Of Course It’s Raining Now!
I am guessing even those of you who don't pay lots of attention to the weather probably know we have been in a drought for some time now. When weather gets extreme, enough people talk about it so that those who are mostly weather illiterate get a clue that something is going on. However, I have been amused or dismayed - depending on the moment - by “weather cluelessness” in the past. But, that’s a topic for another time.
The good news is our farm has done well with the dry weather. We won't say "no" to rain, of course, but the health of our soil is good and it holds moisture well. And while things have been remarkably dry, we’ve gotten just enough - just often enough - to avoid crispy/dry pastures and other draught issues.
On the other hand, our farm struggles a bit when we get too much rain. So, of course, we always hope for rain in moderation. You see, we have this history at the Genuine Faux Farm. If it stops raining, it often seems to forget how to start again. And, when it starts, it seems to forget how to stop.
Moderation? What’s moderation?
The other issue is the matter of timing. I finally managed to figure out where I could take some time off of my PAN job. Three weeks, as a matter of fact. It’s amazing how much vacation hours build up when you don’t use them. And, yes, this is a “staycation” so I can do farm stuff and house stuff and all of the other stuff. But I am looking forward to being able to do these things without having to juggle an off-farm job with it at the same time.
Really, it’s a good thing.
So, what’s the problem? I'd like the fields (and farm) to not get too wet to work in! I suspect my requests for farming weather got lost in Mother Nature's office again. It's not hard to understand because if her office looks anything like mine...
And if it’s not the office thing, I might feel inclined to wonder if it’s personal.
What’s Up at the Farm?
Well, rain hasn’t stopped us before. So, of course, we are still getting things done. It’s just that I remember chaffing as I looked out the window at beautiful, sunny days while I was stuck doing office work. It would have been nice to swap a few of those for some of the rainy days we’ve recently had (and are predicted to have).
I wonder if Mother Nature is using the Julian or the Gregorian calendar? I mean, if we’re not using the same calendar, that could mean we’re just miscommunicating.
Anyway, back to telling you about the farm…
If you’ve taken note of the pictures, the fruit trees are blooming. We got VERY lucky that our fruit trees were patient this year. Our Nanking Cherries appear to be the only ones that pushed their blooms too early - only to get nipped by very cold termperatures. The pears, cherries and peach trees have all bloomed and are just passing their peaks. The apples are on their way to their peak right now.
The wild plums were their usual aromatic selves and the service berries looked pretty good as well. But, the peach trees are the really big deal! These are Iowa peaches, so they will (hopefully) produce smaller fruit that our friends at Blue Gate Farm use for very tasty jams. I, on the other hand, will happily eat them without turning them into jam.
These trees were started from the seed of trees at Blue Gate and this is their first year blooming. We consider this an accomplishment worth celebrating. And, yes, some of them look a bit more like a bush. Some got pruned by us, others by deer. And then we all missed pruning them this year.
The next flock of hen chicks started arriving on Tuesday. That means we had to prepare the brooder room for new chicks. That project usually feels bigger than it ends up being - which means both of us dread it just a little each year. And, this year was no exception to that rule. Still, with the “help” of ALL FOUR of our Farm Supervisors we managed to get it done. (Quick reminder - our current supervisory crew consistes of The Inspector, Soup, Murphy and Hoover)
But, at last check, the birds were properly spread out in their heated box. And, for those that know, they were making the typical contented noises that you want to hear from them at this stage. As I write this, I realize that there is always a little bit of nerves for the first night with chicks on the farm. What if the heat lamp burns out? Etcetera etcetera. But, we’ve done our best and the temperatures aren’t going to be extreme. So, I intend to sleep well tonight.
Meanwhile, our ladies (the laying hens) are doing well, averaging a little over 4 dozen eggs a day. For those that are curious, that rate of production would have us washing a little over 17,500 eggs this year. And Tammy and I wonder why we sometimes get tired of washing them?
We've had years where we've washed as many as 30,000 eggs. And yes, we do them by hand - no special machine hiding away somewhere. A relatively conservative estimate would have us somewhere around 350,000 eggs washed for our "careers." Thank goodness we sometimes get a little help on that front. The breaks from that task are always appreciated!
We managed to put one row of potatoes in after the first batch of rain. We had to prepare the field first - of course - and just ran out of time to get to the planting. But, no worries! The plan for the year is to put most of the potatoes in Eden (the smaller high tunnel) and then move the tunnel to the second position after they get started. It’s going to take an awful lot of rain before planting in the high tunnels gets stopped.
And, no. That’s not a challenge! Seriously! We’ve experienced enough rain to make our high tunnels too wet to work in and we don’t need to see it again!
Another Spring task is getting the new bees settled at the farm. We’re trying bee packages from three different sources this year to see if one does better than the others. The first package arrived on Tuesday and is now in place.
We made this a bigger project this year after we discovered that the bees seem to like the area in front of the solar panels. This area is where our old raised beds are and since we no longer use them…
So, yes, I spent a good part of Tuesday taking out a raised bed that’s been there for about ten years. Then I leveled the area out for the bees. Once Tammy got home from school, we worked on getting the hive set up and the bees transferred. Of course, we were finishing up this project as it …
Started to rain.
That’s okay. I needed a shower anyway.
There's something super special about seeing the tree you planted bloom for the first time, isn't there? We planted an apple tree several years ago and it grew big; we were hoping it would bloom this year. The first two blooms just opened up three days ago - beautiful white/pink. Hard to fathom how the little stick with roots came in the mail, was barely up to my navel at planting, then grew to a big tree at least twice my height, and is now blooming so beautifully... A really special feeling... (A first for us).
Thanks, Rob, for capturing so well the flavor of spring on the farm. It's a multi-sensory experience! Now, what "variety" is the peach? They look good, but must be hardy to flourish here.
Glad to hear the chicks have arrived. You raise the best-tasting chickens!
I'm currently reading "Whitewash" and it describes the high levels of glyphosate found in Iowa honey (not surprisingly). Do you know of any honey sellers who are located such that they might have lower levels? I realize bees range pretty widely, so chances of avoiding glyphosate are slim, but am always hopeful that you have the answers, Rob.