Farm News (the blog) | Hatchtown Farm

Spoke too soon...

So…remember that last post…the one where I said it had stopped snowing and all was right with our world?

Well, that was all very temporary! When we woke up on Tuesday, it was snowing again. We must not have been paying attention when the weather guy was predicting another 6+ inches! It continued to snow through much of Wednesday…

Where's the WeatherSow?

So we tractored (now used twice, it’s a word for sure) and shoveled and found a few more nooks and crannies for snow storage. Jim tried once again to get the 12 year old snowblower started…no dice. He uttered a few choice words and disappeared for an hour or so. And look what he brought home…

electric start & turns on a dime -- what more could we ask for!

OK — it took a pretty big bite out of the “side by side fund” but we’d still be fooling with snow without it. The great thing about snowblowers is they can get into small spaces that the tractor can’t. And they don’t create mountains of snow that are still hanging around making mud in April.

The sheep can get to their feeders, the chickens are happily scratching around outside and once again…all’s right with our world.

wet and bedraggled ewes wait patiently for their hay

Holy Sow!

When we headed for bed on Sunday night, it had just started snowing…no worries though. The weather folks assured us — “not much accumulation on the coast — about 2 to 4 inches.” It was still snowing in the morning…

Weathersow is up to her snout in snow!

and it continued to snow well into the afternoon!

Almost a foot of snow later…we tractored (is that really a word?) and shoveled snow into every available nook and cranny around the farm. We can open the barn doors, the sheep can get to their feeders, the chickens can get out of their house and scratch around for their snacks from the kitchen… all’s right with our world!

Taste Test

The results are in…the seaweed is a hit!

Jolie and Tatum testing (and loving) the seaweed.

Jolie and Tatum are older girls and let’s just say…they’re not shy! They tried to hog the bowl but we made sure the more timid girls had a taste, too. That little bag didn’t go very far but I think it’s safe to say they’d be OK if we changed them over to this. I’ll have to take a look at how it compares to their current minerals.

Needs & Wants

Jim and I drove up to the “big city” of Augusta yesterday afternoon to tour around the Maine Agricultural Trades Show. All the way there we listened to the radio — all news of what’s happening in Haiti after the earthquake — interviews with people there and people here who don’t know if their family members/friends/colleagues are OK. Even today, the only thing we know for sure is that people are in need. I’ve just heard that the Red Cross is already out of supplies in some areas…

To help the Red Cross, go to their website — www.redcross.org — or call 1-800-REDCROSS. They’ve made it really easy for people in the “connected world” … just text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief efforts for Haiti. The amount will be added to your cell phone credit card bill.

Now…about our outing. The “Ag Show” is a gathering for farmers, new and old, and anyone who’s interested in all things Ag. It’s a place where dealers of equipment & services can show their stuff. There are beehives of all shapes, maple sugaring supplies, BIG tractors and lots of reading material to take home from all sorts of ag companies and associations. The pork, beef, sheep and poultry producers are there as well as the apple growers and cheese makers…to name just a few. We chatted with a harvester of seaweed and brought home a sample to try on the sheep…it’s full of all kinds of vitamins and minerals! A few bags of this stuff along with Jim’s cactii grow lights should have the Sheriff knocking on the door in no time!

Dried seaweed is a treat for the sheep -- it's good for them, too! YUM!

It was exciting to visit with the folks from Moo Milk Company, a new Maine organic dairy partnership… and to learn about Maine Trader, a new website where farmers can list their products. This is “downtime” for a lot of farmers so it’s a good time to have the show…and we all need to get out and see other people right about now.

The only piece of farm “equipment” we covet (since acquiring the hay conveyer) is a “side by side.” That’s a generic term for an oversized 4-wheeler/ATV (seats 2 people side by side) that has a dump body on the back. It’s a neat little utility vehicle — what a help it would be! Not too long ago we thought of it as a luxury. Now that we’re a little older, it’s looking more like a necessity!

Kitty Yoga

Embrace the sun…feel the energy…

Oooooo….I wish I could stretch like that!!