This update has been brought to you by the letter 'B'

Well the kale must be kicking in because I’m feeling like I’m coming out of the haze…..so on that note, lets get you up-to-date on the comings and goings of the farm thus far….

1. BELLA – that big fluffy white ball of ‘almost a farm dog' is AWESOME!  She’s settled in well to hanging at home protecting the house and her human flock of sheep… oh, on that note…. it was quickly discovered that there are certain instincts you can’t change in a dog… and with Bella… it’s herding. YUP, she’s constantly attempting to herd us to some unforeseen paddock and away from some unforeseen danger. It’s amazing really…. she does this a variety of ways:
• by pushing you from behind with her head
• coming around to the front of you and walking into your path forcing you to move where she wants (pretty good roller derby move…she’d rock as a blocker)
• she’ll lean on you
• or she’ll put her open mouth on your leg or hand provoking you to move

It’s completely endearing and totally annoying at the same time. I’m constantly explaining to her that I am not a sheep…. mind you she doesn’t seem to listen…. The other amazing thing about Bella is her friendship with Mr. Fab Finn’s cat Greywacke Jones… the two hang out together all day….. Bella will jump around him in an attempt to ‘play’ and Greywacke taunts her with hopeful anticipation when WHAM the paw comes up and SMACK in the air AND THE CHASE BEGINS!! Greywacke runs and Bella chases… up a tree, into the garden, up the play structure or onto the pool deck ~ these are all NO BELLA terrain and Greywacke knows them well…. two days ago Farmer Luke let Bella out in the morning and said that a very groggy Greywacke walked out behind her…. love me some inter animal friendships!!

super sweet friendship ~ in the end though...cats are in control!

2. THE BARN – this has become a bit of a dirty word in our house… it’s the silent elephant in the room….. it’s the furrow in the farmer’s brow….. it’s the one thing that is preventing us from truly soaring….. there have been some glitches in it’s assembly and we’ve had to patiently wait for everything to fall into place ~ I am glad to say that the engineer has now signed off on the project and we hope to have all the animals home and grazing by the beginning of July ~ THERE I SAID IT….. ugh, the Irish in me can’t believe I just said it…. but I did and I’m owning it (fingers-crossed…please make it happen, please make it happen, please make it happen)…. the hay is being cut this week in anticipation of the cows and sheep coming home…. the solar-powered electric fencing is sufficient to begin the rotational grazing …. solar-water pump is next and then WE’RE OFF!! It’s so close I can almost taste it……and it will be nice to get the house back because that is one big ass elephant!

 

enough already ~ lets get this party started!!!

3. THE BOUNTY – this past Thursday we had our first chicken harvest of the season…. this involved Farmer Luke and WWOOFer Phillip getting up at 5:30 a.m. and heading out to the field and wrangling 100 chickens into cages…. I’ve never witnessed this but it does remind me of a funny story….. hahahaha lesson’s learned by a farmer ~ our first season we had a friend grow some chickens too… as a general rule the day before harvest you are asked not to feed the chickens…. Farmer Luke chose to move the tractors onto plywood for the day…. our friend decided to put a tarp down because he didn’t have plywood to use…. then it rained.......lets think now…. after chickens hang out on a tarp for a day there tends to be some waste (for lack of a better word....or is that the better word?)…..and then it RAINED.   ......now try wrangling chickens....can you say chicken run slip and slide! ~ EWWWWWWWWW! Yup…. it happened and it wasn’t pretty…. hahahaha just picture it…. Farmer Luke arriving home at 7 covered in…. well.... you get the picture….. all he said was, “well we now know why you shouldn’t use a tarp” ~ BHAHAHAHAHA!! we've since discovered that it is fine for the chickens to eat just grass so now we only have to take out their organic feed…. of course it’s better and less stressful for the chickens too ~ not to mention the FARMER.

anybody for some delicious smoked chicken quarters? such a sweet bounty...

So there you have it ~ this update has been brought to you by the letter B ~ Bella ~ Barn ~ Bounty…..and the number 3

OH for those wondering…… the latest canoe fishing challenge did in fact result in complete soakage but the canoe remained upright…… the sky fell this time…. at least no shoes or cell phones got wet!