Piglets have arrived!!!

After months of waiting and wondering, the piglets have arrived. A first here at Juniper Hill Farm, our new mom pig brought six healthy little piglets into the world, with a little helping hand from the Gatherer and Farmer. Number Six proved to be a little too big, so he needed a little encouragement. Six would be considered a small litter for the commercial guys, but we're happy to see our big sow be so careful and gentle with her tiny babies.

It's dinner time. With 12 nipples and six piglets there is plenty to go around.



After supper for Mama and babies, it's time for some shut eye.



Mama pig, we call her Perry, is always careful not to step on or lie on her young. The six piglets are full and dreaming of rooting in the garden later this summer.



Here's a close-up of "Red". He's too busy with supper to smile for the camera.



Tonight we gave the piglets an iron shot and clipped their needle teeth. We distracted mom with her supper while I "pignapped" her babes for a few minutes. Be careful with a mama pig, she doesn't like to hear her babies squeal. Luckily for me, Perry is good natured and she trusts me to be in her pen.

On another note, we have been glad to see such an interest in farming lately from our local friends. It seems that the rising food prices have got rural folks to be thinking about producing more of their own food. In these hard economic times families are gathering closer together to share their limited recources. With gasoline an nearly $4/gallon, we'll be staying close to home as well this summer. Remember, now is the time to be cutting your firewood for next winter. We'll be soon planting our garden for summer and fall harvest. As for food from away - JUST SAY NO. Buy local.

Piglets are coming

As I write this, I believe that we will in fact have some piglets here at Juniper Hill Farm in the near future. For the last three months I've been watching our gilts (potential first time mama pigs) and wondering if they were pregnant or just fat. That reminds me of the time I asked a neighborhood friend when she was expecting, NO she wasn't pregnant, JUST FAT. OOps.

Well, now I'm 99% sure that Perry is expecting soon. I've been reading on how to prepare for the coming births, how to protect the piglets from getting squished, and how much to feed the mama pig. The good news to all this fuss is that there should be no trouble in selling any surviving piglets. The prices seem to be high this spring, maybe a little reward for the hundreds of pounds of grain that she's eaten these last few months.

When we get a live birth I'll be sure to post some pictures. Now here's a thought, Juniper Hill Hog Farm. I like the sound of that, besides I'm sure that The Gardener would be more excited in being married to The Hog Farmer.

Homesteading 2011

Homesteading - What does it mean to you? Is it the "gentlemen farmer" with the new Kubota and a a small flock of sheep? Yes, it might be. Will he use more than he produces? Yes, probably. But he is surely farming in a way.

Is it the family of 5 with a dozen laying hens and maybe a pig pen in the backyard? Yes, I would say that they are homesteading as well. They are producing some of their food, helping to supplement their family's grocery store food needs.

Maybe you can plant just a few tomatoes where the tulips were last year, yes, that's homesteading. Give it a try.

As the 2011 growing season comes near I suggest that we expand our horizons, try something that we've never tried before. Plant some potatoes, maybe some more corn, certainly some green beans. Can, freeze of preserve our harvest. This will benefit our family, not only financially but we'll know what we are eating as well. Raise some laying hens, let them rule the backyard. Try a hog if you're ready.

Let's send a message to the national grocery store chains that we don't need their wasteful packaging, their chemically altered "food" and their rising prices. Let's know what we are eating, Let's eat local, Let's feed our families what we produce.

Frogs return

I heard the frogs calling tonight, a sure sign of Spring. The ice has receeded from the pond in the last two days and life has returned. We are looking to Spring temperatures and the promise of growth in the gardens.

Waiting on the Pigs

Now here I am, a real Farmer, if there ever was one, raising our own milk, meat and vegetables, just carrying on like many generations before. Jack of all trades, but maybe a master of none, and here comes some pigs and its got me looking like a fool. Are the sows expecting? Or are they just fat? Who knows. But for sure when something happens, I'll let you know. We'll either be getting some more bacon or we'll be having some piglets for sale. Just waiting and watching now.

More farm products coming soon

Welcome back friends, the snow that we got on April 1st here in Bowdoin is quickly melting away. The Maple Sugaring season has also come to an end here at Juniper Hill Farm for 2011. We had a record year for our little operation and produced 31 gallons of Pure Maine Maple Syrup. While we love to use our maple syrup in many ways, we surely will have some to sell to our friends and neighbors. This year we collected 1200 gallons of sap from 130 taps, burned 3 cord of firewood and spent over 120 hours in the Sugar House tending the evaporator. This is a labor of love, and getting rich is out of the question.


Feeding time for Abigail and Casper.

The goats are doing great as well. We've had 4 does give birth so far, 2 doelings and 5 bucklings. Everyone is healthy and growing, waiting for the coming spring days in the pasture. I'm milking the does and feeding the kids with the bottle. The kids are really a lot of fun, especially at feeding time. This year we have also had some local folks that want to try goat's milk for their own family as well, so we'll give that a try. Another of my Spring projects is to build a farmstand for selling some of our farm products. I've got the lumber, now I just need to find the time. I believe that local food production is more valuable now than ever before. The cost of fuel to ship strawberries from Mexico or apple juice from Chile is such a poor use of our natural resources. Yes, buying local can make it hard to find some things in the winter, but not impossible. Next time you're in the grocery store, take a look at where our food comes from and what its made of. Then make a point to stop by your local farmer's market or neighborhood farmstand to support local agriculture.