Free Pattern

My first knit design - Quick Knit Coasters - is now available as a free PDF download! Enjoy and let me know what you think (and send pics!)

You can download the PDF from my Ravelry store or on our Market page.

Big Spike Hammer

Cody & Brady & the fence

The fence is done.

(let me repeat that ...)

The fence is done.

(the more I say it, the sweeter it sounds)

Yes, it's true.  Brady & Cody finished the last 1/3 of the fence, putting us thismuchcloser to owning a horse or some form of livestock larger than bees or chickens.

Amanda zipping by on the tractor

We're almost finished preparing the farm for winter - all that remains is to wind-shield the hives.  Then we wish them good luck and leave them to fend for themselves in the coming harsh winter days. A cruel reality of farm life.  By comparison the chickens are high-maintenance divas - they have a heater base for their waterers.  You truly can't appreciate the value of this contraption until you've spent a winter thawing out chicken waterers in the bathtub.

DIY Chickens

Speaking of the chickens, egg production is starting to pick up again, which is odd considering that they're supposed to slow down in the winter.  However, we're using this surge in surplus to begin our next grand experiment I've named "DIY Chickens".  Soon after the holidays we'll try our hand at hatching our own batch of Golden Comet chicks.  After some research we've decided that the automatic egg turner is definitely a must-have considering how our schedules get a bit haywire at times.  If all goes well our basement will become a temporary brooder in February shortly after the Super Bowl.

Pattern Testing

The sock pattern is in test mode as we speak, but I have another quick knit pattern to publish within the next few days - stay tuned!

Coming Up

Finish band website, finish sock pattern, winterize hives.

Merry Christmas from
Brady, Selena, Amanda, Cody, Katy & Buddy! 

Cabin Home on the Hill

Brady's gone deer hunting.  Selena's gone knitting.

Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka The Yarn Harlot) jokes about the size of her yarn stash and her insight into stash management (basically, hide it in every nook & cranny of the house and pray to the yarn gods that you don't wind up on one of those hoarding shows on TV).  My stash is miniscule in comparison, but large enough for those times when I feel the urge to "knit something".  Which is most of the time.  At least that's what Brady says.

So, while Brady's gone for deer season and the farm is relatively quiet in late-November, I'm working on various Christmas gifting projects and thinking about all the things I should be doing instead of knitting (which fortunately doesn't bother me so much).

The kids and I will meet up with Brady at the cabin for a few days.  I'm thinking this will be a good time to get serious about that sock pattern I keep threatening promising to post on the blog.  Which means I really need to get serious about taking better pics.  The Droid for all its splendor simply sucks as a camera.  And while "practicing" with the good camera in Nashville I somehow messed up the settings so all the pictures look washed out and fuzzy.  And my little digital cam seems to have an issue with the battery connection.  I'm cursed when it comes to technology.

So, I should soon have a pattern with halfway-decent photos coming soon to the blog.  And the new Massie Creek website will be up and running within the next week or so (don't worry, someone else took the band pics).

Coming Up

Finish band website, work on sock pattern, winterize hives.

The Fields Have Turned Brown

I know what you're thinking.  You're imagining a horrific bee massacre at the hands of one of our nocturnal farm creatures.  No, it's just the aftermath of "consolidation day" in the beeyard.  We combined the weaker colonies and ended up with a total of nine hives with (hopefully) plenty of honey to survive the coming winter.  The bees weren't too receptive to our relocation plan - we had to hide indoors the rest of the day. 

The chickens have nearly stopped laying altogether.  Our neighbor has the same issue with her chickens.  We assume that we have a predator that keeps the hens stressed out.  Brady set out traps but no captives yet. I think they're in the middle of a molt - most of them have bald spots and feathers are scattered everywhere.  If they don't finish their molt within the next couple weeks I'll have to knit up some hen-sweaters!

You probably noticed a new page on the blog.  I'm planning an online farm store in the very near future.  Plus I wanted to see how the blog template would handle it.  Still experimenting with what to offer, how to offer it, etc.  Things like knitting patterns will obviously be downloadables, but tangible wares are a whole different matter.  That's when we gotta start thinking about storefronts, shopping carts, online payments and inventory.  Maybe it will be a short learning curve.   So, in the very near future we'll have a little practice go-round with a pattern download.  It'll be free, of course.  :)

Massie Creek Bluegass Band is now taking bookings for 2012! Please contact us at smithscreekfarm@gmail.com for more information.  Website coming soon!

Don't forget to sign up for The Buzz!  Get email notifications when we post a new blog entry.  Of course we don't sell your email address to anyone.  Unless you want us to.  Just let us know.

Coming Up

Clean coops, band practice, band website & photo shoot, finish Christmas projects

Mobile

So this is our first entry by phone.  I guess you could say we're phoning it in

We had a late season hail storm this afternoon.  Seasonal growls. Katy hid under her blanket until it passed.

Not sure if the pictures uploaded correctly.  And I'm also not too keen on making a long entry tapping on this tiny keyboard.  Longer review coming soon.

Down the Road

The Cleverly Trio

The Smiths are a traveling bunch!

After a couple weeks of packing, traveling, unpacking, laundry, packing, traveling (you get the idea) we're finally back home to relax, regroup, and resume fall chores at the farm.  But boy did we have fun!  :)

Nashville - IBMA

Who wouldn't love a whole week of bluegrass and honky tonks?  The weather was beautiful (note to self - it's not too late in the season for shorts at IBMA) and the music was delicious!  Thanks to Brandi Hart and the Dixie Bee-Liners for letting us stalk them all over town.  And we enjoyed the awards show on Thursday night although our friends Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers didn't bring home the Emerging Artist trophy (robbed!).  The post-awards show at the Hard Rock Cafe was incredible with a triple scoop of Monroeville, The Boxcars, and The Cleverlys. And Fan Fest was better than ever!  Thanks to The Cleverlys for bringing us backstage.  I know who I'm voting for Entertainer of the Year!  :)

Pittsburgh - Steelers vs. Titans

We dragged ourselves home from NashVegas and after a brief layover at the farm we headed out to Pittsburgh to take the kids to their first Steelers game.  :)  The weather was absolutely perfect and the Steelers came through with a routing of the visiting Titans!

Brady & Cody meet Emmanual Sanders #88

 

Odds & Ends

Back to the farm...

Now that the temps are hanging around the 70º mark we're making plans for winding down the farm for its winter nap.  The field needs to be mowed one last time, the coops prepped for cold weather, and the beehives need a wind break.  Interesting note - the bees have no problem with cold temperatures but can't survive the wind.  So, we need to construct a break from the northern winds - hay bales, cardboard hive wrap, etc.  And their fall feeding is coming to an end quickly.  The winter survival rate for honeybees in Ohio is around 40% - a depressing number when you look out over the beeyard and try to imagine starting the new year with fewer hives.

High Tech Rednecks

Brady has a new iPhone and I inherited his Droid, which means I can now do mobile blogging!  :)  Well, I could if I didn't have a chihuahua in my lap every time I sit down.  Anyway, I've downloaded the Blogger app and within the next few days I'll send out my first attempt at a blog-on-the-run. 

Coming Up

Clean coops, consolidate bee hives, fencing, band practice

Summer's Gone

Katy & Brady

Welcome to fall.

Life has been busy on the farm the past couple months, which explains the gap between posts.  Here's a recap of all the activity on the farm since then.

Fence Project

Thanks to cooler weather and a lot of help from our buddy Timbo the fence project has resumed.  Brady is happy to report that all the posts are in the ground.  Only the fence wire and barbed wire remain to be done before winter arrives.

Bees
Brady did a quick "hive tipping" check and found several light ones in the bee-yard.  Those colonies probably won't have enough honey to survive the winter.  Within the next few weeks we'll consolidate colonies and start winterizing the remaining hives.

Since this is our first year beekeeping together we don't have any surplus honey for sale, although we probably will have enough for a few Christmas presents.  :)

It's the last of the goldenrod flow and while the bees are having the best time of their tiny bee lives we're suffering daily with the pains of allergy sinus pressure.  

Chickens

The girls have recovered after their big win at the county fair. We only have eight good layers left after the raccoon attack.  Brady trapped two (well-fed) intruders beside the barn and since then no more poachers.  But egg production dropped dramatically in the wake of the attacks and the onset of cooler weather.  We sell out as soon as we put out the for sale sign.  If anyone has any young Golden Comet hens for sale please contact us at smithscreekfarm@gmail.com.

Business Cards

We now have cards and frig magnets!  Next up - egg carton stickers!

Knitting

Now taking orders for Christmas presents and other specialty items.  Get your order in early to ensure delivery before the holidays!

The Band

Massie Creek Bluegrass Band will soon be coming to an area near you.  More information (and website) coming soon.

What's Blooming

Goldenrod and some late season roses in the back yard

Coming Up

Clean coops, consolidate bee hives, fencing, band practice

Best In Show

The girls won BEST IN SHOW at the Greene County Fair!!!!  And their white eggs won second place!  Tonight they celebrated with an extra scoop of corn.  :)  We're so proud of our girls!

My knitting won 2nd place (not bad for a lost and UFO project).  Brady's amazing sky picture was definitely the best of the bunch on display - which was by far the most populated competition - and we learned a lot about showing our honey products (creamed honey is the way to go).  Next year we'll definitely overwhelm the rest of the competition!

Hot Chicks

It's just plain hot.

Today's high temp hovered around 100º with a heat index of 115º.  Let me repeat that ... a heat index of 115º. Outdoor chores have been limited to essential tasks until the weather becomes a bit more bearable.

The GC Rangers have started paying for their keep.  Egg sales at Smith's Creek Farm now pay for their feed and we chip in for the corn and bedding.  We have a few regular customers but sales have dropped off this week (probably due to the heat).

Sadly, we've lost some of our GC Ranger flock to predators on the farm.  Brady thinks raccoons and/or skunks are the culprits - a raccoon met his fate on the road in front of the house, and last week a skunk met his under the wheels of Brady's Silverado.  The heat has also been a negative factor in egg production. They could be in the beginning stages of a heat/stress-induced molt.  We'll track their condition the next few days.

Meanwhile, we've acquired a stray bantam rooster from the neighbor:
 

The stray

He doesn't contribute to egg production and the GC rooster doesn't seem to like him, but he is awfully cute.  :)

It's Fair Time!

We're finishing work on our entries for the Greene County Fair.  Brady will enter a couple of his stunning sky pictures and our first batch of Smith's Creek Farm honey.  I finished a UFO silk lace scarf last week and hopefully will have it blocked in time (thanks to Christie for the blocking wires!).  And finally, the girls will enter 2 dozen eggs - wouldn't it be cool to say we have award-winning farm fresh eggs?

UFO scarf (unblocked)

Garden Disaster

Despite our best efforts, the garden failed this year.  Our neighbor's garden also became a nest of sunburned weeds.  The county extension office said our spring floods washed all the nutrients from the topsoil.  Next year we will add a ton of fertilizer before planting.  But this year's bounty will never be - unless we try potatoes or some other fall-weather crop. 

What's Blooming

Weeds (lol)

Coming Up

Finish fair entries, hive inspection, business cards

Getting Hotter 'Round Here

Somehow I missed spring.

The weather went from cold & rain just a month ago to miserable heat & humidity.  I spent Friday night watering the garden with every intention of weeding on Saturday but couldn't bear the heat for long.  Brady's been climbing roofs on various animal jobs and suffering as well.  Last night it rained and today's a bit cooler so we might be able to get some things done outside tonight after all.  As I write this it's getting cloudy - we may be dodging a few raindrops in between chores.

We've had a few severe storms here the past couple weeks.  Like growing pains for the transition to summer. Brady's ready to chase a few tornadoes across the county.  :)

One of Brady's stunning sky pictures - May 25

The new egg business is off and running!  Amanda painted our lovely road sign and Brady & Cody built a sturdy frame for it.  Within a few hours of officially being "open for business" we made our first sale!  I even had a very nice gentleman stop by a few minutes ago looking for duck eggs.  Maybe he saw the geese in the back field. 

Our town has a month street fair on the first Friday of the month.  We're thinking about setting up a table to sell eggs and craft thingys.  Which means I need to get busy with the craft thingys.  I'm experimenting with a pink ribbon slipper but it may be too labor-intensive and costly for a craft thingy.  May switch to dishcloths instead.  Or regular slippers. 

What's Blooming

Roses and more roses, Black Locust, Honeysuckle

Coming Up

Trailer renovation, weed the garden, get business cards for egg/craft thingy sales, hive inspection

Works & Storms In Progress

Yep, the blog is going through a design change. The main content area was just too skinny for my liking.  So, I'm playing around with some layouts to find a best fit for the Smith's Creek Farm site.  We appreciate your patience during our construction phase.

Storm after storm after storm has tromped through our area the past week or so.  No damage at our place but Brady's truck took a beating during this week's hailstorm.  I quickly snapped this pic of our peonies before the winds took it away forever.  Wasn't so lucky with the snowball bush.

The 2011 garden is officially in the ground/mud.  Looks like we're experimenting with hydroponics, lol! If we can get anything to grow in this soupy Ohio soil it'll be a miracle.

While others celebrate (maybe "commemorate" is a better word) the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, we're staging our own reenactment right here on Smith's Creek Farm.  Our GC rooster has waged a vicious turf battle over the past couple weeks with our neighbor to the north's rooster.  Blood and feathers have been shed in this gruesome campaign but I think our rooster will be victorious in the end.

The GC hens are working overtime on egg production.  This weekend we'll set out our "eggs 4 sale" sign.  If the bees are overachievers like the hens, we'll need a "honey 4 sale" sign too.  Any good recipes that call for large quantities of eggs + honey?

Bee hive count is up to 10 as of this posting with more cutouts scheduled this week.  Should reach our max of 20 hives soon.

The throw from the last posting is finished!

Katy Daley posing with
the finished throw

Now if I could only get around to working on those original design patterns ....

What's Blooming

Peonies, Black Locust, Roses (I think they're heirloom roses - need to research this weekend), some strange purple flower in the back yard, Dame's Rocket

Coming Up

Finish blog design, continue hive construction, change out winter/summer clothes, start egg business

Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers

UFOs on the Farm

This afternoon my Blackberry went kaput with an ominous "JVM Error 102" message.  I suppose this is the smartphone equivalent of the Windows BSOD (blue screen of death).  Long story short - I'm writing this while my phone's OS gets updated.  I can restore my contacts but I'll probably lose my pictures.  For the record - this is the last picture taken with my BB:

I was thinking this afternoon of what knitters call UFOs (UnFinished Objects) - those projects that were put away for various reasons.  Most projects become UFOs when other projects demand our attention.  Such is the case with the couch throw project.  Despite my best intentions, I never found the time to finish the edging - things are crazy busy on the farm lately.  So it joins the fair isle sock project (complicated pattern), the silk lace scarf project (need more yarn) and the basic sock project (sheer boredom) in the UFO pile.

The fencing project has become a UFO victim of mother nature.  Last weekend Brady & I added the tension wire to the support posts so we can finish the last stretch of fence.  The back field is a mud bucket - we don't need the auger to dig post holes, we can scoop it out with our hands.  The garden is another UFO although Brady was able to get it tilled during a rare dry afternoon.  Most of the plants are in and I intended to finish the tomatoes and cucumbers today but - you guessed it - it rained.

Fortunately the bee project doesn't depend on the weather.  We now have 8 hives in the bee-yard.  As fast as we can build and paint hive boxes we put them to use.  The next batch will probably be light blue to match the barn.  :) 

The GC rangers are egg-laying machines!  Our combined egg intake is roughly 1 1/2 dozen eggs daily!  I should set up a stand on the road - "Farm Fresh Eggs for Sale".  Maybe I'll paint it light blue, too.

UPDATE:  The BB is fixed and all my pics saved (woo hoo!). 

What's Blooming

Mulberry (who knew we had mulberry trees in the back field), goldenrod, dogwoods

Coming Up

Finish the garden, beehive boxes, clean the chicken coop

May Day

Our May Day weekend was quite active - we added 16 Golden Comet hens + 1 GC rooster to our little flock for a total of 30 egg laying machines.  For now they're in the barn coop but in the next day or so they'll become free-rangers.  (pics coming soon)

We also acquired another swarm of bees for a total of 3 active hives at Smith's Creek Farm.  Brady & Cody captured the queen and her girls and set up the new hive in our growing hive field.  We tried planting a patch of wildflowers for them to enjoy but ending up tilling mud clods instead.  Guess we'll wait a few more days for things to dry out.  Brady has the swarm pics - I'll post later.

Same issue with the garden - it's broken into mud clods as well.  Need another couple passes when the weather FINALLY returns to normal.  Our annual rainfall to date is 7 1/2" above normal!  But ... we stay hopeful for sunny warm weather....

Not one but TWO rainbows!  :)

What's Blooming

Dogwoods!!!  Apple trees, Redbud

Coming Up

Set GC rangers loose, clean chicken coop, work on garden (weather permitting), hive inspection, more sock knitting

The Muddy Muddy Month of April

It's official - this is the wettest April of all time with over 9".  And the month isn't over.  As I write this storms are barreling in our direction from Alabama.  Considering all the damage caused elsewhere by this month's weather we're very lucky to have nothing more than a muddy yard to contend with.

However, muddy fields mean no fence progress although we now have a replenished stock of fenceposts.  The bees don't care much for the rain, either.  We've seen some activity - they've explored the vast dandelion field outside the hive and made some trips to the barn and the house.  More things are blooming now which should help with their pollen collection. 

Here's a couple pics of the girls' arrival last Thursday.  Yes, it was sunny that afternoon.  Ah, how I wish it would be sunny again!!

The girls check out their new condo

Selena and the girls

After they get settled we'll check the hives for activity and make sure the queen's out of her candy cage (probably Saturday - it's supposed to be sunny!).  We'll also refill the feeders with Brady's special bee syrup and leave them alone for another week.

Confirmed hummingbird sighting on April 26 at 7pm.

What's Blooming
Tulips, Crab Apples, Lilacs, some blooms spotted on the apple tree near the garden

Coming Up

Hive inspection, break ground in the garden (weather permitting), clean chicken coop, continue fence project

The Weekend Buzz

It was a hit-and-miss weekend.  Saturday: rainy & cold.  Sunday: windy and cool, but sunny by late afternoon.  I'm beginning to think it'll never be spring.  But we remain optimistic - the hummingbird feeders are out and Brady & Cody braved the cold on Sunday to set up the bee hives.  We should get our packages of bees on Thursday.  Hope they bring their jackets.

Cody & Brady with Hive #2

 
Other things are happening at the farm when the weather won't allow any progress on the fence project.  Brady has a new router (woodworking, not computer) and already has two nucs built and painted.  I'm knitting a pair of socks for his grandmother - just a basic sock pattern, something I can veg and knit while watching TV at night.  I love the yarn - Premier Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Yarn in Tanzanite.  It has a lot of purple in it - reminds me of the "When I am an old woman I shall wear purple..." poem.  I hope she smiles when she wears them.

Soon I'll publish my basic sock pattern and eventually have a few original designs to share.  Once the fence is done, that is.

Spring Break

The fencing project on the farm continues (weather and time permitting). Two weeks ago we put up the first gate on what had to be the most miserable spring day in the history of Ohio - 40° and sleet! Ok, maybe not the coldest April day on record .... but it had to be close. By this past weekend we were on the extreme high side of spring - 80° and loads of sunshine. Much better fencing weather.

During the sleet weekend Brady & Cody accidentally chewed up more than 3ft of Ohio farmland - they drilled through a mysterious PVC pipe which we later found out was the driveway runoff to the creek.  After a couple of trips to Lowe's Brady had everything repaired and flowing once again.  We even had an impromptu rat burial (courtesy of Cody's well-placed barn trap).


We're up to the last 300ft of fencing but running low on the fencepost stash. By the end of the weekend our little project will be on hiatus until more supplies are trucked in.  In the meanwhile, here's a couple of pics:

The sleet gate - note the few remaining posts on the right

Looking down the field

What's Blooming

Daffodils, Bradford Pears, Tulip Trees, Forsythia

Coming Up

Paint and put out bee hives this weekend.  Swarms arrive on the 21st.

Put out hummingbird feeders.  Here's a handy site for migration dates -  hummingbirds.net

Lost and Found Bluegrass Band

The New Toy

The new tractor is here!!  The new tractor is here!! 

Kubota BX2660 with front end loader, tiller and auger attachments.  Brand new, orange paint still shiny (chances are it'll get washed more than the truck).  And yes, it has a cupholder, lol!  BTW, the owner's manual is located in a hidden pocket behind the seat.  I'm just sayin'.  The "quick hitch" system isn't all that quick and although Brady can handle it by himself it would be a struggle for me to manage alone.  We couldn't wait to put it through its paces but we had to wait until Sunday night to introduce it to the farm.  First chore on the list .... the dreaded fence.

Since it was our first trial of the auger attachment and since we didn't want to dig random practice holes in the field, we decided to dig an actual hole for the first fence post where the general public wouldn't see it in case it turned out a bit lopsided.

All in all, it was a successful first fencepost. But with the light fading and the weather getting much colder (hovering around the freezing point) we put off the 2nd post for another day.  Only 70 or so more to go.

 

Fencing 101

Although winter is "officially" over in Ohio, Mother Nature never got the text message. We started the week in the low 70's and will end the weekend in the low 40's with snow flurries.  Yikes!

Regardless of the weather, spring chores have begun at Smith's Creek Farm.  Any day now our brand new tractor will arrive and soon after that the new fence goes in.

Brady bought the fencing and gates this morning and two weeks ago we cut black locust logs for posts.  Now all we need is the tractor and auger.