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Spring arrives in usual Montana fashion with both sun, snow, and mud all at the same time. The microgreens and seedlings don't mind as they are kept warm and cozy in the cabin and cool room. The hens don't mind since they get to wander in the sunshine more often than before. Besides there are a lot of yummy bugs hding in that thawing mud! If you need eggs and microgreens, I will be at the usual place at the usual time (Friday at Fireman's Park parking lot from 12-1230pm) The online store is in it's beta testing phase and I hope to have it fully operational next week! In the meantime, message or email me to reserve anything! And let's give each other lots of space, it's a big state with room for all of us!  Last week was the first day of spring. I celebrated by letting my garden gnome resume his post on the greenhouse gate. His job is to protect all the farm plants at night while I sleep. There aren't any plants in the greenhouse yet, but it's good to give him a few nights of practice!  All the little seedlings are under their domes to protect them from the dry cabin air. They are anxious to get outside in either the greenhouse or the field! Until then, they grow on!  Hens flatten hills and dig holes. There is no in between and no other options.   RAWR! Where to find it all?
The winter egg/microgreen delivery is every Friday from 12-1230pm at the Fireman's Park Parking Lot. I'll be there rain, snow, shine, or freeze!
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While so much happens in the world, the farmers continue farming. In a few weeks, we will begin to have more and more fresh, healthy food available to the community. Right now I am very envious of the hens and ducks, who have a blissful life without the cares or worries of the world. As everything unfolds and new information comes in, I hope to help feed my community not only with fresh, healthy, local veggies but also fresh, beautiful, local flowers. It is as important to stay mentally and emotionally healthy as it is to stay physically healthy and flowers can do a lot to help! I know many in the community have come to know me for my flowers, but I always keep those veggies around and growing! Know that me and your other local farms are here to help keep our community food secure and more resilient during times of change or chaos. (It's why I started farming in the first place) Currently, I will be continuing my weekly deliveries on Fridays so ya'll can have access to fresh microgreens and eggs. Feel free to let me know if you would like me to set items aside for you and I can have them already bagged up and ready to go.  Spring brings new growth! These Daffodils are just popping up, earlier than normal, but it's nice to see something hopeful at this time! (plus, I always worry about the spring bulbs this time of year as they've been sitting there all winter and I worry that they survived, but they always do)  The weekends storm brought a fresh layer of snow, just as the ground was beginning to dry out, it's wet again. More mud to come!  The storm had just enough wind to blow the snow into all the runs so the hens and ducks had a fresh carpet of fluff to walk on, even if they don't like it that much!  Just before the storm came, this little floofer showed up on the porch and seemed to want to come in, eat a little, and hang out. Never seen her before but she definitely enjoys outside more than inside, so I let her free and she ran off to her real home. It was nice to have a little visitor. Hella kitty did NOT like it though!   They enjoyed being able to come and go whenever they wanted! The sun's out so everybody move it!  Food safety has always been something I've taken seriously. I don't only grow veg for myself but also for my community. My hands are the only ones that touch this food and wash and sterilize the surfaces, tools, and equipment so I know when and how it gets done. If you have any concerns or questions, don't hesitate to ask! What's available this week?
The main seed starting area is bursting at the seams with flats of seeds waiting to germinate, seedlings growing strong, and ones waiting for the soil to be ready, thus the micros had to make way. Now they are in the cool room, which has been converted with a basic heater and some lights into a tiny growing room (some of those seedlings will also end up here). The hens are still enjoying every little bit of sun and warmth they can get, especially since it's gonna get cold for a while. Hella continues to shun the wet muddy world outside in favor of the sunny spots in the dry, warm house. And I continue to putter away organizing and prepping the 15-20 different projects that pop up during the week and that need to be done before the 'real' farm work of prepping soil, planting, and harvesting gets underway. Even if it's raining or hailing, I'll be at the Fireman's Park parking lot on Friday from 12-1230 with lots of duck egg (be sure to check out the recipe for creme brulee), rainbow eggs, and fresh tasty microgreens.  The micros are now in the cool (warm?) room enjoying a space of their own, waiting until the cold passes and they can then be grown under the big, blue sky.  The run that blew down in the storm is almost finished, but the hens don't mind as they get let out in the sunny weather and take advantage of the time to roam and scratch and peck and squabble.  More organization to help keep me on the straight and narrow, lean up the farm, and bring some semblance of order to inherent chaos. Gotta get ready for the season!  Hella follows the sunshine as it's rays move throughout the house. Still too wet for her to want to venture out very much  This is all you need to make extra creamy duck egg creme brulee, and you won't even need that many eggs! The recipe is up on my website and is easy to make, will keep in the fridge, and is super impressive!  Yummy! A crispy sugar crust concealing a creamy custard underneath! Make a batch for a nice weekend dinner and another batch to enjoy throughout the week! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
The winter egg/microgreen delivery is every Friday from 12-1230pm at the Fireman's Park Parking Lot. I'll be there rain, snow, shine, or freeze! The hens get to roam and range early, much to their delight! The preparation for spring begins, repairs get made, and the parts to repair and rebuild the tunnels are on their way! So many projects on the go at one time makes it feel like both everything and nothing gets done. Stop by Fireman's Park this Friday from 12-1230 to get your eggs and microgreens. The meyer lemons are all gone, but will return in April!  A fresh carpet of snow over the weekend and a crisp 14F morning on a clear day makes every blade of grass and twig sparkle and shine!   RiRi splashes and pecks at all the yummy things she can find in the puddles!  Emily, her sisters Anne and Charlotte in the background, enjoy roaming the range with the rest of the flock, getting a last taste of freedom before the sun goes down and they return to their roosts!   And the organization of the carport is starting to take shape as I get it ready for the busy spring/summer season! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
The winter egg/microgreen delivery is every Friday from 12-1230pm at the Fireman's Park Parking Lot. I'll be there rain, snow, shine, or freeze! The seedling start popping up! Fresh sweet lemons! And juicy, crisp microgreens! Many things make it feel like spring, even if the cool wind likes to remind me otherwise. Soon these little plant babies will be planted out under the repaired and replaced tunnel (parts on on order now). And they'll get to bask in the warm sunshine. Until then, the micros grow and the chickens & ducks lay eggs! Eggs, micros, and lemons will be available this Friday from 12-1230pm at Fireman's Park parking lot in Libby! Get the sweet juicy meyers before they are gone!  Pansies & Violas! The first seedlings to emerge. Followed by the first kale, foxglove, and carnations babies. They are the start of the, seemingly, never ending springtime train of seed flats.  Just before harvest time, the microgreens form a thick forest of stem and canopy of leaves. They are so lush and vibrant that I almost hate cutting them down.  With the sunny days and slowly retreating snow, the hens get to enjoy more and more grass to scratch in.   The pots finally have a resting place. They have been moved around over and over again and were blown into the woods in the wind storm. After gathering them all back up, they got new shelves under the carport making use of the space between the supports and can blow away no more!  Eggs and micros, a perfect breakfast (or lunch or dinner)! I like to pair them with a little hummus and kimchi for lots of flavor and healthy (& yummy) goodness! Where to find it all?
The winter egg/microgreen delivery is every Friday from 12-1230pm at the Fireman's Park Parking Lot. I'll be there rain, snow, shine, or freeze! When an early (early) Robin shows up and starts chirping in the morning it can begin to feel like spring, but don't let it fool you. After very mild weather, both day and night, the clear skies have returned later this week and with it the warm days (perfect for greenhouse work as it gets roasty in there with full sun) and frosty nights (deep into the single digits which means all heat lamps on for chickies and ducks). Tomorrow's delivery marks the return of the microgreens! They are back and back for good! Come snatch 'em up! If you're interested in learning more about how I get the clucks and quacks through the winter so they stay comfortable and healthy enough to keep laying, head over to my website as I've put up the next installment of my Chickens (& Ducks) in Winter Blog Series. The latest is 4 of 6 and talks about how to design and build their houses to ensure it's good for the human and good for the bird! Click below to check it out! Come get your rainbow eggs, ducks eggs, and microgreens (they're back!) this Firday, February 21st from 12-1230pm at Fireman's Park.  A fresh bit of snow early in the week lets you know that spring isn't here yet. Hope that early (early) Robin has a good place to settle in and stay toasty!  The sunny days are nice for letting the barn hens out since otherwise they are cooped up without their run! Now they're can run around the whole world (which I let them do in the evenings outside of when there's snow covering the ground anyways).  The new few inches of snow means the rest gotta stay in until it melts again (which probably won't be long) otherwise they all crowd in on the same dirt patches and start turf wars between the two clans. Hens are not egalitarian creatures!  Laying eggs almost everyday is no mean feat! Time to get busy! When the sun comes out and the greenhouse warms up, Hella appears. She was a great helper in cleaning out all the old tomato vines (and some old hollyhock stems)!  Sometimes a farmer's work is best accomplished by standing at the door or gate and just watching. What's available this week?
Demolishing begins in earnest! First with the tunnel (since I've got rows of tulips and daffodils next to it that may decide to come up early with the mild temps of winter so far) and with the garage. The sunny days make it easy to get out and get things done with the darker, cooler times spent planning the structural improvements that will be needed for the tunnel so I can sleep easy the next time I hear a gust of wind. The sun and melting ground also meant the hens got to have an outing! In February! And Hella helped me to seed the first flats for this season. Mainly she meowed and sun bathed in the 60+F Dragon Dome greenhouse while I individualized tiny, tiny flower seeds! I'll be back this Friday for the egg delivery! No micros yet, but a new batch is sprouting up now so you won't have to wait too much longer! Me and the eggs will be in the Fireman's Park parking lot tomorrow, Feb 14th from 12-1230pm!  The tunnel wreckage has been taken apart and the soil-protective tarps are back in place and all those tunnel pieces are good at adding weight to keep the tarps down!.  A big pile of future scrap posts and things that I feel like I should keep and do something cool with but that will probably just sit there in the long grass and stare at me for years to come.  The wind was strong enough to bend the rebar that anchored each post into the ground. From the debris I surmised that one side was lifted up a few feet (those posts were pulled straight out) and then the wind bent it over on the other side (those posts were all bent like this one) since it was anchored too well to do a full 'mary poppins'.  Who let the hens out? Me! It's sunny. It's warm. It's melty ground with grasses and mud. All things hens enjoy!  Even the barn hens got to stretch their wings! Just needed to move the twisted wire and hoops outta the way and then their off! They've been cooped up, literally, for the past week and will be for at least another while I get busy with rebuilding their run. The wood is in the barn and it's only waiting on me to make space in my living room so I can seal & stain it all in a place that's not below freezing.  While the sun's out the greenhouse dome gets nice and snuggly warm, even when the wind picks up in the afternoon, it is still a nice place to work and stay cozy at the same time. Hella agrees even if the 'work' part isn't in her job description! What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
The winter egg/microgreen delivery is every Friday from 12-1230pm at the Fireman's Park Parking Lot. I'll be there rain, snow, shine, or freeze! What a week! While I was driving home, the big wind storm hit the area and destroyed almost 4 structures. No chickies were harmed as it hit during the night when they are all locked up tight and snug! But one of my poor high tunnels which I was so looking forward to using this year is gone, as is one chicken run, the storage garage, and the old shed roof became some flying metal panels. I had to hold back from starting to clean up and break down the rubble so the insurance agent can get a good look. It's amazing to see how easily metal pipes were bent in two and rebar was flung out of 2' deep anchors. The power was out so my weather station wasn't receiving but we estimate 70mph gusts through our little valley. Glad to say the 100 year old cabin and 60 year old barn are looking good and holding strong (the new carport probably helps hold the barn down). After planning and re-assessing this weekend, the clean up will begin! And I already have plans for modifying the high tunnel construction so it can withstand this kind of onslaught, especially if it happens when there are precious crops inside so I don't lose both tunnel and crops. Most people know or talk about how much farmers are at the mercy of mother nature, and until you watch as a 10 second downpour washes away 100 freshly planted seedlings, or rush around while getting pelted by gravel-sized hail and 30mph winds to rescue potted up transplants, or watch as a wind gust flattens a stand of wheat it can be hard to explain. People may wonder why I often stop and watch the sky or the tree tops or how a bird is flying on thermals or listen to see if the birds stop singing or if the deer are eating lazily in the field but all these things and more help me learn, understand, and predict mother natures patterns. It's not mother natures fault for being harsh, as a former climate geologist, I know just how much of a hard time she's had the last 100+ years. It's my job as a farmer to stay on her good side and know when to play in the sunshine and when to duck and cover. There will still be eggs this week as nothing gets my girls down! Stop by Fireman's Park parking lot Friday, February 7th from 12-1230pm to pick up some yummy rainbow chicken eggs or big squatty duck eggs!  Just a pile of rubble. At first I thought a good portion might be salvageable but on a closer look only a few pieces are and not enough to justify it.  The uncovered tunnel survived just fine, but it (and the replacement for the other one) will need to be converted to a different style that can hold up to higher winds. In winter it means the loss of a tunnel, in summer it means the loss of a tunnel and crops.  The original shed also got hit and lost half of one side of the roof. The extra light in side is nice since it was always very dark, but I don't think I want this large of a skylight. Note the Dragon Dome™ is completely unscathed. Yay!   The barn run also got the flattening treatment as it is more turned into the wind than the other runs. No chickies were harmed!!! The storm was forecast for saturday afternoon but struck us friday night/saturday morning so all hens, and roosters, and drakes were safe in their huts which were built and designed to withstand a lion attack which I guess also counts as 70mph winds. The sawhorse was inside the run as a daytime perch and the run lifted straight over it! The rainbow hut row is safely locked in position thanks to t-posts with rope going over all in the row, otherwise they probably would ALL look like the barn run. The hens don't seem to know what hit em and are happily beggin for food and treats at all times. What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
The winter egg/microgreen delivery is every Friday from 12-1230pm at the Fireman's Park Parking Lot. I'll be there rain, snow, shine, or freeze! After the farm conference was over, I got to book it north back toward San Fran, and the real vacay begins! A day playing tourist in The City, a few days hiking around the hills and open space of the North Bay (aka Marin County), next will be going to the beach and a little further up the coast to Napa and Sonoma (aka Wine Country) where this small regenerative farmer can scowl at giant mono-cropped vineyards. I return to the north country this weekend and will relieve my dad of his chicken tender duties. He had a visit from the wolves a few nights ago which gave him a jump, but all the feathered and furry friends slept right through undisturbed. The warm weather has been great for the birds as they've been laying eggs left and right! Be sure to get some tomorrow, January 31st from 12-1230pm at Fireman's Park parking lot in Libby!  You could say the north side of the Golden Gate is my ancestral home and passing over the bridge with The City behind me an all the open space of Marin ahead is always a happy site!   Just some Blue Macaws napping in the rainforest as you walk up the spiral causeway that winds up the dome!   A big tropical catfish, like 4+feet long, just chilling by the elevator as you leave the rainforest  A fav photo op is in the giant walk through tunnel under the rainforest river where the fish swim over and around you. Those bigins are over 8 feet long and will swim right over and behind you! My older sister works for Industrial Lights & Magic (ILM), aka makers of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, the Mandalorian, E.T., and on and on and she took us on a tour of what visitors are allowed to see and I'm not normally a big photo op person but I had to get some with my favs! FYI, my sister has a Science and Technology Academy Award for her work at ILM and she's one of the names you'll see in movie credits! I've been returning to some of my old haunts that used to be my way to escape from the traffic and chaos of humanity and walk amongst some trees. Everyone thinks of the warm sunny California summers but winter can be just a cool since it's when the rains come, the moss gets juicy and green, and all the flowers prepare to work their magic come march, april, and may! Then the grasses turn 'gold' (the origin of the name Golden Gate) and the heat begins! But for now the woods and meadows are green and the little newts and frogs and salmon make their way down to the rivers and reservoirs to make more newts and frogs and salmon! What's available this week?
After three years on the farm and working everyday to grow and build, I get a chance to step away, learn new things, and visit the ocean. This week I'm attending the EcoFarm Conference in Monterey, CA, right on the ocean and will get to go to 2.5 days of talks and workshops and seed swaps and meet a lot of interesting and diverse farmers from all over! The chickens remain in good hands with my dad and are all are enjoying the mild weather! Be sure to stop in and get some eggs from him this Friday from 12-1230pm at the Fireman's Park parking lot! There won't be any microgreens until after I return but the clucks and quackers are laying well and my Dad can't eat them alone! Please bring cash or check as I didn't want to bother my dad with installing the card app on his phone!  The ocean! I definitely recommend visiting in winter to avoid crowds and still enjoy the California weather! After a long few days of driving it's nice to put feet to the earth and rest.   The first day of the organic farming conference was a bus tour to three farms. This was the only one that grew flowers as well as veg & strawberries. And yes, the anemones were blooming, the artichokes were up, some strawberries were ripe, and lots of lettuce growing. Around Monterey crops can be grown year round!  A quick stopover at my parent's house before continuing to the conference meant I got to check out their Meyer lemon crop. This is just one of 5 trees and each fruit can get to be softball size! yum yum! (Sorry for the sideways photo, editing in a hotel room has its challenges)  What's available this week?
Where to find it all?
The winter egg/microgreen delivery is every Friday from 12-1230pm at the Fireman's Park Parking Lot. I'll be there rain, snow, shine, or freeze! |
AuthorI'm Farmer Megan with a life full of cackles, clucks, quacks, weeds, crazy kitten, and one tiny, senior, blind dog. Archives
March 2020
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