On The LIne

We have moved our laundry line about three times. I've even hired a local teenager to do the digging up of the posts. It's been beside the house, behind the shed and now is in my garden, of all places. It's always been something to hide. A necessary, utilitarian part of our existence, but also somewhat of an embarrassment.

But I'm beginning to think of it differently. I may even decide to move it again, maybe right back where it started, next to the house near the back door. Yes, you can see the clothes waving in the wind when you drive up, but today I realized that there is a certain tactile, homey feeling about stepping outside with a heavy basket of wet clothes. Each of those clothespins are placed by my hands. I get to smell the fresh, wet fabric, plus the sunshine and breezes to do all the work and it's totally free! All of these things are good, but the best reason of all is that the whole process reminds me of my grandmother. She used to hang all of her clothes, sheets, heavy towels and throw rugs from the kitchen, even when she had a perfectly good dryer right next to the washing machine. Hanging my own things gives me a chance to visit those memories of Gram again. I think she'd be proud of my wash line, so I can be proud of it too.

So If you stop by the farm to pick up an order, you may see some things whipping in the breeze as you drive up. Don't worry, I'll get them down before it rains, and if I don't, those sheets never smelled so good.

The Sausage is Happening!

Bill has found his love. Well, yes, he found me thirty-one years ago, but more recently, he has fallen in love with making sausage. Today it was chicken sausage with Italian seasonings and fresh parsley from our garden. Wow. A whole new way to look at chicken. (and smile)

Artists Decend Upon the Farm

This past Saturday afternoon we were excited to host the artists with the Journey Daybook group. They rolled up the driveway and parked their cars in flying geese fashion upon the lawn. Smiling faces gathered around while I explained the beginnings of Laughing Chicken Farm and then they were off with their notebooks, paints, and colored pencils.

Twelve artists, twelve chairs, twelve different views of the same farm. After about an hour and a half, they gathered in my studio to show and tell what had inspired them. It gave me a whole new appreciation of the beauty that surrounds me every day.

 

Thank you Journey Daybook ladies!

 

Still Laughing

Here we are just a few weeks away from Thanksgiving. The farm is a whirl in turkey preparations. Today we will be processing at least 20 turkeys and, hopefully, 75 chickens. It's 7:01am and Bill and I are masterminding our game plan. He is finishing the last few sips of coffee, I'm squeezing in a few lines of typing and watching the blue slate sky out the bedroom window. The sun hasn't come up enough to make anything brighter than the color of a warm grey cat.
I love this part of the day. The time where I get to be quiet, alone, and sitting still. Usually I hide from Bill. He always finds me just to say good morning, but he knows I need this time of solitude, like a medicine and he retreats. We'll be working together soon enough.

Recently, we had our first class here at the farm to teach other inspiring farmers what we do. At the end of the day, Yasuo, a friend and great photographer, snapped a candid photo of us. I love this picture. As tired as we were, we still could laugh together.

Just a week later, we celebrated our 29th Anniversary. The farm held us captive this year, and we were too tired to even go out to eat. But after seeing this photo, I am so grateful to have a husband who is willing to share this crazy ride with me and still smile.

It's been five years!

Lately I've been reading some info on blogging: why people read blogs, what makes a good blog, and finding your voice. I'm new at this. I get all kinds of ideas to share while I'm in the field doing chores.
Up until now the blog seems to have been more of a record of our journey. After all, in the beginning we did feel like pioneers on this odd patch of needy ground, trying to do something new here that had never been done before. The green stripes across the sad, yellow and brown grass made us giggle with delight over what we knew would happen to the rest of our farm as the chickens fertilized and creeped across the grass in their tractors. Every new animal we brought out here has had a different impact on the soil, insects, and wild birds that call this home too. Not to mention the learning curve we've experienced in animal husbandry. I never knew the heartbreak the death of a baby lamb would bring, or the feeling of triumph in having grass the height of my shoulder after the summer rains. Our marriage has been tested, our bodies have been toughened, and our minds have been stretched. And now here we are on the five year anniversary of packing up everything we owned and moving to Trenton.
 I'm starting to feel a shift in the farm. Don't get me wrong, there are always surprises, but I now can say we've learned enough to at least have a routine. Maybe we are ready for phase two. I have no idea what phase two is. It doesn't matter. I didn't know what phase one was either.

Here are some things I'd like to happen in phase two:
1. More time for art. (After all, I now have a pretty good looking studio somebody should be using out there.)
2. More delegation. (In other words, hiring other people to do a few things we can't get to or just can't.) This one has already begun. Our neighbor has finished a fence project and it looks great!
3. Less clutter in my own life. (Oh, this one's a hard one for me. There are so many projects I love to do. Soap making, Spinning, furniture refinishing, yada yada. I'm trying to purge, I really am.) This one is sorta tied to number one.
4. Come up with a better chicken tractor design and more infrastructure to make our chores easier. (It takes so much more energy to move a heavy tractor and drag hoses.)
5. Begin to offer classes. (This is for both art and farming. We'll keep you posted.)

That's it. Five goals for the next five years. I'd love to hear what you think. There is wisdom in many counselors. I'd love to also hear what interests you in a blog. Do you like to hear about the funny stuff and the day to day challenges, sort of diary style. Or would it be far more helpful if I gave it more of a "how to" feel. And then on the other side of things, I can always talk about what's going on inside my head. Maybe not.
Thanks for your time. It means so much to me when you tell me you've read my blog post.
Robin

Yesterday, in the cool early morning, a visitor arrived at the farm. She had been here before and we greeted each other with a smile and a handshake. Joni's a scientist studying turkey vultures and how they find their quarry. She'd come to collect olfactory tissue samples from the chickens after we had processed them. She explained that the tissue samples needed to be fresh in order to do her experiments, so she came prepared with sterile containers and ice packs. As she got set up, and I finished making the rounds with feed, it occurred to me how many ways our little farm has touched others in our community and beyond.

The week before last we had another visitor. This time it was someone who wanted to buy turkey breast to make into a line of dog treats. We chatted about starting up a new business and she mentioned her connection with a big cat rescue. Later that afternoon I called her up to see if she wanted to take some turkey carcasses to the tigers.

We're almost at the five year mark for our farm and it tickles me to think back on how many different people have come to see what we're up to. Over that time, we've met scientists, vets, entrepreneurs, grandkids, grandparents, cub scouts, homeschoolers, college kids, and of course other farmers. All of them have been interested in one thing - chickens! 

Some very good friends of ours have an orphanage in Haiti. They came to see our farm that very first year and were so excited and full of ideas that they have been growing chicken in Haiti with the kids ever since. There have been at least two other couples who have come out to see how we do our chicken housing and are putting together business models in the islands of the Bahamas and Honduras. Many family flocks in Gainesville have been started on our farm, but one of the most precious is owned by a special needs young lady who is now learning how to care for her new chickens herself.

When we began Laughing Chicken Farm, we had no idea what we were getting into. We thought we'd grow a few animals and sell what we could for some extra income. Wow! God sure has taken us farther than that. When the phone rings I never know what to expect. From requests for semi-trucks full of chicken "paws" to ship to the Orient, to the people in Montana who were having a "Testicle-Festival" and wanted to know if we could ship them turkey testicles.



 

Turkey Stampede

Okay, so Bill and I get up before dawn on Monday morning, crawl out of bed, and reach for the coffee. Bill looks out the window and says, "Hey, the brooder light is off." It was a cool morning, so we agreed that the youngest ones needed a light. He heads out to turn it on. As Bill is walking to the brooders, he turns his head to the right and sees a flock of large white birds coming his way. There is something familiar about these large white birds. Wait a minute, aren't these the group of juvenile turkeys we just moved into the nets the night before? They aren't supposed to be up here by the house. Yep, you guessed it, the little varmints were out having a great time, probably partying all night long wandering the farm.  

 It's Monday, it's butchering day, and everyone needs water and feed before we get started. I could see the frustration as Bill threw his hands in the air. The turkeys on the other hand were happily picking their way through all the new grass by the house and working their way to the bigger, older flock of turkeys who by this time began to notice what was going on.  (You can see them in the background of one of the pictures. )

 The young group of turkeys obviously didn't want to be in the housing we put them in last night. They had explored that area and now were bored. We had used a single net around a portable laying house, but one electric net wasn't enough. The only other one we had available was shorter in height and had bigger holes. It was currently around the garden to keep the sheep out.

"We have to buy more nets," Bill said.

"Let's try the short one," I said.

"They'll go right through it," he replied.

"Let's put them around the RV. Maybe that will give them enough to explore."

What else was there? We could take a chicken net, but then we'd have chickens everywhere. Bill reluctantly agreed.  He and I gathered up the bigger net and the smaller net and walked them over to the RV. There were plenty of weeds and grass and things to look over and under around the RV. This would make a good turkey place.

The turkeys followed us as we set up the nets, added their food and water, brought up the wiring and hooked it all up the the electric hot wire. We herded the stragglers in and shut the gate. Whew. Done. Then as soon as we walked away, so did they. Electric shmelectric. They didn't feel a thing. Over and under and through the net they came.
(This is a picture of where they're supposed to be. Someone got left behind.)

Okay, now we were ready to butcher THEM today. There was nothing else we could do to contain them. The day had to get started with or without them where they were supposed to be. At least they wouldn't leave the farm. (We'd hoped.)

Evidently, they just wanted to be close to the action. They watched us process 70 chickens and we used the carrying cages as a barricade so they wouldn't come into the actual butchering area. When they started to bed down under the shade tree, Bill decided to try to get them into the netted area again. This time he took off running. They all stood up and started running too. They ran after him and followed right into the enclosure and he shut the gate. Suddenly the food and water we had put there looked enticing. They decided to stay and have lunch. Bill hopped over and carefully walked away.

What goes on in a turkey brain? I couldn't say. Steve, a friend who helps on processing day, said they had imprinted on us. I guess that must be it. I know turkeys are not as dumb as people say they are. So far, they've decided they like the new home. Let's get those new nets ordered fast.

Progress

The sun is up, drying up the puddles on the tops of the chicken tractors. I know the longer I wait to go outside, the hotter it will become. Bill has gone to the post office to pick up chicks. So I'm stealing a few moments, still in my pajamas, sipping a cup of green tea and wishing for just a little longer morning.

It's a very satisfying feeling to walk past a small canvas with wet paint on it from the day before. Evidence that I really did pick up the brush for a little while. Second week in a row, by the way. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself.

All day long yesterday Bill worked on framing in the windows in the shed. They are going to be HUGE. I'm feeling a nervous tickle in my stomach about them now. Too late to change things, but what if there is just too much window and not enough wall space? What if I'm making a green house instead of a studio? I know my husband well enough by now that I better not say to much about my worries. He's on a roll and I'll only frustrate him and the work will stop. He so wants to please me and sometimes I change my mind too much. I just have to remember that he's the construction expert here. If he says it will work, we'll go with that.

So while he's outside with hammer and nails, I'm inside with the music cranked up.
Here's the painting I did last week:

 I'm thinking about using it in my next collage piece. I didn't get a picture of yesterday's beginning, but The pallet is still full of paint and I'm planning on getting back to the easel when all the day's work is over. It's going to be a busy day.

Watermelon Season

Who knew sheep liked watermelon so much? Since we do live in watermelon country, we brought home a few just as the season started. I had them in the shade under a tree. The same tree that the sheep love to lounge under in the heat of the day. Well, you know what happened. They walked around with pink noses the rest of the day!

Choices

Last week at the market, standing there freezing, smiling, selling to the wonderful customers that are so faithful even on rainy, unusually cold April days, I had an unexpected moment. A new customer came to the table and purchased eggs. They walked away, then came back. I love the time I get to spend chatting with everyone at the market, so I always welcome people who just want to stand and visit for a while. Part of the fun of the market is just getting to know people. I get all kinds of questions about our products, why they are labeled "Not for human consumption" or how we treat our birds, or what they eat. Then I get the great stories of little chickens that the kids hatched in school that turned out to be roosters they had to find homes for, or the chickens that climb up in your lap and like to eat out of your hand, or the tragedy of losing a favorite hen to the neighbor's dog. But this conversation went in a different direction.

I had previously introduced them to the fact that we do not wash our eggs, nor do we refrigerate them. I explained that egg shells are porous and naturally come with a coating that protects them and keeps them fresh. After all, the purpose of the egg is to grow a chick inside. Another customer came up to the table ready to buy eggs as well. I thought all was well and they were happy with my explanation, but they leaned in close, pointed at the eggs I had on display and said," Your eggs have poop on them. You need to wash them with bleach."

Usually I have a great idea of what to say, but for some reason this time I was embarrassed. Suddenly my products were "dirty". I had another customer waiting patiently, so I quickly replied, "Yes, you can take them home and do that." then turned to the next person in line and asked what I could get for them. I wanted to pull away, cover my embarrassment, and move on. Actually, for one split second,  I wanted to hide all my dirty eggs, take them home and scrub them down in bleach. Then clarity came. Why is it we can always think of the right thing to say after the person is gone? The rest of the afternoon I muttered intelligent replies and creative comebacks. What it all boiled down to, I finally decided, (and it took me until today to vocalize it) was that our eggs, all our products in fact, give people choices.

Yes, you can buy a room full of eggs that have been washed pretty with bleach, but where can you find the egg that has not been bleached, or sprayed with a chemical, or been sitting in a warehouse for weeks? Well, at the Laughing Chicken farm stand, of course. What we do every day at this small plot of ground in Gilchist county gives people choices. What they do with those choices is not up to me. I can only put it out there. But thank God I am still allowed to put it out there.

So I guess I need a slightly thicker skin, and I need to stop trying to please everyone. My choice is tho offer what I believe in. Maybe next time I'll stand a little taller and smile a little wider doing it.
-Robin

 

Valentine Chocolates

Rainy, drippy day. Thank You so much, Lord. The wetness seeps into the grass and the new shoots look like little green elbows pushing through the dirt. Bent and straining against the tight crust until they grow one more millimeter enough to straighten. The sheep are ready for them. Hungry, nibbling lips swinging through the short new stems. I watch them eat and almost want to join them just to taste a hint of spring.

It's eight o'clock in the morning. Late enough to see the sun and hear the hungry calls outside. Bill is off to get a new batch of chicks at the post office. I need to start making bottles for all the new babies. Calf, sheep and now two goats.

My sweet, wonderful husband shows his love toward me every time he agrees to another animal baby. Even goats. Especially goats. One of his mantras: "I hate goats." But here we are with a cardboard box in the office containing two chocolate bucklings nestled in cloth and old towels muttering softly awaiting a warm suckle of colostrum. That's love.

Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years! Oh my!

What a busy season! I am always so humbled by the people who seek us out and purchase from us during the holidays. Each year we try to do better, and each year we learn what not to do next year.

We did get to take some time for our family. Our annual family picture on Santa's lap was on Christmas day. Our sweet friends Bill and Kathy Bare are professional Santa and Mrs. Clause. In between appearances around the state, they create a winter wonderland on their property in High Springs from Thanksgiving through Christmas. Lights, reindeer games, and hot coco, plus a visit with the big guy. We make it a tradition every year and this year we were blessed to have my mom and dad with us from Clearwater, and our daughter Cat and her husband Brandon from Alabama. Micah and his girlfriend, Stephanie, rounded out the group. Alas, Ben and Danielle are in Japan this year and not here with us. Thank God for Skype.

There have been two new additions to the farm to start the year out. A new ram lamb and a new calf. Bill has named them Harry and Mr. Meaty. I'm sure you can guess which one is Harry. 

The calf is Holstein/Angus, the lamb is a ram and will bring (hopefully) some soft fleeces into our flock of sheep for the fun of spinning. (like I don't have enough to do). Both are bottle babies. Thankfully, we have friends who have milk goats and milk cows and like our chicken!

I'm looking forward to this coming year. It always feels like a fresh start in January. You look at what you have learned and marvel at the possibilities before you. God always has surprises around the corner.

Never a dull moment

Who says living in the country is quiet and peaceful? I guess if you like just empty space around your domain it would be tranquil, but throw a few animals on that space and see what happens!

This week Bill and I took the plunge and added four more sheep to our little flock of four. Our good friends Janice and Lewis Cox run a successful (and beautiful) flock of sheep in Lake City. We've learned so much from them, and successfully bottle fed two of their orphaned lambs. This past June we added our first ram to be papa to the flock. All we needed were more girls to really get production rolling.

Janice invited me to come see what she had available from this year's lambing. How do you pick? I wanted them all of course. I picked out four and then took Bill with me on another day to pick them up. Janice was so patient with me. She walked all the sheep into the corral, separated out the lambs from the flock and got them sorted. I looked over all the lambs a second time. Of course I changed my mind, picked out different ones and we loaded them into the dog crates on the back of the truck. Thank God they fit! We got them home, let them out into an electric netting circle connected to the turkeys and I got a phone call. Janice said that in the mixing of the flock again, I had gotten one that was already spoken for. Drat! She said she would come exchange her, no problem.

Well, on her farm, with gates and corrals, and shoots, it was no problem. But on my farm, only flimsy electric netting held them in. These weren't bottle fed babies like I was used to either. They didn't want to have humans touching them, no way, not one bit.

When Janice came, getting the lamb off the truck was easy smeasy. Getting one lamb out of five scared lambs flocking and running around was a different story. We tried catching, cornering, diving for a leg, and then shooing them into the cage we had taken off the back of the truck. Not good. They pushed through the netting, and headed toward the other end of the pasture! The other sheep started calling to them. The ram was especially enthusiastic--he knew they were girls. Thankfully there was a fence and a gate between them.

After locking up the older sheep in their small pen, we herded the crazies into that side of the pasture and then, after many attempts, got them to go into the old garden area that had a fence around it. It took us an hour and a half.

 I learned something. Sheep aren't easy to pick up and move like chickens. Bill and I could barely manage getting them into the truck and driving them over to where they were supposed to be. Of course we locked up Mistake Sheep safe and sound for Janice to take back home. I think our friendship survived. We made a memory for sure. The first thing Bill said when we were huffing and puffing was,"We need to build more fencing."   

The top picture is the four new ones with the one we raised here on our farm. (Ours has the collar.) See all the grass the chickens and turkeys have made for them?

Goodbye

Today is one of the saddest days we've had on our farm. Today we lost our very first lamb baby. The one we arrived home on Mother's Day to find in the field. The one we waited for with much excitement. Our very first lamb from our very first bottle baby that we raised last year. And the worst part about it is that it was our fault.

Yes, I saw the cherry tree branch wilting, and yes I knew that they are poisonous, but somehow my brain didn't put the two together when I was out in the field yesterday. I saw where the chickens had pecked the bark all the way around a young cherry tree. They wringed a few plumb trees too before we moved them to a new area. Now the trees are in the process of dying and dropping leaves. Wilting cherry leaves produce arsenic, but healthy leaves are safe for the sheep to eat.

The baby lambs have just begun to nibble on green things as they walk through the field with their moms. Apparently, our older lamb nibbled on a wilted leaf yesterday morning. By the afternoon she was down with a stomach ache and bloated. I didn't know what was wrong. My friend Margie came with her years of experience and knowledge and helped me give the lamb some baking soda and mineral oil hoping that we could get her to pass any blockage. Early this morning I checked on her and she was worse. Bloated bigger and clearly in pain. I held her and gave her more baking soda and oil, but it didn't help. She was gone in less than an hour.

Bill and I both cried and cried. Losing birds is sad, losing lambs is torture. I asked him if he wanted to continue raising sheep. The way I feel today makes me wonder if I can go forward. But Bill wants to keep working on it. We've moved the sheep to the other side of the fence where no cherry trees are. That's the only thing I can think of that it could have been. Thank God the other three are okay.   

New Puppies

Yesterday we traveled to the panhandle to pick up our new puppies. Just a five hour jaunt to the big city of Holt, FL. The sky was overcast as we went through patches of rain on I10 and we arrived just as the clouds cleared.

Draggin' Acres Farm is a shady maze of paddocks filled with big goats, tiny goats, one cat and about 5 Great Pyrenees dogs. The puppies met us at the gate along with their mother, and human mother, Brooke. She gave us the "tour" all along introducing us to the new arrivals in the baby goat department. There were a few I could have scooped up and put into the extra dog crate we brought, but I resisted.

Brooke's puppies are raised with the goats 24/7. All the dogs and the goats act as a herd together and the dogs take on the responsibilities of protectors as they get older. The bond they form is strong enough for the dogs to risk their lives for the animals they protect. There are other guardian breeds of dogs, but we chose the Great Pyrs because of their good temperament with people. At least that has been our experience. Lilly, our first guardian puppy also came from Brooke last year. In fact, these two new fluffy bundles are her half-sister and half-brother. Hopefully Lilly will be interested enough in them to teach them what happens here on our farm. Brooke didn't have any chickens so that will be a new adventure.

What made the day even better was having Catherine, our daughter, drive over from Alabama and meet us for lunch then travel with us to Brooke's farm. She was the photographer and the one who keeps me on my toes about blogging and all that computer stuff. (thank you sweetheart)

 Ziggy and Cricket are our newest arrivals. I think they've melted Bill's heart already. Now they get to start farm school and the best part is they get to eat all the chicken they can hold.

Goose Adventures

My family is always full of surprises. Recently my aunt and uncle came for their first visit to our farm. I was so excited to show them all the things we've been doing. When they arrived, they had a big cage in the back of their pickup truck.

"We brought you something," my aunt said with a big smile. I looked in the back of the truck and saw four heads with long necks and big eyes. Four big geese looked back at me. They were just as surprised as I was.
Of course I thanked her, I mean, when do you ever get four big geese for a present? My next thought was, "Where am I going to put them?"
My aunt seemed to think they would be fine in the corral with the ducks for now. At least until they settled in. Then she said I could just let them roam around the farm and they would be happy. We found a container big enough for them to have a "pond". So far so good.
The next day we received a giant goose egg and I thought this was going to be a good relationship after all. Well, that's what I thought until on day three, big goose number one decided to spread his giant wings, glide over the electric netting away from the ducks, and settle on his own in the north end of the property. Geese two, three, and four soon followed. Well, maybe they know where they live now, I thought. My mom and Danielle, my daughter in law, were staying over, Bill was out of town, and I figured the geese could do their own thing. But then we had trouble. The four wild things did NOT want to stay on Laughing Chicken Farm property. In fact they were flying over fences like crazy and I could just barely see them in the neighbors field.
"Get in the truck!" I yelled and we three girls drove up the driveway. I parked and jumped out, running through blackberry bushes and cactus. I caught the first goose and handed her to my mom. I asked her to hold on tight and sit in the truck with her. Poor mom's shoes were full of cactus spines and sand spurs. Without complaining, she held the goose on her lap. Danielle and I could only catch one more goose. The more we ran after them, the farther away they flew. We all rode back to the house with the two geese in our arms. I rode on the tailgate while Danielle drove and the goose in Mom's arms pooped all over her lap while uttering deafening honks the whole way home.
Danielle took the pictures while I clipped the wing feathers on the two we'd caught so they would stay behind the fencing. We could hear the male calling while the females called back all through the night. I felt so helpless.
Thankfully, the next morning the male had made it back. I opened the fence, and he walked in. I was just glad he didn't get eaten during the night. After talking with my aunt, we decided it was best to find them a new home. A friend came and picked them up and off they went down the road again in the back of a pickup truck, necks stretched out and eyes wide with surprise.

A New Year!

We've got one more week of 2011. The quiet space between the busyness of Christmas and next year's projects has me feeling restful and antsy at the same time. I find myself walking in circles, feeling less than motivated, not sure what could be the best use of my time. I guess I'm putting pressure on myself because I want this next year to have purpose. I want our farm to have purpose.

Not that we haven't had purpose already. God has blessed us beyond our imaginations in the last three years. We've learned so much about this land and cooperating with it and the animals. We've made so many wonderful relationships with our customers. I'm so grateful for all of these blessings. But this coming year is beckoning me to explore new ground and think bigger. For one thing, we sent our ewe lambs off to be bred with a friend's ram. As simple as this sounds, it will take us in a whole new direction. Fencing is now Bill's priority project. He's gone from "letting" me keep a few pet lambs to looking at sheep as a future product to sell. This is exciting, yet daunting because we've never raised sheep before.

Another direction I want to move the farm in is to include more art activities here on the land. Our first event will be an open studio/outdoor art day the third Thursday of January. I'm inviting anyone who would like to come out and do art, talk art, eat, take a walk, paint, photograph, whatever, for the day. Bring a lunch, meet the animals, draw or paint a picture. (I'll be happy to offer instruction, but only if you want me to.) We'll be open from 10am to sundown/feeding time.

These are just two ideas for 2012. I'm looking forward with a thankful heart at what God has done here on this 13 acres in Gilchrist County. I also know that direction and inspiration come from our Heavenly Father. You can bet I'll be spending more time seated at His feet in prayer as we approach the next year. I want to hear His Voice with all my heart.

Embracing my studio

I've had a love-hate relationship with my RV studio. The eyesore we call "Bondo Bertha" sits 150ft from our house. It takes me quite a few steps to walk there. Usually when I get there, I've forgotten something or suddenly need to use the bathroom so I have to just turn around and head back to the house. It has LOTS of storage space, cabinets and cubbys. However, even though we had the electricity brought to it, only half the lights and appliances work off that system. The other things like the refrigerator, heater and overhead lights are on a separate system connected to a battery that died long ago. We've found other ways to deal with the broken things, but the lighting has really been a challenge. How do you create art when you can't see?

Recently we positioned our new shed closer to the house in hopes of making it into a sales area for chicken and a brighter studio space for me. The reality of it is that it is yet another project on an ever growing list of farm related, more urgent projects. So....yesterday morning, I realized I'll never paint if I wait on the perfect studio space. There are always excuses and reasons to delay squeezing out the paints. Why do I always put the creative time on hold? I feel so guilty when the housework awaits or the husband and son need clean clothes.

I sat down yesterday and pulled out the paints and finished this little chicken painting. I didn't get frustrated over the limited light, I just added another lamp. I took the phone with me and answered calls from the studio. It really felt good to finish something. Even something small. I didn't try to fix the world around me, I just used what I had available for the day. And it worked. Hopefully, I can keep this attitude. Hopefully I can turn my attention away from what isn't perfect and focus on what I can do with what I have.

So much of our farm runs that way. We've scrounged most of the building materials for all of our equipment. God blesses us time and again with witty ideas of what can be done with a pile of odd things. I'm sure in time I'll have that fancy studio in a more convenient place, but for now. I'm going to join hands with Bondo Bertha and see what we can create together.

Turkey Harvest

Today we harvest the final turkeys for our Thanksgiving sales. After extensive emails, phone calls, and lists of lucky customers, we know who these next 35 turkeys belong too. We just have to get them ready. We've never done this many in one day. It should be an adventure.

This year has been another year of experimentation in the turkey operation. Will we sell them in the summer? Yes! How many can we raise? We maxed out at 150 for the season. Will we put people on a waiting list again? No! Besides our fresh turkey list of pickups, next year we have to come up with a better solution than a wait list. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm listening. Bill had it right when he said we should just offer them for sale first come, first serve. Next year, that's the way it has to go. The only problem is the freezer space it takes each week if they all don't sell. Where do we put the next batch? Maybe another freezer is in our future.

Another thing we learned this season is how hard it is to clean ducks. Again, I had to learn it the hard way. Poor Bill, I keep insisting we can do better with ducks and I order the next batch. Then comes butchering time. No matter how you slice it, it still takes hours to clean just a few. We could have done 50 chickens in the time it took to do 12 ducks. So... I guess I'll leave the ducks to the experts for now.

Something else that we are looking into that I'm really excited about is more sheep. Bill and I have been talking to other farmers about raising sheep for meat. I have been trying to convince Bill for a long time to let me have more lambies. I think I'm addicted. Now it looks like I'll get my wish. All we need is more fencing. Lots more fencing than we have. Hopefully the turkeys will help with the fence projects. I'm going to try to get the two sheep that I already have to be bred for spring. Oh, I can't wait to hold baby lambs!

Foggy Morning

The weather has changed, hasn't it. I laid my cut off shorts out a few nights ago, but haven't had them on yet. The thermometer read 37 on Sunday morning at daylight! We put out two more thermometers beside it because we didn't believe it could be so cold. Out came the wool socks, jeans and sweatshirt. The sheep were skipping and bouncing this morning and playing chase with the dogs. Everyone is enjoying the crispness of the air and a renewed appetite. I'm thrilled because now I don't mind turning on the oven to bake some goodies, now I can make a batch of soap and...did someone say plant something in the garden?

Here at the farm, we're already planning for the holidays ahead. We sent out the email inviting reservations for turkeys and the response has been huge. The weight of the responsibility is intimidating. I'm praying for blessing and safety on each and every turkey out there so they can be a blessing in return.

The painting here was a quick oil study on panel I did last week when the fog filled the yard before the sun climbed over the tree line. I had to work quickly, because the light changed every minute, but sometimes that forces you to make better decisions in the painting process. There's our little tractor, a gift from a customer, awaiting a mower attachment Bill has his heart set on. Maybe by the spring he'll be able to mow down the weeds that make pulling the chicken tractors a challenge. (They have fertilized so well, of course the weeds are happy.)