Here's the links for those posts that were not captured here this spring/summer. They'll redirect you to the website.
Reading Materials - With Consequences 4/21/15
Farmers, ranchers, and most ordinary citizens don't sit around all day and write page upon page of rules and regulations - but, we need to read what those who DO write them, write.
Reason being, that what is written, if passed into law, could very well affect your access to local food, and the means for making a living bringing it to you of many Texans.
Judith McGeary founded FARFA many years ago with the hope of helping fellow Texas farmers and ranchers - and beyond - by using her talents and strengths to help navigate and influence, to a degree, some of the legislation that affects us when it comes to our livelihoods - and your access to our products. Be it raw milk, farm fresh produce or grass fed meats, we want to preserve our rights to access the good stuff! (read more)
I’m taking a break from doing my taxes. Maybe, if
you’re reading this, you are, too. Or, maybe, you’ve done what I honestly
intended to do, and did actually start to do, got yours out
of the way early.
At any rate, I can think of a hundred things I’d
rather do anyway than my taxes. So, as the end of the day approaches and
my head is full of farm thoughts, scrambled with numbers, spreadsheets and
formulas, I thought I’d write a bit - to clear the cobwebs.
I was thinking lately about the hoops, or rings as it
may be, that I jump through on any given day, to have animals here on the
farm.(read more)
Here Comes the Sun! 4/29/15
I was so happy last night when I checked the forecast
for the rest of the week and saw lots of yellow suns on the chart! Wow
have we had some long stretches of cloudy and wet weather this spring. The
potato field where the clover had grown over the winter barely got mowed
before all of the rains started. Needless to say, perhaps, we will not
have many potatoes this year from our gardens. The field is still too wet
to do anything in with the tractor and it needs to be mowed again after
all of this rain. The clover is trying to rebound! (read more)
Hip-waders and Arks 5/22/15
Ok, so it’s more like goulashes and scattered plywood
tossed over top of standing water and deep mud.
But at any rate, it’s more rain, in less time, over a
longer period of time, than North Texas has seen in many years. Many,
many years.
In fact, since I’ve been farming I have not ever
experienced this kind of ongoing flooding, lack of sunshiney days and
uncertainty about the future of an upcoming season.
If you see me working moonlight at Garden Café to
fill in the financial gaps, you’ll kn ow why. I’m only half-joking.(read more)
Hell or High Water 5/24/15
Friday morning when I sent the weekly farm report out
to my CSA members, we’d already received nearly 11 inches of rain for the
month of May. By the next morning, an inch more had fallen. And today,
Sunday morning, we are at 13.38” – and the rain is still steadily falling.
Erosion has washed away soil and mulch. I’m concerned about crops, old
barn foundations and roofs. Extremely soggy and soft conditions, keep me from
pulling the tractor out of the barn to do anything much other than a quick
mowing when I can manage to get a dry enough spell to cross the creek at
the pond’s mouth. The weight of my small frame, sinks up to ankles, higher
in some places, just going to feed chickens, horses and dogs. Spring 2015
will certainly go down in the history books.(read more)
Piece of the Pie (5/30/15)
A couple of weeks ago, I was given the bull horn and
asked to address a group of local food agtivists at the annual
March Against Monsanto here in Dallas. How exciting!
I try to bash something or endlessly complain,
without at least offering up some kind of resolution. I like to see
progress and the only way that's going to happen is if we take real action
steps, not just protest marches. Although, they can bring attention to
issues, unless folks go home with something to do - not much seems to
change.(read more)
The Sun is Back - Now What?
Besides doing the Snoopy happy dance, many gardeners
and farmers have some work ahead of them to restore their water-logged
crops.
First and
foremost, get those mosquito dunks and bits sprinkled out in the standing
water that can't be dumped or drained. (Made by Summit - available at
Eden's and just about every garden center/department I know of. Some
municipalities have dunks for free.) (read more)
FALLING AHEAD TO THE CSA MEMBERSHIP
DRIVE 7/2/15
Believe it or not, farmers are already thinking way
ahead of tomatoes, zucchini and watermelons. When we're not mowing,
weeding or harvesting, we’re already focusing some of our time on fall and
winter planting schedules. That means we’re also going through our seeds,
seed catalogs and taking inventory of the various soil amendments and seed
starting supplies we’ll need to get those things going - like cauliflower,
broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, garlic, onions, etc. (read more)
IT'S ALL GONE TO THE
DOGS CATS! (Part 1) 8/11/15
If you have any experience living where there is a
feral cat population, you know how quickly the number of cats can increase
– exponentially! Since I’ve owned this farm, stray or feral cats haven’t
really ever been much of an issue.
Well, the
only 2 strays I did find, ended up house cats – so, no issue, right?
(Ed, originally misnamed as "Eden",
joined the rank and file of indoor housecats when Eve rejected his company
as shop partner. Too fidgety, she said.)
But I was about to learn, and learn quickly, what an
issue a couple of seemingly innocent stray cats could become.
(read more)
IT'S ALL GONE TO THE
DOGS CATS! (Part 2) 8/23/15
Thankfully, feral cats can have guardian angels. And
3 of them have come to my rescue and that of the cats here at the farm.
First up is someone I know from the local food scene
who saw my plea-filled post on Facebook. Kim Pierce who writes about our
Market Days from time to time, ushered my situation over to a couple of
ladies she knew, who are also cat guardian angels.(read more)
On My Soapbox 9/6/15
It’s Fall CSA Share
sign up time, for many
farms, including mine here in southeast Dallas County. That means I’m
on my soapbox. So, kick off your shoes, grab something to drink and check
this article out. It’s a bit longer than a “blog” entry, so I guess I'll
have to qualify it as a self published article. Oh well. I was on a
roll, what can I say?
Back in 2007 or so, a certain book crossed my path.
I’d started toying with the idea of starting up a farm using the CSA model
and
Sharing the Harvest was the go-to instruction manual as well as
history book on the subject.(read more)
Looking on the Bright Side
I hope you enjoyed the story of
the farm cats. I’m sure
enjoying having these 3 little rascals around my office, but soon they
should be all cleared by the vet and ready to go outside to romp around
the farm and hang out in the shop at night.
It’s good to have cats in the shop because organic
soil amendments left unattended for very long periods of time out in the
open, can be subject to curious rodents’ teeth…..
Having
Eve staying in the shop at night, generally eliminated this issue. With
her now being retired, cotton meal has become, shall we say, mouse meal. (read more) So, putting my blog here as well as on my website going forward, so you have two chances to catch it! ;)
Thanks for following Life on the Farm Blog!
Marie Eat Your Food - Naturally!
