Time flies in the summer! It seems so long ago that I took these photos. The garden has changed so much since then and all of the animals are much bigger now.
Ploughing the garden.
Freshly turned soil.
Covering the potato seed.
Goats outside and enjoying the first grass of spring.
Pigs enjoying the evening sun.
New chicks
Frame of the new pig shelter.
To you Life on the Farm blog readers: this post is a little out of the ordinary. I am hoping to have a regular blog post up soon, but for now you are welcome to enjoy photos of our bountiful harvest of squash.
To our vegetable CSA customers, welcome to our blog if you haven’t been here before. I thought that I would help you sort out the different varieties of winter squash that you’ve received by adding photos for each variety.
Burgess Buttercup Squash:
Table Queen Acorn Squash:
Red Kuri Squash:
Delicata Squash:
Sugar Dumpling Squash:
Waltham Butternut Squash:
Spaghetti Squash:
Baby Pam Pie Pumpkin:
Hopefully this helps!
March this year on the farm didn’t lend itself to be photographed very well. I was away on a service trip for first half of March and the second half, well, I didn’t get many photos taken.
Highlights of March:
-The first calves of the season were born.
-The maple sap started running at the end of the month.
April, on the other hand brought many new things and lots of photo opportunity.
Sun setting behind our bio-shelter which houses part of the beef herd over winter.
Sun shining over silage bales
Fence line
Cattle overwintering in the barn
3 of our 18 calves born this spring.
My brothers take care of collecting and boiling down the map sap. Here you can see the steam rising off the pans of sap.
Dad milking Josie, one of our jersey cows.
We also had goat twins born this spring.
The farm from a different angle.
The farm is looking really green now!
The tractor and bale chopper that is used to bed down the cattle to keep them dry over winter.
My brothers enjoy taking one of the goats out on a leash. This photo makes me wonder who is in control. :)
A close-up of our heritage breed tom turkey.
The first flowers of spring.
February is right in the heart of winter and thus it is normally full of the usual things that winter brings to the farm: blowing snow, feeding the animals, bedding the animals down and keeping them dry. These things take up the majority of the time.
Here are some photos of February on the farm. Disclaimer: none of these photos really show all the work that happens on the farm. I find it easier though to take photos of sunshine etc. then to take photos of our family doing farm work.
Josie, our newest jersey cow.
Life has slowed down here on the farm. January is our month of relaxing, researching, and planning for the coming year and all its seasons.
The animals are off pasture and in their winter housing. The garden is dormant waiting for spring to arrive.
In the winter our chicken pens are used for storage.
Goats in their winter housing.
Grinding poultry and pig feed.
Silage and hay bales for the cattle have been wrapped in plastic to preserve them for winter feed.
Cattle enjoying the sunshine in the barn.
We got a new puppy at the end of October last year. She is very small and will probably only be twelve pounds. Though she is small she loves running and enjoying the out of doors.
Our two sows
Sows enjoying the sunshine.
Pig kisses
Even pigs smile!
Happy pigs!
"There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter. One is the January thaw. The other is the seed catalogues." - Hal Borland
