth and not only hug a tree but also hug a seed because it is just a baby tree!  If these little seedlings look a lot like carrots to you, then you have a good eye! They are baby Queen Anne's Lace and Chocolate Lace Flower, both relatives of carrots that flower in the first year (not the second like carrots do) and make larger and more numerous blooms, but not much root.  The first sowing of Cherry Tomatoes are growing well, and the second sowing got done this weekend. In another week or two, they'll each get upgraded to larger pots and smothered with as much indoor light I can give them as I don't trust putting them into the greenhouse (even with a heater) until March/April. I sleep better knowing they are safe from a sudden overnight cold snap.  I'm finally getting to winnowing and sifting the saved seeds from last year! I should have done it months ago, but that's life. Every time you save seeds you are choosing individuals that are thriving in your region and local conditions. This is the perennial Lupine that grows big and bushy, with tall spires of purple, blue, pink, and white blooms that are beloved by bees and can handle frosts! I'm working on prepping the cold hardy varieties first so they will be available for planting as the conditions are right! The hens may get wet feet in their run, but in their coop it is drier so most stay in there, but the Teal Hut (home to the two bantam roosters) had a fully flooded run with water about 3-4 inches deep and they are tiny dudes, so I put their food and water in their hut and they have to spend some time cooped up until the water flows away, as chickens are not swimmers, especially little plump dudes with feathered feet!  As the chickens get special treatment and consideration in the wet times, the ducks don't care one bit! I'm sure this drake wishes his run was flooded instead!  The firewood shed floor has quickly become a chunky smoothie of mud and bark bits! Since it is a low spot relative to the snow outside (especially on the sides where it falls off the roof), it all flows in and even though the wood is off the ground a bit I may end up with some logs in ice!  But the water in the shed is good for one thing: to keep the axe heads on with no bucket needed! It looks like I can now designate the Farm Laborer's trailer and the Cabin as lake front property! 😂 What's available this week?
Where to find it all? I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! Recipes for Food Eaters
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It was a chilly week for everyone! Everyone made it through and only a few eggs were lost to being frozen solid, or at least I ate them after they thawed ;). Hella stayed huddled up in her blanket pile on the couch while I fed the woodstove and turned on the other heaters too. It was a good excuse to tidy up inside, organize the seed starting area, and chop more firewood! And remember, every day gets us closer to fresh grass, leafy trees, and flowers! Oh how I miss flowers!!! There are some dried flowers left if you really need a flower fix and, of course, there are eggs and microgreens available online to order or email me to reserve them for you!  When it's well below zero the frost starts to move inside!  It makes for great icicles too! The eerie red glow from the coops means the hens are warm and toasty!  The seed starting area is starting to fill up, so I brought the other shelving unit up to get ready for more seed flats that need a space and some light. It is a few weeks before I feel confident in the greenhouse dome's heater so for now they get their special space in the attic! The last bigger inside project is done! It was an epoxy float coat, like a bar top, for my wooden bathroom counter with a live edge also filled with glitter!!! The best way to enjoy glitter as an adult is to encase it in epoxy!  I finally took the time for a quick jog/hike along the Kootenai and in true Montana fashion it was beautiful even in winter! Also saw an Eagle try for a Great Blue Heron. It got away but probably not without a few scratches!  Hella loves the hand soap I currently have so every time I wash my hands she wants to lick it 'clean' for me! What's available this week?
Where to find it all? I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! Recipes for Food Eaters A yummy winter bowl of warm polenta with crispy mushrooms and brussel sprouts and an egg (make it even better with a duck egg!) make a great lunch or dinner to keep your tummy warm and full!
Find the Recipe here. From Dishing up the Dirt It's a perfect week to get any of the everlasting bouquets or wreaths for your sweetie! But if the low maintenance dried flowers aren't your thing, you can always get a Farm Buck$ card toward future farm goodies. It works just like a usual online gift card and it's good for anything I sell, whether it be the fresh veggies, pasture raised eggs, or the bouquets of fresh flowers that are just beginning their season as I plant the seeds! The hens are all tucked up in their heated huts to keep warm and toasty on these frosty nights while I stay warm feeding the woodstove with all the logs it wants! Hella gets to patrol the hayloft for some rodent sized squatters and the wormies get wriggly with it in the worm bin!  A few Mixed Bouquets of the last dried flowers are available for those special everlasting valentines and galentines!  The cold mean getting a lot of firewood up on the porch and ready to pop into the stove! It's a hungry beast that needs constant feeding, almost as hungry as the hens ;) Speaking of those hungry hens, they love it when I forget to eat my greens since it means they get them instead! Even if they aren't as good about sharing as I am.  Woodshop time means I get to work on the smattering of small 'building' that will make the farm just that more functional. First was the hut for the generator. Second is a little Farm Stand that will be stocked on Saturday mornings in future. Now it just needs a floor and a roof! And when I'm busy in the woodshop, that means Hella gets some playtime in the barn, especially the hayloft, where she gets to chase after all the mice and packrats that nest and scurry around!  (sorry if they are a little squirmy and creepy!!!) You may have forgotten about my wormies in their worm bin, but I haven't! I've been feeding them the veggie scraps that even the hens don't care for (like onion skins, moldy strawberries, and squash rinds) and they've been growing, multiplying, and turning all the ucky ickiness into beautiful black gold! These ones are taking a water cooler break from all the vermicomposting below so they can dish all the dirt and juicy gossip on their other wormy roommates!  Hella may be unintentionally impersonating a famous kitty cat clock, but the only time she is telling is that it's nap time! What's available this week?
Where to find it all? I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! Recipes for Food Eaters
A little bit of rain and a little bit of snow leaves a lot of ice underfoot. But the ducks and hens get to enjoy their snow, rain, and ice free runs while I slip and slide around ensuring they have plenty of food and water! Even while it is drab outside, the flats of seeds are greening up inside and there will be lots more to come over the next weeks. I try to give each one a little boost of encouragement which gets harder the faster they come. Some of the smaller construction projects get done, just as more get started, and the last of the dried flowers are getting made into some early Valentines/Galentines bouquets!  A bit of fresh snow makes the Rainbow Huts look bright and cheerful amid the winter gloom!  Tiny pops of green are appearing on some of the first trays that were sown! These are Sweet Williams getting an early start to a long season of blooms!  The Delphiniums are starting to send up their first true leaves so they can soak up as much light as possible from the LEDs.  With no ponds around what is a Drake to do but rub a dub dub in the tub Another hut has graced the farm with it's presence but it holds no clucks or quackers, only a tidy place for the generator so sit idly by until I need it. Some new Everlasting Bouquets to share with your everlasting sweetheart are available in the store this week and more will be added next week as well!  Sunday mornings are spent sipping a strong cup of tea propped up under warm covers while the refueled wood stove brings the cabin to a comfortable temperature while I enter the weeks receipts, except sometimes Hella takes offense and claims all the delightfully crumple-able receipts for herself! What's available this week?
Where to find it all? I'll be at Libby this Friday from 12-1230pm! I'll be at Troy this Friday from 1-130pm! Recipes for Food Eaters
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AuthorI'm Farmer Megan with a life full of cackles, clucks, quacks, weeds, crazy kitten, and one tiny, senior, blind dog. Archives
October 2022
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