Wild Mountain Honey

Our first honey harvest!

We finally finished our first honey harvest - almost 100lbs!  Our first go at the extractor was interesting - we have a "starter" kit with a 3-frame extractor, and with four full boxes of honey (40 frames total) that makes for a lot of spins and one tiring afternoon.   

It's a perfect amber color - definitely a keeper for next year's fair.  :)  Check our Market page for prices and availability.



Wilbur & the gang of 3

Wilbur is doing great.  He's putting more pressure on his hind leg and his boo-boos have healed nicely.  But, now that he has a name it makes it that much harder to accept his ultimate fate in the circle of life on the farm.  So, we now have three piglets:

The other two don't have names.  One will be sold and one will be, well, you know (bacon).

Coop d'Ville

The blue coop is 90% completed!!  :)  All that's left is to build out the roosts, nesting boxes, and outside pens.  Brady finished the gutters and water tank yesterday, and the baby chicks have settled into their lush new accommodations. 

Fall on the Farm Party

Brady and I are planning a little fall bluegrass party on the farm next month.  Keep watch here for more information!

Coming Up
Website updates, party planning

What's Blooming
Purple sage (bees are loving it!), butterfly bushes (last of the season), and a rose bush is blooming in the back yard.  Oh, and the hummingbirds are back!

The Lucky One

Poor little thing thought he could fly.

He jumped out of a truck headed to market yesterday and landed on a busy highway.  When Brady saw that the little pig survived his leap to freedom he brought him to the farm.  Oh, and we named him Wilbur (first in flight!).  Little Wilbur suffered a bloody nose, scrapes and bruises and an injured hind leg.  We're not sure if he'll survive but we'll make him as comfortable as possible. 

Think I'll go to ravelry.com and look for a pig sweater pattern ...

Down on the Crooked Road

Sunrise at the beach

There's no excuse for not blogging.  I know I should write something more often but, well, things happen.  I'll explain later.  I'm sure it'll sound like a lot of excuses.  I prefer to call them valid reasons.  :)

Vacation

First of all, we all enjoyed a well-deserved week away from farm chores at Virginia Beach.  The house was beautiful, the weather spectacular, and the water just perfect.  Then, we experienced the road trip from hell trying to get back home on June 30th - the day after the storm of the century tore through the eastern US, pretty much following the path between home and Virginia.  Most of West Virginia was without power, and the rare gas stations with power were inundated with hundreds of cars lined up at the pumps.  Brady did a valiant job of navigating the family truckster through it all and we arrived home that night safe and sound. 

Drought

As if the storm wasn't enough, this remarkable summer has taken its toll on us with a double whammy - record-breaking drought and heat. We lost 15 chickens while we were away, and a handful more since then.  Brady & Cody worked on more ventilation in the barn which provided a bit more relief for our poor girls.

Garden

We've learned a lot from this year's garden.  First of all, the spring fertilization helped tremendously.  Our tomatoes and cucumbers thrived (well, as best as plants can thrive in a drought).  This fall we'll apply a good old fashioned manure treatment.  Second, the plants seem to do better when planted in square plots instead of rows.  While the tomatoes did great, the beans and corn looked anemic.  Third, weeds took over - a preemergent weed treatment is in order for next spring.  I've put up about 3 gallons of tomato sauce in the freezer and could probably put up a few more batches before the season's over.


Fair

Although the girls were still in recovery from the miserable month of July, they still managed to take home not one, not two, not three, but FOUR ribbons at the Greene County Fair!  We swept the brown, white and green egg categories and took home the Best in Show ribbon for the SECOND year in a row!  :)  Now we have our eye on the next level - next year's Ohio State Fair!



Brady's honey got the blue ribbon!



And my white quilt got one too

The knitting took home 2nd place.  Still haven't figured out this blue ribbon knitting thing in Greene County.  Seems to be biased toward itchy acrylic yarn.  Oh well.  Lots of knit talk to catch up on but I'll save that for another post.

SCF Poultry & Eggs

While relaxing on the sands of the Atlantic Ocean, Brady and I had time and frame of mind to discuss where we want to take the farm business.  The egg side of things seems to be going well (despite the miserable summer - see above) and we have a good operation in place for breeding and raising flocks.  So, we decided to invest in heritage breeds for hatching eggs and baby chicks. 

We roll at one speed and one speed only - maximum overdrive.  Once we made the decision we plunged right in.  Within a few days after vacation we had brooders full of Buckeye and Black Copper Maran chicks.  And Brady is putting the finishing touches on our nursery coop.



There's a long story about how this coop came to be, which shall be documented in a future post.  I promise.

We also became NPIP certified, which means our chickens are clean and healthy.  I'll add the logo to our site, along with lots of other stuff on my to-do list. I promise. 

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

That's just the tip of the iceberg.  Lots and lots going on around here, and the blog gets behind as a result.  In the coming days I'll give this spot more attention so it will really reflect what our little farm business is all about.  I promise.  Really, I do.

Coming Up
Finish new coop, clean up basement, website updates, honey harvest (oh yeah, that's happening soon!)

What's Blooming
Weeds!  Seems to be the only thing that grows in this misery of a summer, lol.

Socks About Town

Pink socks - my 1st knit sale. :) New blog post coming soon (promise!). Lots of activity to write about - vacation, storms, drought, chickens and more.

Pretty Polly

Bees!

Summer has hit us full force. Typical of the season, life on the farm runs ahead at top speed while we try to carve more fun time out of the daily chore schedule.  We manage to strike a balance between the two although we secretly wish for those childhood summers long ago when days were lazy and free time was plentiful.

In that spirit of sweet summer freedom, we packed the truck for a long weekend stay in our West Virginia home.  There it always feels like summer camp - the cool wooded trails, endless nights around the fire playing music and telling stories, and neverending stillness.  Things went according to plan until Brady noticed a few bees showing particular interest in the corner of the house.  Further investigation revealed the beginning of a swarm taking up residence and building comb beneath the floor.  Yikes!  After a few hours and a quick trip to find a hive box (thanks to Indian Run Apiary!) Brady secured another addition to our apiary.  Yes, we traveled back home with thousands of angry bees who probably didn't want to leave West Virginia in the first place.  :)

The garden is coming along despite the daily battle with weeds and watering.  So our minds start to wander to the fun things we thought about those long winter months.  This weekend we started our first batch of homebrewed red ale (tentatively titled Smith's Red Beagle Ale). Brady & Cody began building more hive frames using his cool new tool - a stapler attachment to the air compressor.

Cody the builder

I finished Wingspan using Knit One Crochet Too Ty-Dye sock yarn. 

Unblocked Wingspan

For years (and years and years) I've dreamed of having an art/craft/music studio space, a comfy creative place for "want to do" versus "have to do".  I think I'll set up something in Amanda's room since Brady's claimed the basement.  Hopefully I can start putting it all together within the next few days.

In West Virginia we saw more hummingbirds than flies.  But here in Ohio they are few and far between. 

Coming Up

Finish goat website, finish sock pattern (another last call), update band website, order band business cards, interview banjo players

Socks About Town

Brady's teaching a gun class, Amanda's reading, Cody's fishing and I'm knitting by the lake at Greene Co Fish & Game Club on a glorious afternoon.

Blackberry Blossom

West Virginia in bloom

Brady had a successful turkey hunting season at our West Virginia mountain home and on this cold and drizzly Mother's Day I slow-cooked the breast meat and made a (ginormous) pot of turkey & amish noodles.  Perfect comfort food for a dreary day!

The garden is half planted - we put out the tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers before running out of steam.  Brady spent the better part of the day tilling, retilling and clearing grass clods. The kids did a quick soil test and found our garden area wasn't just bad, it was pitiful!  No wonder last year's garden failed miserably.  So, two bags of fertilizer and a quick till-under later, we finally started planting until our backs and allergies got the better of us.  By the end of the weekend we'll have everything finished.

Brady leaving flooded WV

May showers bring - a blackberry bounty!!!  We should be able to gather enough between the farm and WV for cakes and canning and freezing.  :P

Yes, Brady spotted Canadian goslings on the farm last week.  :)

Spotted on the farm

There is a Time

The babies

We're still here.  Just sidelined for a few weeks.

I know I've said this many times before, but things have been super busy on the farm lately.  That's how it usually goes at springtime.  Here's a recap of everything that's taken up our time and attention since our last post (gulp) 7 weeks ago! Oh dear, has it really been that long?

DIY Chickens

The Delawares hatched out the first week of April and have taken up residency in the "starter coop" next to the GC Rangers.  By mid-May they'll be ready to move to a larger coop.  Where that coop is located is still a mystery.  :)

After the Delaware hatching came to a close Brady loaded it with Black Copper Maran hatching eggs and a few of our own eggs. They started hatching last week but only two Marans hatched. <sigh>  Back to the drawing board.

On the positive side ... all the coop construction is completed!  Well, everything except the Delawares' next home.

The Goats

The goats are enjoying the steamy sprummer (spring/summer, which I've learned is a season that exists only in Ohio).  As for the website - I have the content, I have the pictures, and I have the site.  Unfortunately they don't all exist in the same spot at the same time.  Time to get busy on that project.

The Bees

We opened the hives sometime in late March/early April and found only three that didn't survive the winter.  We forgot a major step in the winterizing process - venting the hive top - which created a damp, moldy mess.  Fortunately we have several super-strong hives full of honey left!  Brady has been busy busy busy with animal control calls for bee swarms so our little apiary is starting to grow again.  Maybe this fall we will have our first honey harvest.  :)

The Band

Massie Creek had a performance in Bellbrook last week which went well despite the stormy weather.  We have a few more appearances coming up in the next few months.  Sadly, our banjo player Ron has left the band to move back to Canada and we're on the hunt for a replacement.  If you or someone you know is interested in joining Massie Creek, drop Brady a note at brady712@yahoo.com. Serious inquiries only. 

Knitting

Yep, still waiting for the sock picture for my pattern.  "Coming soon".  With everything going on the knitting projects are down to basic mindless socks - something I can set aside and pick up later without losing my place. 

So, what's been taking up all of our time you ask?  Chickens, band practice, doing taxes, chickens again, more band practice, turkey season (special heart-felt shout out to Christie for bravely volunteering to be a farm hand while Brady & I were away in our West Virginia mountain home), more chickens, and more animal jobs than you can imagine. 

Sorry for the lack of pictures lately.  It's on my list of things to work on.  That and getting on a regular blog posting schedule.  Just need the time to sit down and make it happen, lol.

Coming Up

Finish goat website, finish sock pattern (last call), update band website, order band business cards, interview banjo players, plant garden, put out hummingbird feeders (what a list!)

What's Blooming

Goldenrod (achoo!), Dame's rocket, Roses, Black Locust, Peonies (budding)

Winter's Come & Gone

We keep holding our breath, waiting for this faux spring to go away and plunge us back into the late Ohio winter we all know & dread.  But as the month of March progresses, it looks like we lucked out this year.  Actually, this feels more like the Kentucky winters I'm accustomed to.  Now the kids know why we didn't do much sledding nor ice skating. 

Most of the building is completed on the farm.  We should have the pen fences up soon and the barnyard cleared of all the scrap wood - I think a spring bonfire is in order.  :) 

Last weekend the goats had their glamor shots taken for the website. They're munching on grass in most of the pictures.  The new grass in the pasture was just to tempting to ignore! 

Brady's planning to open the beehives for their first check of the season very soon.  They're probably low on food supplies so I made up a batch of bee syrup for their feeders.  In unrelated news, area retailers report a spike in the sales of 5 lb bags of sugar.

I was just thinking the other day that I need to put out the hummingbird feeders for the season.  And get a better bird feeder - the lid pops off the old one whenever a strong wind comes along.  Or, rather, when any kind of breeze comes along.  I think it's manufactured by a bird seed company.

However - I'm planning to do very little this weekend.  It's March Madness!  I can't believe I live with a bunch of yankees who don't get into college basketball.  That sort of thing would never happen in Kentucky - they would be driven across the river and out of the state ... to Ohio.  :) 

Next weekend (March 24th to be exact) marks the first anniversary of this blog.  Wow!  A lot has changed on the farm in the past year.  Maybe I'll take some pictures to show all the changes. 

Coming Up

Finish coop fence, work on goat website, finish sock pattern, taxes (ugh)

What's Blooming

Daffodils!

Up This Hill And Down

Ellie Mae & Tootsie

Just a quick entry while there's a peaceful moment on the farm.  We added a second doe to the flock - Ellie Mae.  She and Tootsie are having a difficult time learning to share their feed but we've seen a lot of progress over the past few days.

So much going on with chickens the past couple weeks!  The basement chicks have taken up residence in the smaller coop which means we can turn the basement back into a family area again (after a thorough cleaning - dust everyhwere!) We have hatching eggs for Delaware chicks in the incubator (a heritage breed, also a key ingredient in the making of Golden Comets apparently).  And we are providing our Cuckoo Maran rooster for stud service the next week or so.  :)  Everyone's busy on the farm!

The geese are back!  We've noticed several already paired up and looking for a nesting spot.  Hopefully they'll have better luck than our pair last year. 

The goats' website is under contruction, just awaiting beauty shots (scheduled for this weekend).

Brady's Steelers Hat didn't pass the cuff test, so back to the drawing board.  Oh and I should be able to finish the sock pattern this weekend and get that published next week.


Sleeping Katy & Sock

Coming Up

Finish coop fence, photo shoot, work on goat website, finish sock pattern


Back Up And Push

Guess what we went and did.

We've expanded Smith Creek Farm to add registered pygmy goats to our growing (although still tiny) herd.  Meet the new additions:

Amanda with Tootsie

Cody with Gunner

Gunner is by far the more active of the two.  He also thinks he's a mountain ram - beware of head butts when you're near Gunner!

Tootsie is rather shy but adjusting well to her new home. She can tolerate our presence in the pen but won't let us get near her yet. Poor girl - it's stressful moving to a new home.

Brady built a gem of a goat shed! He took a dirty nook of the barn and built a cozy home for Gunner & Tootsie.  The outside pens are built tough and tall with plenty of room for our tiny herd.  He even installed a custom built bin for feed storage.  How awesome is that?  Pictures coming soon ...

Also coming soon - a new website just for Gunner & Tootsie.  As members of the National Pygmy Goat Association we need to showcase our herd for potential buyers.

Our curious winter keeps us on our toes.  After several (unseasonably) warm days, Brady suffered through a cold snap to finish the goat shed in time for their arrival.  This week our false spring continues with warmer temps which looks like it'll last into the first part of March (with a spring thunderstorm thrown in for good measure).  We've notice some of our trees are starting to bud too early.  I need to check the apple tree - last year's spring freeze destroyed our apple crop and hopefully we won't have a repeat this spring.

DIY Chickens
The basement brood has entered its 5th week on the farm, which means they can soon transition to their permanent home in the new coop as soon as Brady puts the finishing touches on it.  They should be relocated this weekend if all goes well.  And not a minute to spare!  Our next batch of 25 arrive next week!

Knitting
The sock pattern just needs a photo then it's ready for publishing.  In the meanwhile I've started a new pattern tentatively named "Brady's Steelers Cap".  This is the 5th attempt to design a hat to his preferences but I know once it's completed and it's "Brady approved" it should meet the needs of most guys.  And it'll be in Steelers colors (bonus!).

Coming Up

Finish coop, transfer chicks, goat website, band practice 

Socks About Town

I see knitters doing this all the time so here's my sock-in-progress while waiting for an oil change.  Cool, huh?

Working on a Building

New Coop

Things have settled down (somewhat) on the farm after a hectic week of chick hatching.  We ended up with 25 chicks but two didn't make it past the stress of cracking through the shell.  :(  A sad fact of life on the farm.  Another chick is showing signs of curled toe syndrome, probably because he was the very last to hatch and the incubator conditions weren't ideal at that point (constantly opening/closing the incubator top, which messed up the humidity and temp).  All in all, we had a 52% hatch rate on our first DIY project.

On Friday the breeding stock arrived - 28 more chicks for a total of 51 healthy peepers in the basement!

Although they're tiny & fuzzy right now, they're already sprouting itty bitty wing feathers.  In a few weeks they'll be ready for a coop.  Fortunately (for February in Ohio) we were blessed with a perfect weekend to continue work on the new coop.  The floor is finished, Brady finished the ceiling yesterday, and the kennel pens arrived today.  Within the next few days we'll finish the back wall, install nesting boxes and roosts, finish the floor covering, and have the fence assembled.

Buddy and the chicks

Hard to believe it's just the start of February.

Oh, and Brady's already sizing up the 4th coop area.  

Coming Up

Finish coop, finish sock pattern, band practice

Chick Alert (Day 3)

Chick Count:  17

Yesterday was super-busy at the farm - 13 chicks arrived!  Two more arrived this morning with more expected before the day is done.  All chicks are healthy and have adjusted to their new home quickly.  Tomorrow our shipment of breeding stock arrives (25 more chicks).  The basement echoes with peeps!  :)

Brady is taking advantage of our (unseasonably) warm weather this week and making a lot of progress on the new coop in the barn.  Should have everything wrapped up within 6 weeks.  In the meanwhile Brady and I will share the house with the 50 (or so) chicks that have taken over our basement. 

Chick Alert (Day 2)

Chick #3 made their debut just as I was leaving for work.

Brady reports 12 more (yikes!) should hatch today.  Wonder if we can qualify for maternity leave?

Chicks!!!!!

The babies are arriving!

Chick Alert

It's past Day 21 and the DIY chicks are due any time.  Brady noticed a couple of pips late last night (but no progress this morning) so sometime today we should have at least 2 baby chicks in the incubator.  The brooders are set up in the basement and "Grandpa" and I are ready for the hatching to begin!  More news as it happens ...

Making Plans

The nursery

The year started out a bit hectic here at the farm.  We traveled to visit family in Kentucky over New Year's weekend and got to celebrate the new year twice (Eastern and Central time zones)! 

Now we're just easing through the rest of the winter months.  It's a relatively mild season compared to the past two (and now that I've said that, it will come a blizzard - mark my words) which still gives us plenty of time to look around and think about what we want to accomplish this year.  Which (as always) is a lot.  :) 

DIY Chickens

The incubator has arrived and is filled with chicks-in-progress.  Based on a gestation period of 21 days we should expect our first arrivals around Jan 30th. Yep, one week from day which dawned on us in that eerie "oh no we've got so much to do before then" feeling over the past weekend.  Fortunately we have all our supplies from the last brooder batch and just need to stock up on feed and bedding.

The Garage

At some point in between winter storms and animal jobs we need to finally move in and unpack that forest of boxes that have taken over the garage. Definitely not on the "fun things to do".  This one will take a lot of motivation.  And coffee.

The Barn

Speaking of unfun things, the barn is in the same shape as the garage.  Miscellaneous boxes, buckets, animal cages, and leftovers from Cody's wildlife projects are taking up the spaces designated for animal stalls (which also need walls & gates).  This project may spill over into 2013...

Knitting

The sock pattern is coming along nicely but I'm stumped on how to explain the toe construction.  I also want to make it the base instruction for future designs.  Hopefully that project will be wrapped up soon.  Brady's hinting for a new Steelers cap.  :)

Massie Creek Bluegrass

The website is finished (needs some tweaking but then again don't all websites).  Visit us at massiecreekband.com.  For bookings, you can contact Brady at (937) 371-7816 or bsmith712@yahoo.com. 

Coming Up

Set up chicken brooder, finish sock pattern