Setbacks

Already overcoming obstacles this spring.

Second set of tomato plants are doing well after the first round died off.

All of our little ducklings have fallen victim to the local wildlife, mostly owls I think.

We will persevere. As the Japanese proverb says: "Fall seven times, stand up eight"

New arrivals

Mama hen had 4 ducklings hatch on Wednesday, and unfortunately something got one of them the very next day, but here's a picture of the family in the yard on Thursday.

As I posted the other day, these are the first animals actually born here on the farm, so we're very happy to see them.

It dropped into the twenties last night and we had snow, so I had to kidnap the ducklings and put them in the stable under a heat lamp, I lured the mama in as well, so she could help keep them warm. They are all looking alive and well this morning, so I hope they'll make it the rest of the way.

Tomatoes have re-sprouted after losing 99% of them to damping off. Should probably plant peppers this weekend. Not much else on the horizon, it's depressing to see snow again, but it shouldn't last.

Sprouts!

That didn't take long. The first tomato seeds sprouted after only three days, and by now almost everything has broken the surface.

We've already had numerous requests for Ardwyn Farm pork this fall, it's nice to see so much interest, we must be doing something right. I wish we could satisfy the demand, but there is no way I am going to try to raise more than four pigs. I need to come up with a "waiting list" or a sign-up sheet or something for the people that are interested in buying pork this fall. I don't feel comfortable with accepting deposits or promising anything before August because you just never know what could happen. I'd hate to lose a pig and have people with unmet expectations.

Starting to see more and more birds around and other signs of an early spring. I know I'm ready. Last year the spring and summer weather was mostly rotten, probably why I didn't post much on the blog last year. This year has got to be better.

Well now...

Rumors of this blog's death have been greatly exaggerated.

We are "summertime farmers" no more. We have somehow brought 5 chickens, a rooster, and four ducks through a Wisconsin winter. The one hen duck is currently sitting on an unknown number of eggs in an old dog house that she has appropriated. If she is successful, they will be the first animals actually born on the farm, so I'm hoping she pulls it off.

I started tomato and leek seeds yesterday. Joked with Nikki that I would try to have fewer than a dozen varieties this year (I thought we'd maybe have five or six), but when I was all done I had eleven! I don't know why tomatoes make me lose all sense of proportion like that. I started somewhere around 50 plants. Again, I am insane.

Changes for this year will include my planting the garden beds in stages rather than trying to fill the entire thing the first week of June. I'll also be installing a gravity-fed drip watering system for the beds, time to make this hill we live on do some of the work! I can't believe I'm typing this but we'll probably have 4 pigs again this year. The 25lb boxes of Pasture-raised Pork were a big hit with our customers and I can definitely see doing that again this year. I already have people trying to reserve pork for this fall, but I can't plan that far ahead.

Went through my box o' seeds last week and I really won't have to buy too many this year, so I wish they would stop sending me seed catalogs! Man, we must have received 30 or more this winter with all those tempting new varieties. It takes a lot of strength to resist against the pictures of 35 pound watermelons and plump ears of sweet corn.

More to come!