Mother's Day and Farmers Markets

Feels like Mother's Day on our farm as our mama hens have been very "motherly"!  I wrote about the distress one turkey hen displayed; now there's a second mama that just won't give up on finding her lost babies.  She hatched 15 chicks last Friday that my husband gathered up to put under a heat lamp in the garage bathroom.  She was so unhappy that she attacked him and, later went after one of our dogs but no serious injuries. We moved a flock of three week old chicks into a pen with a gate so we let her in with them thinking she might settle down.   She walked around and through all 23 chicks but knew none of them were her babies so she walked out.  I marvel at that maternal instinct.  We'll have to take our neighbor some chicken eggs as an apology for all the noise these turkey hens are making.

The garlic is enjoying the spring weather as the temps are warm mid-day and we've had some drenching rains.  Some plants are over 2' tall but height just depends on the variety.  They will start to separate and bulb pretty soon.  I'm looking forward to selling this summer at the Gorge Grown farmers market as I enjoy seeing returning customers and making new friends.  I've been saving recipes featuring garlic all winter to share as our recipe of the week.  I've had to buy garlic from the supermarket to test the last few as we're all out of our own bulbs.  I'm careful to see where the garlic comes from as most sold is from China but some is from California in our market.  Not too local but closer than China and I hope they're paying a fair wage to their workers.  It's so hard to know the answer to these and many other questions when you can't talk to the farmer so, hurray for farmers markets!  There will be one opening soon near you. Join me in supporting those hard working folks. 

Can't have too many babies!

Happy news tonight as one of our mama turkey hens brought us 6 brand new babies.  Well, it wasn't her intention to bring them to us but, since she was showing them off, we scooped them up and put them in a brooder.  She's very distressed and her calls tug at our hearts but we know from experience that predators will take their toll and she'll lose most of them.  She had her nest up in the woods, stayed with it for four weeks and hatched all but two eggs so she's done a very good job.

The 15 chicks we ordered from the hatchery (plan B) arrived on time.  Those plus the first 3 a turkey hen hatched make 18.  One of the babies died (17), plus these 6 make 23 chicks.  There are still two hens sitting and we think one is in the process of hatching as she's all puffed out instead of sitting tight like the other hen.  Hopefully, we'll have a lot of turkeys to choose from when it's time to butcher in November.

Tomorrow I'm teaching two workshops at the Gorge Grown Food Forum in White Salmon; one on raising backyard poultry and one on canning.  I'd love to take a couple of these chicks to show off but they're just too new to be without a brooder for a whole day.  Besides, they're really noisy calling for their mama!  I was also going to take equipment as an example but that's the last of our extra lamps and feeders.  Pictures in a Powerpoint presentation will have to do.  One interesting note - White Salmon zoning doesn't allow backyard poultry so I've got a little information to help change the city father's  minds if folks are so inclined to ask for a zoning change.  Every backyard ought to have a chicken or two in my opinion!  Happy birthday, baby chicks.

We've tested our turkey eggs for fertility in the past few weeks and either the eggs failed to develop completely or they weren't fertile. This is disappointing but we haven't given up and will keep incubating eggs once a week. Our tom is inexperienced and he's not quite connecting, although he's trying so hard. We have ordered chicks from a hatchery but we're were hoping to be able to cancel that order as it's a cost we'd rather not have to pay.

I had the pleasure of talking about our little farm with a group of Master Gardeners this past week. I really enjoyed showing pictures and sharing the sex, drama, violence, miracles and joy of living our lifestyle. Several MG's said they like to talk to me more and I welcome those conversations.

I also had a little skin cancer removed from my face last week. I wasn't concerned about the procedure but it is a warning to all of us who love to live in the sunshine to keep that sunscreen on. I'm pretty sure I'm going to hear my husband ask me several times a week this summer "where's your wide brimmed hat?"

Pocket gophers and pine voles have impacted some of our garlic beds so I ordered a new product that's a granular form of predator urine. Doesn't that sound icky? Fox for gophers and a blend for voles. How do they get that urine, anyway? I'm not going to think too hard about it but I really hope this works.

Snow has fallen here two days in a row but not enough to make any difference, just enough to remind us that winter is still here. I love the warmer afternoons but it's good to have seasons. Find the joy!

Time to Prune

There's a new predator in town. Our turkey hens are very broody and doing their best to find a safe, dry place to nest. Bourbon Red turkeys are known for their maternal insticts. Because they're free range, they travel into the oak woods, under the landscape bushes, into the garden cart, and under scrub oaks along the driveway laying eggs. If we spot them going to a nest, we will gather their eggs for future hatching in our incubator. Occasionally the dogs will find an egg and enjoy a little snack. Today I spotted a big ol' raven stealing eggs. She swooped in and landed by the nest, picked up that big turkey egg in her beak and flew off. A few minutes later she was back for another. We'll have to do something about that raven if we want to have any chicks. Last year a raven killed a good number of the babies before we caught her in the act.

We never seem to hit the late winter pruning tasks at just the right time before the trees and vines break their dormant sleep and the sap starts to run towards the sky. This year has been particularly difficult to gauge as the day time temperatures are unusually warm. The fruit trees just need a little trim so being late isn't a problem but the grape vines need over half their stems cut back so that fruit will form on the new growth. We started making cuts and they started weeping, so we stopped to make a decision - to prune or not to prune?

Pruning can be risky when done incorrectly. Sometimes pruning is necessary to prevent disease or to cut out dead weight. Done carefully and with thought, pruning forces new growth and produces more fruit. I feel that way about life. Like plants, people need to prune in their lives. Trouble is, when the weeping starts, we stop to think it over. If I think of this philosophy in terms of my relationships, job, mental and physical health, and priorities, "pruning" can be a very effective way to take control and focus on the joy in life.

The sun is shining this afternoon. I think I'll get out the pruning shears and ignore the weeping. Those grape vines need some tough love!

Our tom is a teenager!

The ice is slowly melting as we've had three days of temperatures above freezing. Our dogs, Bonnie and Lacey, came back from their morning run with muddy feet and brown noses. That means the underground critters are starting to stir from their winter sleep! While I can't see the sun, today is very bright.

This is a picture of our studly Bourbon Red tom displaying to attract the hens. He's a teenager and still figuring out what's what. Isn't he handsome? The turkey hens have started to lay the occasional egg. While poultry eggs are available in the grocery store year round, egg laying is a seasonal activity triggered by day length and hormones. Chickens and turkeys stop laying as the days shorten and they molt. New feathers come in over the winter and the break in egg laying allows their bodies to recharge. They use their energy to stay warm instead of producing eggs. As the day lengthens, they begin egg laying for reproduction which is, after all, the whole reason for birds to lay eggs.

Bourbon Red turkeys are a heritage breed originally bred for meat. To be classified as "heritage", the birds must naturally mate, be slow growing, and long lived. These birds are very curious, friendly birds who like to see what we're doing. The hens are very good mothers with a strong sense of "the flock". They fly, roost in trees at night, watch for danger on the roof top, and have distinct calls.

We're looking forward to hatching little chicks when the weather warms up a bit. The only thing cuter than day old chicks is our little grandsons getting excited as they're holding day old chicks!

Looking forward to Spring

We're a week into 2010 and I can't wait for Spring! While waiting for the garlic greens to peek out of our frozen ground, I'll pass the time by sharing things that are happening on our little family farm. I know it's winter but you'd be surprised at the little things that bring me joy. Luckily we live in the Gorge of central Washington State so our winters are only moderately cold. Now and then our temps dip into single digits, and we have been known to have several feet of snow at any one time. That's a typical winter. The old timers can remember when typical meant -20 degrees F. but that's too cold for me.

It's the muddy season - frozen ground, then thawed and muddy - repeat, repeat, repeat. The poultry pen is muddy, the dogs track in muddy paw prints, and we have to wear calf high boots everytime we go out. Yak Traks are never far from the back door where we leave our shoes in case the ground is frozen. Oh yeah, I was going to talk about what brings me joy. Well, that would be when it's not the muddy season ;o)

Our heritage Bourbon Red turkeys stay close to the poultry pen in the winter and this year we have a new comer. A wild turkey hen went lame and her flock left her behind. I guess she decided it would be safer to stick with our turkeys. We have this "gang of six" hens that rush around to see what's happening so, when she decided to stay, they rushed around her and scared her into the oak tree tops. She can fly 50 feet up to roost even though she's gimpy on the ground. We named her Gimpy Girl. She's been with us over a month and we leave some poultry feed out for her but she's pretty self-sufficient. She's getting used us, the gang of six and even the dogs who pretty much ignore our poultry unless we ask them to help us herd them into the pen.

So, welcome to the first blog from High Prairie Garlic farm where the oak savannah and towering pines meet the tall grass of the High Prairie.