Farming ain’t easy

 It’s springtime here on the farm. 

It’s also springtime at your house, so I guess that’s not a real surprise. However, we’ve got all the farm stuff happening so I thought I would share some pictures. 

   

I need to name this chicken. She’s the only one that leaves the pen. Every. Day. I catch her and put her back in (after a little chase and a little frustration). Let’s call her Gretchen. 

After planting the garden, I placed all of the tags by each plant so that I could tell which peppers were jalapeƱo and which where banana peppers, which plant was cantaloupe and which was watermelon, etc. Gretchen walked through the garden and removed all the tags. We watched her walk by and pull the tag from the ground. 

Gretchen also lays her eggs on some hay on the burn pile behind the shop. We found 5 there the first day we discovered them. And she leaves the pen everyday to lay her egg for the day on the burn pile. 

  

The chickens are spoiled. They like fruit and veggie scraps and will meet me at the gate when they see me coming. 

  

Never have picked this one up. She’s nosey but fast when I reach down to get her. 

  

The view from the back of the chicken pen. They are in a fence area where our fruit trees are planted.  

  

This is our blackberry bush. I had to put chicken wire around it to keep Gretchen and the other girls out. I don’t want to share the blackberries. 

  

Here are today’s eggs. (And some cows in the background). We have about 18 eggs a day. Today I found 21 (which is impossible since we have 19 chickens).

  

   
See that black spot? There was a plant there. I don’t know which plant since Gretchen remove the tags. She finished her job by pulling this plant out completely. I think she hates me. 

 
Here’s the garden. This was a few days ago. The plants have already grown. My goal is to harvest enough to share with the neighbors at the community garden. If that plan fails, maybe I can barter with our eggs. 

So we are settling in. Naming chickens and wearing mud boots because chickens are pretty gross. You should come out. It’s really not that farm-y and I’m sure real farmer would laugh at my city-girl attempts. I’ll get there eventually and we will laugh at Gretchen and our garden attempts. 

We are struggling with growing up in a small town and being the new kids at school. I feel like we meet new people every week. And God has been faithful to not let me stew in my loneliness. 

I’m building our farm and my tribe (and it may include our good friend Gretchen).

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