Each week for the past 10 years Jim has included one of these egg message in every dozen eggs sold. They hopefully give a view what goes on at the farm from week to week. Enjoy.
July 2014
Friends of Solstice Farm: The sun is shining; the pigs are growing; the chicks have pin feathers; the lambs are almost weaned (much quieter on the farm now!); AND the first cutting of the hay is in the barn. We had a fantastic crew of five friends, neighbors and interns help bring in 350-400 bales. We began at 5 PM and ended at 9 PM just as the sun was setting. Without all this wonderful help Linda and I would still be in the field wrestling those 60-80 lb bales that would have become damp and moldy. Now if we can just fool these people to come again in August for the second cutting we will have a completely full barn of hay for the winter feeding of sheep! And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
Friends of Solstice Farm: “Beaver World” may come to Beaver Valley ( an appropriate name). After years of trying to persuade our beavers to relocate by tearing down their dams etc the USDA is proposing a new beaver solution… They want to build a pond with swim steps ,slide and a series of strategically placed fences to save the few remaining trees the little shits (devil didn’t seem a strong enough word, sorry) haven’t eaten yet. The idea is for the beavers to stay in their pond and new lodge and out of the creek. Actually I am rooting for this to succeed so I can sell tickets to watch the beavers in their new home. Of course this idea may backfire as other beavers may become jealous and want to join the fun. And so it goes. Jim and Linda
June
Friends of Solstice Farm: As many of you know I love alliteration. And last month it was mentioned that Buckie the ram (soon to be shipped out) had arrived. I thought he might be called Boastful Buckie. His name has changed. Ten days ago, while opening a stall door to help Linda trim his hoof, he broke through and flatten me with both ram and farmwife on top of me. And while I was away from the farm for a few days he knocked down and pummeled Linda leaving her torso bruised with a swollen hand resembling a medium sized papaya. Buckie the Bas____d is returning to his original home! And so it goes. Jim and Linda. 732-0174 PS No broken bones or permanent damage to the farmers. And as they say “Do not try this at home!”
Friends of Solstice Farm: The lambs are already practicing for the Winter Olympics……. They can be seen in the pastures executing fairly difficult ice skating jumps and leaps in the pastures. Some of the notable ones are Bunny hops, Mazurkas, Walleys, Axels, Lutzes, and Salchows,.(These are real names!) I have been scoring their efforts giving mostly 6s and 7s. But I must admit, one lamb has been attempting all six jumps at the same time and tumbling to the ground. I had to give her a 10 for creativity and effort. The ewes have been ignoring the lamb’s cavorting and continue chewing their cuds. Something about ignoring all irrelevant behavior of your child. And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
May
Friends of Solstice Farm: Water , water everywhere but here to drink (sorry for the paraphrase) as the well pump went out this Memorial Day Weekend. Our B and B guests were good sports and we survived until the pump was replaced today. But the real disaster, according to the bottle babies (It was exciting trying to feed four 20 lb lambs at the same time. You have to visualize bottles being held between my legs.) was being weaned off milk by diluting their bottles with WATER. Luckily we had been saving gallon water bottles for just such an emergency so guests and lambs did not go dry. Showers were another matter. And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174.
Friends of Solstice Farm: The eyes have it… It seems that perhaps Ralph the Raven, who has “beady little eyes“, may not have had the evil qualities associated with this term. To wit he may not have been the murderer of two of my hens last week. It may be the new “friends of the farm” Willie Weasel (not to be confused with Wiley Coyote, another predator) and his consort Wilfred are culpable. Currently they are being very coy and only dispatching rodents in the hay pile. . But come to think of it the “harmless” garden toads have vengeful black little eyes too. Just in case I guess I will have to keep a close eye on all the beady little friends we have! And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
Friends of Solstice Farm: I am feeling a little grumpy this morning. The sweet, innocent and “beautiful” birds are back this spring and are ATTACKING the farm. .. A redwing blackbird nesting nearby is hitting the large plate windows every 22 seconds (I timed him) for hours on end; the swallows are back roosting in the eves and worse inside the air vents of the attic; a raven has killed two hens this past week; and some songbirds have decided to poo on the window that I look out in the mornings for my inspiration for these messages. My view this morning is cloudy as is this message. Fast forward to another cup of coffee and sitting outside and my mood is improving.. These birds aren’t all that bad when watching the swallows swoop by devouring insects or the listening to the songbirds in the pond area.. Now if I can just re-educate the redwing blackbird and raven. And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
Friends of Solstice Farm: You can always tell when it is Spring on the farm by the noise. This past week there was the afternoon frog chirping (frogs actual chirp like a bird during mating season.); the incessant male red-wing black bird screeching for his potential mate; the lonely braying of Bucky, the new ram, seeking a consort; and the constant scolding of the killdeer in the garden directed at farmers that are too close to their nest. And at night when all these creature are asleep the lonely coyote takes over with his howling in syncopation with the hooting of the resident valley owl. We wouldn’t have it any other way. And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
April
Friends of Solstice Farm: The lambing was supposedly completed 10 days ago and we “went back to bed” instead of getting up at 3 AM to check the lambing stalls. But it seems, even after 12 years of lambing, we get it wrong. Two procrastinating ewes gave birth to two more! The final (unless we overlooked a couple of other ewes) count is 33. All are the lambs are decked out in their brightly colored sweaters and are beginning to draw visiting crowds. You are all invited to come for a visit anytime. Just call to make sure we are here. And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
Friends of Solstice Farm: Thirty one lambs have successfully been born with only three ewes waiting their turn. And O Joy, the three o’clock barn rounds have been temporarily suspended until their due date next week! In addition three bottle babies are now on daytime feedings instead of every six hours. The garden is being planted, the sun is shining and all is well on the farm. A perfect start for Spring. And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
Friends of Solstice Farm: After much drama and suffering the farmers and interns successfully helped a ewe deliver two out of three breech birth lambs! Mother and lambs are doing fine. I t is amazing how quickly the ewe forgets her pain and begins the process of nurturing and feeding her little ones. And watching the other 13 lambs frolicking in the morning all is well once again. Except, of course, for Dillon, the rambunctious lamb, that gets into the chicken coop to see what all the commotion is when the hens declare their own “birthing” And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
March 2014
Friends of Solstice Farm: You can always tell when Spring has officially arrived here. Never mind what Walter on FOX weather says or the March 21 date. It arrives here when I go out to cut wild daffodils for Linda; when the swallows return (sighted two Sun!); when the red winged black birds screech near the pond; when the asparagus begin to sprout; and of course, when the lambs are born. To date there are nine healthy little ones with perhaps another 30 to come. It is also Spring when the farmers and interns are short of sleep with 3 AM barn watches and bottle feeding. And so it goes. Jim and Linda
Friends of Solstice Farm: Yesterday we shipped Charlemagne, the gentle ram, and returned with Bucky (a very appropriate ram name). It was obvious when we exchanged rams that Bucky was “strong willed”, read feisty. So I was careful when unloading him from the truck to hold onto his lead. He landed six feet out and proceeded to give a class that bucking broncos could use. Of course, I was still attached to him like the tail on a kite and bouncing through the barn until a couple of interns thankfully jumped in fray to hold him down. Linda, of course, was concerned that we stressed Bucky. And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
Friends of Solstice Farm: It has been one of those slow weeks. We all seem to be waiting for the main event next week (maybe) when the lambing should begin. As our old mentor, Jerry. says it is time to check the FRU FRUs ( I will leave that to your imagination what he means.) Being more modest I find myself watching other things like the way hens run when first let out of their coop in the morning. A south bound hen runs with her right leg SSW and then her left SEE (sorry it’s the sailor in me). It is a wonder that she actually makes any progress going south hopping back and forth. Maybe I should start chicken races until the lambs arrive. And so it goes. Jim and Linda
Friends of Solstice Farm: They say that potassium is good for you and we should eat lots of bananas. Well with the last week or so of the Banana Express we have had our fill of potassium. I mean, really, how much potassium is in that rain anyway. The fields and even the barn floor are flooded and enough of a good thing is enough. Maybe it is time for a little copper or zinc. Wait a minute,… Linda just explained the Express has nothing to do with potassium or any minerals and I am having a Gilda Radner moment. “Never mind” And so it goes. Jim and Linda
Friends of Solstice Farm: Good news and bad…. Linda and I have recently agreed on a transition plan for the farm. We will transfer the ownership and operation of the farm to dear friends while remaining on the farm. This will slowly occur over the next 18 months or so. The result ,hopefully, will be the farm continuing with new energy and enthusiasm. Eggs, lamb, pork, vegetables and fruit production will probably increase. The bad news is that I have been requested to continue these inane egg messages for many years to come. Sorry. And so it goes. Jim and Linda
February 2014
Friends of Solstice Farm: Hurray for the little guys. Usually on the farm the big guys get their way; the ewes hog the green hay from the lambs; Sassy Pants, last year’s big hog, pigged out the most; and the Buff Orpington hens eat first. But now the White Leghorn chicks have thrived and been placed with the other hens……Feisty is the best word that comes to mind with these guys. They began laying a month early and are eating more than their share, thank you very much. It isn’t often I can brag about the “underhen“. And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
Friends of Solstice Farm: Farm wives are amazing, Linda being a prime example. She jumps into any situation and is game for some of the strangest tasks. This week was no exception. I convinced her that the only way to secure the peak on the new greenhouse (check out Linda’s stain glass mermaid on the end) was to lie horizontally onto the arm of the excavator and hang headfirst over the bucket while I raised her ten feet. Thank goodness most passing motorists did not honk when they saw someone “hanging ten” over a glass greenhouse. The down side is she covered her favorite pants with grease and hydraulic fluid and I am in the dog house again. And so it goes. Jim and Linda
Friends of Solstice Farm: Thank you for putting up with the intern’s egg messages that were in fact superior to my own. However, after arriving back from the balmy 85 degree Belize weather to Seattle’s 20 degrees, I noticed a real character defect in our interns Rick and Al. They promptly went on their vacation to Fairbanks …..were it is 20 below!! I am concerned about their critical thinking skills and will go out this morning to recheck the animals to see if they have been corrupted (Unlikely as chickens rarely think). And so it goes. Jim and Linda PS It is good to be back.
January 2014
Friends of Solstice Farm: This past few days has been absolutely beautiful on the farm. The fog has been changing into a frosty covering for the entire valley. It looks like one of those snowballs that you turn upside down. It so white. …. . The animals’ view of the scenery is not the same. The sheep refuse to go into the fields even for a little exercise until that nasty white stuff melts by noon. And the chickens, who normally saunter out into the fields, are staying in the loafing shed with the sheep. This difference in viewpoints just reinforces the fact that sheep and chickens have no soul….. And so it goes. Jim and Linda. PS Linda strongly disagrees! Go figure. 732-0174
February 2014
Friends of Solstice Farm: Hurray for the little guys. Usually on the farm the big guys get their way; the ewes hog the green hay from the lambs; Sassy Pants, last year’s big hog, pigged out the most; and the Buff Orpington hens eat first. But now the White Leghorn chicks have thrived and been placed with the other hens……Feisty is the best word that comes to mind with these guys. They began laying a month early and are eating more than their share, thank you very much. It isn’t often I can brag about the “underhen“. And so it goes. Jim and Linda 732-0174
Friends of Solstice Farm: Farm wives are amazing, Linda being a prime example. She jumps into any situation and is game for some of the strangest tasks. This week was no exception. I convinced her that the only way to secure the peak on the new greenhouse (check out Linda’s stain glass mermaid on the end) was to lie horizontally onto the arm of the excavator and hang headfirst over the bucket while I raised her ten feet. Thank goodness most passing motorists did not honk when they saw someone “hanging ten” over a glass greenhouse. The down side is she covered her favorite pants with grease and hydraulic fluid and I am in the dog house again. And so it goes. Jim and Linda
Friends of Solstice Farm: Thank you for putting up with the intern’s egg messages that were in fact superior to my own. However, after arriving back from the balmy 85 degree Belize weather to Seattle’s 20 degrees, I noticed a real character defect in our interns Rick and Al. They promptly went on their vacation to Fairbanks …..were it is 20 below!! I am concerned about their critical thinking skills and will go out this morning to recheck the animals to see if they have been corrupted (Unlikely as chickens rarely think). And so it goes. Jim and Linda PS It is good to be back.
January 2014
Friends of Solstice Farm: This past few days has been absolutely beautiful on the farm. The fog has been changing into a frosty covering for the entire valley. It looks like one of those snowballs that you turn upside down. It so white. …. . The animals’ view of the scenery is not the same. The sheep refuse to go into the fields even for a little exercise until that nasty white stuff melts by noon. And the chickens, who normally saunter out into the fields, are staying in the loafing shed with the sheep. This difference in viewpoints just reinforces the fact that sheep and chickens have no soul….. And so it goes. Jim and Linda. PS Linda strongly disagrees! Go figure. 732-0174