April Flowers

April 27, 2013 in Animals, Farm Life | Tags: , , | 5 comments

Well, after a 26 degree night a week or so ago, followed by 28, 30 and 32 degree nights on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, we’re finally out of the 30’s, at least for a while. Wonder why I care? Because I have a bunch of stuff planted that can take a frost, but tends to just sit, and sit, and sit, if the weather at night doesn’t warm up. And I’ve transplanted 37 tomato plants into larger containers, which necessitates them going outside into the sunshine during the day (no room under the grow lights for all of them). And if it stays above 40, I leave them out at night too.

We’ve had a lot of this this week.

AppleTreeFull

We have two of these crab apples in your yard. Last night the whole yard was awash in apple blossom scent.

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Sandhills and Silly Turkeys

April 18, 2013 in Animals, Farm Life | Tags: , , , , , | 1 comment

SandhillsEverywhere my husband and I have lived, there have been Sandhill Cranes. We saw them in Montana, in southern Arizona, and in huge numbers while in Colorado, at the annual Monte Vista Crane Festival. I had the great fun of working at and speaking at this festival several years in a row while I was with the Colorado Division of Wildlife (now Colorado Parks and Wildlife). The festival almost always fell on my birthday, which was a great way to celebrate. (There’s also a huge crane festival in Nebraska every year. If you ever get the opportunity to attend one of these festivals – do go!) Read the rest of this entry »

All Oiled Up

April 10, 2013 in Animals, Garden | Tags: , , , | 2 comments

DuckTubSwimAccording to one of my duck books, exposure to water over their backs at an early age (three days) activates a duck’s oil gland. That way, as they lose their baby fuzz and their new feathers come in, they already have a functioning oil gland, and can waterproof themselves. If this is not done, the oil gland does not activate until the ducks are about 8 weeks old. In my mind, waterproofing = better insulated, so the sooner the better. Read the rest of this entry »

One Year In – A Duck Primer

April 5, 2013 in Animals | Tags: , , , , , | 3 comments

DucksGrownUp
Fully grown Anconas

It was just about a year ago that I picked up my peeping box of ducklings from the post office. Based on the ship date, I estimate their birthdays to be April 21st. Here’s what I have figured out during my first year of raising ducks.

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So Cute My Head Will Explode

March 27, 2013 in Animals, Farm Life | Tags: , , | 2 comments

We had a couple of families come out on Sunday to see babies. One of the teenage daughters said that there was so much cute her head was going to explode. I know just how she feels. Read the rest of this entry »

Counting Heads – A Baby Update

March 20, 2013 in Animals, Farm Life, Garden | Tags: , , , , , | 4 comments

Happy first day of Spring!

Abe Read the rest of this entry »

Lamb-y-kins

March 11, 2013 in Animals, Farm Life | Tags: , | 4 comments

WallulaBabies1

Amos and Andy, the lamb ram twins, born to Wallula March 9, 2013. The lamb on the left is about 5 minutes old in this picture.

Babies! We have babies! Two male American Blackbelly lambs, to be precise. We’re new to this whole lamb birthing business, so it was quite the event for us. Thankfully, Wallula cooperated and had her twins on Saturday afternoon, when both my husband and I were home, and on my birthday to boot. How about that! Read the rest of this entry »

Early Spring Farm Update

March 4, 2013 in Animals, Farm Life, Garden | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 comment

Violets2013

Yup, that’s a honey bee! Not one of mine, unfortunately.

The calendar says March 4th. The ground says early spring. I’ve got chives coming up, California poppies reseeding, daffodils pushing up flower buds, violets blooming, fruit tree buds swelling, silver maple blooming. There is the faintest tinge of green, if you squint and get the light just right, on the line of “wind break” willows that line two sides of our property. Read the rest of this entry »

Plan NOW for Seed Saving in the Fall

February 22, 2013 in Garden | Tags: , , , , , , , | 4 comments

HopiCornI’m new to seed saving. I have known the basics for years. That you need to save seed from open pollinated plants, not hybrids, if you want the seed to come true. That the technique for saving the seed differs depending on the plant. I’ve even saved seed from a few things – a high elevation variety of flour corn, a short season southwestern chile pepper, a runner bean.

But I have always gardened in relatively small spaces. And I’m a big believer in biointensive gardening, so I tend to pack a lot of vegetables into the allotted space, even when I have room. I also often plant more than one variety of any given vegetable. Heck, I’m planning on planting 18 varieties of tomatoes and tomatillos this year! Read the rest of this entry »

What’s in YOUR freezer?

February 12, 2013 in Preserving | Tags: , , , , , , , | 5 comments

FrostFenceYou know, as you get older, how you occasionally catch yourself saying or doing something you heard or saw your parents do, and you have that sinking feeling?  That “I’m doing that thing that I swore I’d never do. I’m turning into my parents” moment? Well, I think with the purchase of our last refrigerator, I’ve officially careened off the edge of that cliff. Read the rest of this entry »

Jennifer Kleffner

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