Summer begins

Tomorrow is the longest day of the year, what a treat. Let's hope it is a day that is worth all the hype. As summer is about to begin, I begin to think about all the things around here that must be done before the changing of the next season. Firewood to finish, haying to get done and gardens to tend and harvest. Summer is usually the busiest time of the year here on the farm and off the farm. The hottest days are often filled with haying and then a quick trip to the lake. We all know that within two months the lake will be cooling off and we'll be thinking once again about school, local country fairs and Fall.


Isaac loves the water and is always ready for a trip. On those days when we are just too busy to leave the farm we take a quick dip in the brook in the back woods. No matter the extent of the summer heat, the cool brook will always do the trick. No hot car ride, no waiting, just a short walk and into the brook for a refreshing dip.



Before the days of indoor plumbing many farm families relied on a bath in the brook during the summer months. There is nothing like the the cool fresh water of a fast moving brook to wash away the dirt and sweat of hard summer work. No pool to clean, no dress code and no travel time, what a great spot. Yes there are a few mosquitoes and maybe an occasional leech, but its all good. So go have some summer fun, we are.

Welcome rain

With most of our garden planted, the warm rain falling today is a welcome sight. The pond was drying up and the soil was powdery dry. Our hay will also get enough water to continue to grow, awaiting our next cutting, hopefully in the next week or so. I've started cutting the small back field, a little each day, and I feed in green to the goats and lambs. The goats give more milk when they are eating the best green feeds.

For those who might carry clippings and brush to their goats or other livestock, caution is important. Any black cherry (and possibly other fruit trees with pitted fruits) leaves, whether fresh or wilted must not be fed to livestock. At best you'll have a very sick herd, but more likely you'll have dead animals. I buried one goat and three nice lambs a few years ago from black cherry poisoning. You can read in any good livestock book about this problem. But I'm always surprised how few people have heard about this hidden toxin in our pastures. We also take the time to walk the pastures after a summer wind storm, in case a cherry limb may have broken off a fence line tree. My dad lost a real nice riding horse back in the 70's, killed by black cherry leaves, so we are evermore careful.

The growing season arrives

Well, from the frequency of posts lately, you can tell that the growing season is upon us here at Juniper Hill Farm. The long warm days find us preparing the gardens, tending to the early crops and beginning our haying as well.

In the last few years we have planted and tended several gardens, some here on our farm and some at the old homestead located just a half mile away. We have cleared several small fertile plots, but we have found our growing family needs more garden space, and I can't seem to clear the woods fast enough. With the help of our compost from the goats, hens and pigs, our gardens have been doing quite well. We have always found that a garden right near the house will get more attention than one off in the back field. If we get at the weeds at the right time, our crops will outgrow the weeds and they will control the garden and its nutrients. It seems that some part-time gardeners are proud of how many rows of corn they planted, with no comment on how much crop they gathered.

The hay field is growing slowly now, in need of a good rain. The fields are dry and ready for cutting, but we would like the hay to get a little more height before we go full speed ahead. I did cut a little patch last week and made 70 bales of nice early first crop. It is always nice to have a small run to check out all the haying equipment. Most everything went well, now we'll watch the weather.

The animals are all doing well and getting into their summer routine. I spent two days helping to finish the new pasture at the homestead, four strands of barbed wire and one electric. The old pasture was in need of repair and we have now enclosed the enlarged watering hole. No lugging water this year. We now have three beef animals in the pasture, enjoying the abundance of sweet grass. Our extended family seems to have a growing appetite. The fields at the old homestead are helping to grow our beef that feeds the whole clan.

In my spare time I've been cutting pine logs for a couple of upcoming building projects. We want a small roadside stand for selling some farm produce and I need some more lumber to finish the woodshed that I started last winter. We'll also be building a small camp in Aroostook County this summer. Whenever we feel like life is getting too hectic here in central Maine, we go "Up North". The laid back lifestyle and the "big sky" of potato country is such a joy for the whole family. The small camper is getting tight and it's time to build. We'll surely post pictures.

Well, I guess its time to get back to more productive work. I hope this rambling is interesting, if not to all, but to some. I've never kept a journal much, but maybe this counts. Keep in touch.

Sad day for the Hens - Farmer locks and loads

Well, not but a few weeks after my post about "free range hens" and "free range dogs", we have been hit hard. Our hens had been ranging around our farm for a few weeks, and on Saturday, after a brief trip to the lake with the kids, and our two dogs, we returned home to seven dead hens strewn about the farmyard and pasture. Whatever it was that killed the birds, it wasn't too hungry, most of the birds had no visible sign of trauma. The three layers and rooster that survived are now locked up for the forseeable future, too bad.

Now what do we do? Do we turn the other cheek? Do we "hate the sin, but love the sinner"? HELL NO, we get out the guns and go hunting. I may be out on a limb here, but this is my blog and I'm the Hunter, the Provider, and if anyone is killing anything around here, it's ME. If any dog is unlucky enough to be "wandering through" our pasture in the near future, it better have its will up to date. I did take a few hours to visit all my neighbors and let them know that I've got an itchy trigger finger. If their little pooch decides to come back for dessert, he won't be going home.

Now calm down PETA, ASPCA and all you other liberal groups. I believe in "innocent until proven guilty" and all those other rights that we have. But we are people, citizens of the United States. Dogs, foxes, bob cats and the like have the right to exist because we let them, and for no other reason. So steer clear Rover if you know what is good for you or my gun and hot lead will be your reward.

April Showers

The April sun is heating the soil in the garden as the seedlings are growing on the kitchen windowsill. The peppers are growing very slowly, as always, and the tomatoes have gotten their "true" leaf today. The peas have been in for about a week, probably none too early considering the warm weather we've had here lately. The onions, spinach, lettuce and swiss chard were planted just a day ago. I do the heavy working of the soil, adding compost, and running the tiller, while the Gatherer does most of the tedious planting.

In the barn, most of the young bottle fed goats and lambs are nearly weaned. They all will take drink of warm milk when it is offered, but they are eating hay and grain very well now. Our young doe, Elizabeth, had a single buckling Wednesday morning while we were all there to watch. What a wonderfully natural event after months of waiting. We'll let the little fellow drink from his mom and I'll milk the rest out each morning and night. It is sometimes a challenge to train a new milker, but Elizabeth seems to be learning quite quickly.

In the poultry side of things here, we have a new rooster in the hen house. He's a real pretty fellow from a neighbor's farm where he was just one of too many roosters. In our farmyard he is the boss now, waking us each morning and rounding the hens up each evening. If he gets too big for his britches I've got just the recipe for him. Our new laying chicks have arrived and are taking up space on the seedling stand in the kitchen. They like a warm place, but they begin to smell, so they won't be in the house for long. This year we've got a dozen Black Sexlinks, a cross between the Rhode Island Red and the Plymouth Rock. This a new breed for us, but isn't it fun to try new things?

Maple Sugar Season Photos

2010 was our first year with our new 2x4 W.F. Mason evaporator. Made right here in Maine, with real Maine craftsmanship.



The "local inspector" checks out the brick job on the new arch.


The sugar house is nearly set up and ready for the sap to start to run.



One our first boils, the little unit sure makes steam. We had a lot or fun this year and we are hoping for better sap seasons in the years to come.

Earning their keep

Several times a year here on the farm we have to decide which animals are good producers and which are not. With the hens, the best egg layers will avoid my axe, while the hens who are caught eating eggs will be first in line for Sunday dinner. Ugly roosters have long ago found their way to the supper table, with no remorse from the Farmer or the Gatherer. It's just a simple fact, on a farm we all need to earn our keep.

While it is true that we can afford to keep some "pets", the whole subsistence farm system works better if we have healthy and productive animals. If we find that a doe goat has given birth to a single kid, has given less than a good amount of milk, and fails to be bred back, it may be time to cull that animal. Now to most people the term "cull" is a dark and secretive word. I have imagined that a goat vanishes some night on the farm, where did she go? Did some wild dogs drag her off? Was she sold to some unsuspecting neighbor? No, she was culled. Very simply put, culling around here means that the animal probably became a meal for our family. I believe that an animal that is a poor producer should not be sold but should be put to their highest and best use, and that may mean slaughtering. I clearly don't mean to say that sick animals would be turned into food, but just those who, for some reason or another cannot earn their keep.

From our kids earliest days have tried to truthful with them about where our food comes from. With the vegetables that we grow or the apples that we pick there is a clear connection between the garden or the orchard and the table. While the idea of having some "meat for supper" is an American tradition, most families don't want to know where their Black Angus came from. Not us, we like to know that our beef was raised on our grass, drank clean water from our pond and was carefully prepared for our consumption. We have taught our kids that God put animals on this earth to be our helpers, maybe to haul a plow, maybe to provide us with milk, and yes sometimes to provide us with meat. You will be amazed how your kids will accept this fact of nature if you are honest and compassionate about your animals giving their life to sustain ours.