Our beloved neighbors, Betsy and Don, are away tonight for Don's son's graduation. It is a tricky time to be away, because a whole bunch of lambs are due to be born any moment. They hired Cadence to farm-sit while they are gone and she and I got a crash course in lambing. It is predicted to be a rainy, stormy, muddy night, so of course it is highly likely that a bunch of lambs will elect to be born tonight. I went over to help with the evening chores and we were met by this darling lamb outside the fence (he was born a month ago, a result of the ram jumping over the fence before his scheduled rendezvous date.) It's ok of he gets through the fence- he won't stray far from his mom.Aha! We spied a new lamb, apparently born just minutes before we arrived, still wet. We were relieved to see it up on its feet, looking strong and healthy.Cadence decided we should do all the other chores first then try to get the lamb and ewe into the barn. The other sheep were hungry and we wouldn't have to contend with their demands if they were distracted by eating.Cadence and Israel fed the sheep, donkeys, horses, chickens, and dogs while I prepared bottles for the lambs.When we returned our attention to the newborn lamb, we discovered a second lamb! It must have been born while we did the chores. We followed Betsy's clever strategy of putting the lamb into a sled (two sleds in this case) and dragging it slowly to the barn as the mom followed. Easier said than done, however; my hour-or-so-old lamb kept jumping out of the sled.Don has built a nursery in the barn with a dozen small pens where the lambs can become securely bonded with their moms - no risk of getting confused with the wrong ewe. Weaker lambs will get extra attention and supplemental bottle feeding. The blue pvc pipe down the middle is a watering system.We bottle-fed a couple of lambs whose moms were not adequately nourishing them.This lamb was born last night in the rain and when Don found him this morning, he thought he was dead until he saw him wiggle a bit. He was a very large lamb and had been stuck for a while during birth so fluid had built up in his head, which was very swollen. Don said he didn't have a very good chance of surviving, but showed me how to tube-feed him this afternoon. Don had put the lamb under a heat lamp, but he was shivering and if you put your finger inside his mouth, it was cool, not warm like the internal temp should be. Tonight I put my finger in his mouth and his temperature was considerably warmer than this afternoon. It also looked like the swelling of his head had gone down a bit, but he was still lying motionless beneath the heat lamp, his mom curled around him. I was really nervous about tube-feeding him. If you accidentally slide the tube into his lungs rather than his stomach, that will kill him. But the tube slid in easily and I fed him a whole bottle of milk while Cadence held him. As we fed him he wagged his tail and then he pooped on her boot, both of which seemed like good signs! I hope this baby is standing tomorrow!Kind of nerve-wracking, but I like these sheep!If you want to know more about Don and Betsy's sheep, you can listen to my very first episode Prairie Air, my new radio show on the COBB Radio.com, where I interviewed Don about sheep-shearing and lambing season.

I was beginning to despair that it would never dry up enough to till and plant! But then Wednesday it seemed almost dry enough to till the veggie garden on the uphill slope. I spent about three hours trying to enlarge this plot , tilling through the sod on the edges, with the little Toro tiller. But then around supper time a neighbor stopped by with his big tiller behind his tractor, and in about 15 minutes tilled a new bed for us (the far one in this photo) and re-tilled this one, incorporating two front-end-loader-scoops of composted cow manure (courtesy of our other dear neighbor, Frank, who had come earlier in the day with his big machine to clean up our muddy cow yard!) I am so grateful to our neighbors who took a little tinme to help us out despite being equally behind on their own, much bigger farms! We paid them in eggs and dollars, but probably not adequately. Yesterday morning, Cadence planted the tomatoes, basil, and peppers - and it has rained steadily ever since; happily, we got them in in the tiny window of opportunity.Cadence transplanted some of the daffodils that were encroaching on the asparagus bed to the east side of the garden shed and they seem to like it there.We are feasting on the most delectable green and purple asparagus every day! The garlic is looking great.Cherry blossoms! The pears are also in bloom, but the pear, plum and apple trees were girdled by rabbits this winter and won't survive. Heartbreaking.The yellow fence is now erected around the bee and butterfly perennial garden- my Mother's Day project from Rog! We still have to make gates and paint the arbor. And the house!I planted and mulched all day yesterday, trying to make it look presentable for our farm's grand opening and art fair this weekend - it's getting there.A little garden sculpture I got at the Gold Rush antique fair last weekend (I spent as much money as I made, but it was a crummy weekend weather-wise and it wasn't much.) I have loved this figure ever since I saw it years ago in Savannah, GA; it is featured on the cover of the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."The yellow butterfly magnolia is just about to bloom. It is not as heavily covered in buds as it was last year, before it was so rudely frosted and all the buds turned black, but it will still be pretty.The serviceberry bushes are covered in blooms! The blossoms should make the bees happy, and if we can beat the birds to the berries, it looks like a good crop coming.Greenhouse crops are doing well. We have been eating this fabulous lettuce and spinach!Red and gold beets in the high tunnel, interplanted with carrots.Next stop on the garden tour, the silo pond. I removed the greenhouse plastic from the sides this week.The frog population in the silo pond has now grown to at least seven - I have no idea how they find this pond!Plants waiting on the patio to be put into the ground...More plants in the pickup--please don't tell Rog how many flowers I have purchased this week!

It was a perfect day for tea. Rain's been falling mostly all day and it was just right for a cup of tea.I found a new tea that is absolutely delish. I loved Earl Grey teas way-back-when; but then I found them getting stronger and stronger--just a quick dip for my bag. Whatever my reasons, I haven't had it in years. I had received this free sample of Mighty Leaf's Earl Grey just last week. Mmmmm. Just as a proper Earl Grey should be, to me, anyway. A very enjoyable Earl Grey {hot}, if I do say so myself.Perfect for a rainy day.Labels: Tea, TN

Welcome to the Friday Farm Fix, a sporadic series where I share a random sampling of what's been happening around the farm during the past week. Just joining us? You'll find all the previous Friday Farm Fix posts here and here. Incoming! I'm not quite sure where this past week went, so I'm not quite sure what all we did during it besides a whole bunch of laundry. I think we had some rain; I know we hoped for more. We said farewell to the wet weather creek, which hasn't run this long in years. Hopefully we'll see it again before next spring. There was lots of lawn mowing and weed whacking and mulching the raised kitchen garden vegetable beds with green gold (aka grass clippings). I cooked a fresh ham roast and made a batch of Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Coconut Cookies and a batch of double chocolate chip cookies and baked three French daily baguettes (recipe hopefully coming this weekend). We hooked the 16-foot flatbed trailer up to the '86 pickup and spent 11 hours out buying lumber and groceries and supplies while the new cat, whose name at this point is still That Cat, went to the vet to get tutored (my mother is probably the only one who will get this decades-old Far Side cartoon reference). We ate big freshly picked Swiss chard and kale chopped salads most nights and had macaroni and cheese with leftover ham three times (I may have made a little too much). Oh yeah, there were two (!) big black snakes curled up together in one of the nesting boxes in Rooster Andy's coop. Black snakes LOVE fresh eggs. The slithery couple was put in a cooler (which wasn't easy) and relocated to another part of the farm, hopefully far enough away so they don't make their way back. I actually snapped a couple of pictures, but I didn't think you'd want to see them. And I guess that's about all—or at least all I can remember. The rest is in pictures. 18 more photos below (hover your cursor over each image for a description). . . Click here for the rest of this post »

I remember what it was like to punch a time clock. However, now that I'm officially "retired"...my days look a bit like this. Have a wonderful weekend, folks. Until next time, Lord willing. Sherry

The USDA recently announced $19.5 million in grants towards research on the impact of climate change on dairy and beef cattle. Researchers from universities across the nation are set to work together through a Coordinated Agricultural Project award in order to determine what cattle farmers need both short and long term. The project is designed to strengthen rural communities through knowledge on how to prepare and sustainably face climate change as a cattle producer. The information gained through the research will be used to educate cattle farmers and ranchers in the future.The Supreme Court unanimously sided with corporate giant Monsanto in a case that is sure to shake both agriculture and biotechnology industries. The case involved an Indiana soybean farmer, Vernon Hugh Bowman, who took Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready soybeans from a local grain elevator. The soybeans are resistant to the Roundup pesticide also produced by Monsanto. Bowman proceeded to plant his own seeds in future years, which had the same Roundup resistant characteristic. Though Bowman argued that the seeds were “self-replicating,” the court ruled that it was Bowman’s own actions that led to the eight generations of seed copying. The decision will be beneficial to innovative industries, which patent inventions that could be duplicated; however, with companies like Monsanto dominating much of the food industry, prices could continue to rise for consumers.In other Monsanto news, a report was recently released by Food and Water Watch detailing international lobbying for biotech products, which is funded, in part, by US tax dollars. In crafting the report, cables from 2005 to 2009 that were released on Wikileaks in 2010 from 926 diplomatic agencies in over 100 countries were studied, resulting in the finding that officials in US State Departments lobby for specific biotech companies, such as Monsanto. In 2009, a cable from an embassy in Spain requests for US government intervention to battle Monsanto opposition. The intervention came four years after Monsanto was fined $1.5 million for bribing an official in Indonesia, directly breaking the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Community food activists argue that these acts are harmful to local food systems and regional governments working against GMO crops. Monsanto and US officials both contend that these products are necessary to increase global food production. The report further explained that the US State Department promoted GMO products through pamphlets sent to Slovenia as well as DVDs sent to high schools in Hong Kong. U.C. Berkeley police arrested four people on Monday for trespassing and interfering with police forces. These criminals were not up to what you might think, however; they were arrested for the act of gardening. Resilient farmers and activists are keeping the Occupy the Farm movement alive in California, as angry occupiers took over a 12-acre University of California space to replace the abandoned weeds with veggies and flowers. Though police broke up the protest and plowed over the seedlings, occupiers expressed plans to return to the site this weekend. The plot was originally donated to the school in the 1920s and dedicated to organic growing and research. Since then the land goes mostly unused with plans to convert the space into housing, a grocery store and a parking lot. The movement began on Earth Day 2012 when activists executed similar planting, which was followed up by ten forums on the importance of the space in the past year. Though University of California administration was invited, no one attended any of the discussions. The Senate Agricultural Committee approved the Agricultural Reform Food and Jobs Act, more commonly deemed the 2013 farm bill, in a 15-5 decision this week that will move onto Congress next. Though the bill is long overdue since the extension of the 2012 farm bill, many food and farm activists are angered over the contents of this $100 billion law. The problem

Summer Market Season 348 Angola Road, Cornwall N.Y.                                                www.facebook.com/edgwickfarm              (845) 401 2301 Cornwall Summer Farmer’s Market Wednesday 10-4 Saturday 10-2 May 29th to October 30th Town Hall Municipal Parking Lot   Beacon Farmer’s Market Sunday 11-3 All Season Long  Across from the Beacon Train Station   Village of Chester Farmer’s Market Sunday 9-3 June 2nd to October 26th  Downtown Chester by Rail Trail    Goshen Farmer’s Market Friday 10-5 May 24th to November 1st Goshen Village Square   Ringwood NJ Farmer’s Market Saturday 9 to 1 May 25th to October 26th Ringwood’s Park and Ride   Village of Fishkill Farmer’s Market Thursday 9-3 May 30th to October 24th Fishkill Village’s Main Street Plaza Parking Lot   Village of Walden Farmer’s Market Friday 11:30-4:30 June 14th to October 25th Walden Municipal Square   Paramus NJ Farmer’s Market Wednesday 2:30-6:30 June 19th to September 18th  Petruska Memorial Park North Parking Lot   DeCicco’s Family Market Cornwall Plaza Sunday 8-7 Monday to Saturday 7:30-8   Blooming Hill Farm Saturday and Sunday 10-2 Blooming Grove Rt. 208

Spring ephemerals typically bloom in May here. We have many growing at our new home that didn’t grow wild at our old home, plus there are many that I acquired through purchase or trade while at the old house that I brought over with me.Here are a few of my favorites.I don’t know what magic makes bluets grow in a lawn, but we have that magic here.Bluets grew in the lawn at my husband’s childhood home, great patches of sky-blue in grass a little on the long side. Several times I took a chunk of bluets (Houstonia caerulea) from my in-laws’ lawn and transplanted it into ours, attempting to replicate the exact conditions, but to no avail. The bluets never returned in our lawn the following year. And yet, here they are in our new lawn. I hope they stay.This darling was given to me by a gardening friend, and it is slowly growing bigger.The white form of rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides) grows wild at our old house. I have yet to see it at our new house, but I have this dainty pink form thanks to a generous friend.I think shooting stars are fascinating. I’d like to grow more of them.I once saw a shooting star growing along the shoulder of a country road in our former county, but never since. The Dodecatheon amethystinum pictured here was purchased from a nursery that is no longer in business.Because the light is shining through the spathe, or hood, of this plant, the stripes appear red.Jacks-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) grow plentifully along the side brook (see map). Some have green striping in the hood, and some have brown striping. But you can see that the brown must have red pigment in it when you view a Jack that is backlit. Also Blooming Now Trillium erectum (finishing up) Trillium grandiflorum Early meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum) Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) Solomon’s seal (not sure which one) Tiarella cordifolia Lady’s smock (Cardamine pratensis) Twin-leaf toothwort (Cardamine diphylla) Celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) Creeping phlox Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) Narcissus x medioluteus I used to call this Irish Laddie before I knew what it was. Inspired by the words of Elizabeth Lawrence, “We can have flowers nearly every month of the year,” Carol of May Dreams Gardens started Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. On the 15th of every month, garden bloggers from all over the world publish what is currently blooming in their gardens, and leave a link in Mr. Linky and the comments of May Dreams Gardens.

It's not unusual to be taken out for a meal on Mothers Day, but to be served Raspberry and Lavender cupcakes with real Orchid Blossom tops and cucumber sandwiches served with pastry puff spinach bites...now THAT is something special. All of course the fine work of Chef Tab who also happens to be our daughter-in-law. These fine foods were not made available though an upscale restaurant but rather as part of a Mother's Day Tea , Tab organized for the residents of the local nursing home she works for. After weeks of preparation, tea pot smuggling from relatives, menu planning etc...Tab and the rest of the staff at Good Samaritan Home in Pontiac through a Tea Party to end all Tea Parties.With great food, yummy desserts, lots of bubbly (the kind you make by blowing not by drinking) and mediocre entertainment (I was asked to do a soap making demo) the Mother's Day bash was a success that even made the front page of the local newspaper.We are so proud of all our kids, daughter-in-laws and grand kids but this week we're especially proud of Tab going the extra mile for those elderly moms who without her hard work, may not have had any other celebration that day to tell them all THANKS for being such great moms. Tomorrow she walks with her class as she officially graduates from Culinary School , a goal she has worked towards for many years .We can't wait to see what the future holds for her. Great things for sure.

Using some muscle last month on a neglected (and falling apart) raised bed in the kitchen garden. One of the first purchases I made after moving to the country 18 years ago was a 7.5 cubic foot Rubbermaid utility cart, and to this day it remains one of the best things I've ever bought. We use it so much around the farm and garden that a couple years ago we bought a second one. (The cart pictured above is the older version; you can see our newer version in action here.) The one-piece construction is incredibly durable and tough. They can be either pushed or pulled, are easy to clean, easy to dump, don't mind being left out in the weather, can handle rough terrain, and can haul up to 300 pounds. Over the years we've used ours to transport everything from firewood to sick sheep. They're perfect for hauling manure from the barn, weeds to the compost bin, and grass clippings to the vegetable beds. I can't imagine gardening or farming without them. We paid $189 for our second one several years ago, but right now they're available from amazon for just $139 each, with free shipping. They won't ship for 3 to 5 weeks, but if you're willing to wait, you can save a lot of money (the regular price is over $240). I'm not sure how long this price will last, so if you've had your eye on one of these carts, now is the time to pounce. We're actually thinking maybe we should get a third one—that's how great they are. P.S. These rugged carts can handle a lot of use and abuse, but I wouldn't, ahem, recommend throwing heavy pieces of firewood into them from several feet away, or turning them upside down and standing on them, especially if you're a very big guy. If, however, such a thing should happen while your back is turned, large cracks can successfully be mended with pieces of old metal license plates and/or metal strapping, preferably by the person who is responsible for causing the cracking. Also, you can use your cart to move the generator, but take it out before you actually run the generator. Otherwise, the heat blasting out of it could melt a big ugly hole in the side of your brand new, shiny cart. Not that anyone would actually do this. © FarmgirlFare.com, the rockin' and rollin' foodie farm blog where we haven't yet figured out how to put the donkeys before the cart.