Busy as a Bee in Spring!

Jen came back for another visit to our hives! It was so nice that the grass was so much greener this time around.

One of the hives that had been fine a few weeks ago had died so we went on an investigation:

We were concerned as we pulled it apart that we didn't see many dead bees. It meant that they didn't starve to death, which is a common problem and would have easily explained what happened:

As we took more supers off we found a small cluster of bees, probably those who were trying to protect the queen:

We finished scraping up dead bees and were cleaning the very bottom when we found the culprit: a mouse nest. Mice pressure is a huge problem for bee keepers (along with mites and disease and starvation). Next winter we'll add something over the entrance to the hive to discourage mice but still allow the bees to come and go.

After that, we took apart a hive that was still going strong. It was pretty neat to see the queen in action and a hive waking up from winter. We need to add nectar and honey to our hives plus get ready for the four new hives to arrive in May.

Asparagus

We planted asparagus! We won't get to eat it this year, but I'm not promising I won't sneak back next May to sample a taste of our hard work.

Carlen called this the best asparagus trench ever. Woo hoo!

And with the drizzly weather, the birch, barn and horse looked extra spectacular. Such a nice day to be working outside!

So Much Has Happened!

So much has happened!

We cleaned up an abandoned lot in Lawrence, MA for a nonprofit there who farms with high school students:

The lambs learned how to be extra cute climbing in the manger (before we castrated them and docked their tails):

Our piglets arrived:

We visited the garlic we planted in the fall and it's delicious! Green garlic any day now:

More tomatoes sprouted:

I repotted the older tomatoes:

We gave the onions a haircut:

We planted spring wheat:

And Theo had a birthday:

Number 60

My favorite sheep gave birth! To triplets!

Our Veggies are Growing Up!

Who isn't excited for more tomato info?!

It was time to thin these guys and I even planted some more in hopes of expanding our home garden varieties. I'm thinking of bringing some Sun Gold seeds from home to round out the green, black, red, and yellow striped varieties we're currently growing.

As well as tomatoes for the CSA, we also seeded eggplants and peppers. We were running out of room in the greenhouse so we transported all our brassicas and chard to the cold frames. We have to harden off these plants which means denying them water and keeping them cooler so that their cell structure stiffens and they're ready for the big times of living in the fields without us to coddle them. Hopefully we'll transplant them soon!

Also, sadly, the lettuce we marked got unmarked. So much for that experiment!

Something Smells Fishy

Our onions have been in the greenhouse for a bit too long at this point but it's still a bit too cold to plant them in the fields. You can see half of them here stretching towards the other end of the greenhouse.

To combat some nutrient deficiencies, which cause the yellowing, Rebekah and I sprayed fish emulsion on them yesterday afternoon.

This is right afterwards:

Later that afternoon:

And the next morning:
You be the judge of this quick nitrogen fix worked.

Farm Visits

Last Friday we went to New York to visit two farms. The first was Hawthorne Valley, a biodynamic farm that focuses mostly on its dairy operation. See if you can decide what that cow is wearing on its horns. We sure couldn't.

They also had the world's all time cutest piglets.

And strangest looking sheep/goats/wooly things.

After a wonderful lunch at Hawthorne Valley (everyone should have some jalapeno sauerkraut in their lives) we drove a half hour south to Copake Village which is a farm for special needs residents. They have quite the operation going on there with a weavery, stained glass workshop, candle making and it's the home of Turtle Tree Seeds. They also have the most beautifully laid out Healing Garden. I tried to take some photos of it but I'm sure I didn't do it justice. It was quite the place to simply enjoy walking around and dream of summer.

River Rat Race Part 2

Check out the video of the start here! After driving down to the bridge in Athol to watch the start, Theo and I jumped in our car and drove the back way to Orange to be by the finish. We watched Andrew and Justin paddle their way across, closely followed by Emily and Tyson. Such an incredible day, made even more so by finishing it off with the first cookout of the season at Reid and Kim's!

River Rat Race Part 1

This past weekend was the River Rat Race. It's a canoe race from Athol to Orange that is probably the craziest thing these towns see all year. We'd been hearing about it for months and the weekend did not disappoint with a carnival outside of Ocean State Job Lot and a parade down Main Street. There was a 5K on Saturday morning to kick of the festivities and we had all been betting on Kiyoshi, a fellow student farmer, for the win.

He did great! Theo, Emma and I were watching at the finish as he came around the corner and left the second place finisher in the dust for a time of 17:41. It was a very, very exciting finish.

Theo and I were on chores and when we returned to the farm, we found Emily and Tyson gearing up for the canoe race that started that afternoon.

Check out their super fast, super awesome, super rusty canoe!

More to come about the race when I get the video online.

Sigh

Lambs are just like tomatoes. They grow up so fast.

Death of a Snowman

Remember him? Sadly, he didn't fare too well in the April weather. He will be missed.

It Must Be Spring!

Our very first harvest! We brought in two rows of spinach that had overwintered in the hoop house and it was delicious. It was a lot sweeter than other spinach and lacked that strong 'spinachy' taste.

We then dug up a transplant from a few days ago to see if it had 'grabbed', meaning the roots had begun to grow in it's new home. Luckily it had and we tucked it back in the bed.

We put a marker around it to see if digging it up would have any adverse affect. Tyson (our awesome new assistant grower) said it would be fine but it's a neat experiment.

Tomatoes!

They're getting so big!

Spring Lettuce

I'm so excited for our first seedings of greens to be ready soon for a salad. Here's us checking out a bed in the hoop house:

And laying out seedlings:

Our newly transplanted seedlings:

All done! It's like a little bit of summer when we're able to stand in the warm hoop house with vegetables growing all around us.

Welding Again

Welding is awesome! Ron is a really great teacher and it was fun to practice stick welding and cutting again.

We have independent projects coming up soon and I'm considering a welding project. Stay tuned!

What a Morning!

Despite the lambs, we still had plenty of time for fun:

And work:

Lambs! Again!

We had another arrival this morning! A single lamb with a very quick, healthy birth.

So Snowy....

Sigh. Stupid snow storm. Why can't it just be spring?