tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19280368493231419712024-02-20T16:21:23.252-08:00North Branch FarmNorth Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-18629976717884850552013-06-27T12:21:00.001-07:002013-06-27T12:21:21.984-07:00Porky-beefy-meat-promotion
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Dear interested parties (pardon me if you are not
interested) and supporters of North Branch Farm,</div>
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The time to reserve our beef and pork for your freezer is
NOW!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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We will be sending two cows and five pigs to the butcher on
July 16<sup>th</sup>, and they’ll be arriving back to us in a more edible form
about two weeks later (exact date TBA, somewhere around July 31).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll have two more rounds of beef cows going
to the butcher later in the year, around September 9<sup>th</sup> and November
4<sup>th</sup>.</div>
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A little bit about our meat animals:</div>
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Our beef is exclusively grass fed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our beef cows are Devon and Angus, and they
are healthy, happy critters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
summer they graze and fertilize our fields while we busily make hay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the winter we put a fence around all the
hay, some cozy pieces of forest, and a corner of a stream, and they live
outside straight through the cold months.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1_qLOUAvnf5F6bOsPV93I-dDS3v8FPjAulklyEHnBvpdPcay5_I-27GIxYkcZ7kNc03YDKhubuIMj84cMkMKvbesUWqWIC4YjYf-Kimuqht15Rgx96q60NzxhlkSZpdv869pUNbq5P_x/s500/8741300595_ba32442033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1_qLOUAvnf5F6bOsPV93I-dDS3v8FPjAulklyEHnBvpdPcay5_I-27GIxYkcZ7kNc03YDKhubuIMj84cMkMKvbesUWqWIC4YjYf-Kimuqht15Rgx96q60NzxhlkSZpdv869pUNbq5P_x/s320/8741300595_ba32442033.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our pigs are raised on organic grain, which is processed
locally by Maine Organic Milling; a portion of the grain is also grown in
Maine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pigs live outside on an
oak-wooded hillside where they root for tubers and munch acorns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have access to food and water 24/7 and
can often be found napping in a pig pile in a shady spot on hot afternoons.</div>
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We have chosen not to certify any of our meat as organic
because of the extra record-keeping, and because we feed our pigs a small
amount of kitchen scraps, which are not always from certified organic food.</div>
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Continue reading if you think you might be interested... </div>
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The numbers—our 2013 meat pricing:</div>
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Our prices are per pound for the meat you get, cut and
packaged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much of the meat that is sold
“on the hoof,” by the half or whole, is sold per pound based on the hanging
weight—just to give you an idea, if we were charging based on hanging weight
(which includes all organs, bones, and sometimes the head and feet) our prices
for beef and pork would both be around $3.00 per pound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To keep things simple, though, we just charge
you for the meat that you actually take home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You can reserve your whole, half or quarter animal with a $100 deposit.</div>
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Beef:</div>
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$5.50/lb. for a whole animal, usually 240-260 lbs.</div>
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$6/lb. for a half, about 120-130 lbs.</div>
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$7/lb. for a quarter, around 60-65 lbs.</div>
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When we sell beef by the cut at farmers’ markets and the
like, our lowest priced items (burger and stew) go for $6/lb. or more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So buy in bulk and get your tenderloin for
the price of burger!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get together with
friends and buy more bulk and save <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">even</i>
more!</div>
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Pork:</div>
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$6.50/lb. for a whole pig, probably 150-160 lbs.</div>
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$7.50/lb. for half a pig, probably 75-80 lbs.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Your meat will be a mix of fresh pork (chops,
roasts, ribs, etc) and smoked and cured cuts like ham, ham steaks and
bacon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you get in touch with us soon
enough, you may even get to specify whether you want sausage or ground pork and
what flavor of sausage you’d like…let us know ASAP.</span>
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Also, peruse at your leisure:<br />
http://www.northbranchfarm.org/porkNorth Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-36914898038998598862013-06-21T05:00:00.000-07:002013-06-21T05:00:28.319-07:00Solstice photos<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTe1lTFzNp3umZIq1DepXqEmPrFj7u8zRnl46-mL08KFZBkG-2ycpTbblM9LQnGtcNFwuhrBVQCC-eYF1HWnEAiOntvYggpzHtQtcMyzshJuQlRyHKuGcWcZQvGSBlRo9bmkwLvI166EQ/s1600/9098385295_995145fd61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTe1lTFzNp3umZIq1DepXqEmPrFj7u8zRnl46-mL08KFZBkG-2ycpTbblM9LQnGtcNFwuhrBVQCC-eYF1HWnEAiOntvYggpzHtQtcMyzshJuQlRyHKuGcWcZQvGSBlRo9bmkwLvI166EQ/s320/9098385295_995145fd61.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mowing our first hay of the year. Sickle-bar mower from behind...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOq5R-seKiKPmoG9iu-cNn6iA2jerc4KMf0Yaz1HvKQanPFFhtkGzXAtN8oC-zlPeIanX9E_ekm8RzL-v-AglK3A-WrrWl18yoZP0udIxTz9tHn3cZ8bMlw6Q0bBeVxqUX0HLAz2gHAk4/s1600/9100632434_c97b607aa0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOq5R-seKiKPmoG9iu-cNn6iA2jerc4KMf0Yaz1HvKQanPFFhtkGzXAtN8oC-zlPeIanX9E_ekm8RzL-v-AglK3A-WrrWl18yoZP0udIxTz9tHn3cZ8bMlw6Q0bBeVxqUX0HLAz2gHAk4/s320/9100632434_c97b607aa0.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and from the front.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8U87PoltFTYNHaIDw94KQARDY3lcRh0orsx5vsTfrzI0VOH9TbPetk2ecl9r7D7n8X8lrkwslB-HT_MPdop2yzmC6Lbefe5lGXrhj5mo3AUBeR5o6Hn4Po7oin8rMic1hh3YGx5rrp66/s1600/DSCN0800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8U87PoltFTYNHaIDw94KQARDY3lcRh0orsx5vsTfrzI0VOH9TbPetk2ecl9r7D7n8X8lrkwslB-HT_MPdop2yzmC6Lbefe5lGXrhj5mo3AUBeR5o6Hn4Po7oin8rMic1hh3YGx5rrp66/s320/DSCN0800.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My lovely co-farmers on our way home from the Memorial Day Parade.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCmL3JeqY4kEytecjaGqS2ZXlX29YlI7X24z9mJ82wXMxESb202S67vkZSDrSZYSMXwLf6AeBhU5Q-qrB5y7QDUkm1MB99xQfDG6iXhfM9ae-ogPxag0J1RX2pWJ5LjCdZZBVu4z6Krma/s1600/9074662637_4594c5afc9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiCmL3JeqY4kEytecjaGqS2ZXlX29YlI7X24z9mJ82wXMxESb202S67vkZSDrSZYSMXwLf6AeBhU5Q-qrB5y7QDUkm1MB99xQfDG6iXhfM9ae-ogPxag0J1RX2pWJ5LjCdZZBVu4z6Krma/s320/9074662637_4594c5afc9.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark in the greenhouse</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrrxUOncLYbka9E6EfFqyWCcz3_urAjlN8UniztsbQeTrQeYJUkUvVQ-mUmfiOokBYMHgJgKurRt2uU0M8iP6scqjV0u2E38204Vepa4pPI3hu-JSFN9seWNrro25ZnoSPK3whaImGEzJ/s1600/9074671833_62261aba21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrrxUOncLYbka9E6EfFqyWCcz3_urAjlN8UniztsbQeTrQeYJUkUvVQ-mUmfiOokBYMHgJgKurRt2uU0M8iP6scqjV0u2E38204Vepa4pPI3hu-JSFN9seWNrro25ZnoSPK3whaImGEzJ/s320/9074671833_62261aba21.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miriam in the greenhouse</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGinM5B_1x5KT83vtGxqvnZ1FSxn_KG2LXFCxoio-UrTrhqzEzXHAAMymlyBDIrOB949ucPBhpS9ceUZ3LXgji1nKpuFUBUqT1W6-QfbSE9QeHgWUGW86IUIwkyoC62s6Dw398iZFrC8e0/s1600/9074722235_e9da6f23a8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGinM5B_1x5KT83vtGxqvnZ1FSxn_KG2LXFCxoio-UrTrhqzEzXHAAMymlyBDIrOB949ucPBhpS9ceUZ3LXgji1nKpuFUBUqT1W6-QfbSE9QeHgWUGW86IUIwkyoC62s6Dw398iZFrC8e0/s320/9074722235_e9da6f23a8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meat chicks in their tractor, finally out on grass</td></tr>
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Calf liberation project: </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM_FwmL0WIgrstceZrxYYfi6YwJhacn2Ca0zMdwQltl1vmOuil-rulCakzO1lxOo3q77_c_eHFvL1sXb4IwGDA-wqeY_E1QC7kH7oaORzDsmAPkvvfIRNfTz_zS-eDfTXG8oOlbgnzNFHV/s1600/9076975004_379a556974.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM_FwmL0WIgrstceZrxYYfi6YwJhacn2Ca0zMdwQltl1vmOuil-rulCakzO1lxOo3q77_c_eHFvL1sXb4IwGDA-wqeY_E1QC7kH7oaORzDsmAPkvvfIRNfTz_zS-eDfTXG8oOlbgnzNFHV/s320/9076975004_379a556974.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First we built a fence,</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mxMstg4W7tU2kxcSiroqK31gWFpkvqbcA695sS-67QoKhsSb2-6WyaPFq2IrGngxSG9CqkPpVZvKQy5vmf10efJOWzoksA5jrz-jqtpWqovG3qcA_rTGB2MFMXB_iGAytAvPbTVcC-TO/s1600/9074760419_1d1774e796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mxMstg4W7tU2kxcSiroqK31gWFpkvqbcA695sS-67QoKhsSb2-6WyaPFq2IrGngxSG9CqkPpVZvKQy5vmf10efJOWzoksA5jrz-jqtpWqovG3qcA_rTGB2MFMXB_iGAytAvPbTVcC-TO/s320/9074760419_1d1774e796.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">then we turned a window into a door,</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoW1PiClsJ5ARhrMbU8rjosep-gypl1sl1e204z4AHUiSkFu1O1TivCK2DmuJgbx8RtEr-zhTtDFm9j1HY4IbbO_zwaxhXJUVVxeJKPZwe8nY5ytTCZXuM7x17gBHgOm3sfyJNAQTM5UrZ/s1600/9076855146_fa8e81afd1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoW1PiClsJ5ARhrMbU8rjosep-gypl1sl1e204z4AHUiSkFu1O1TivCK2DmuJgbx8RtEr-zhTtDFm9j1HY4IbbO_zwaxhXJUVVxeJKPZwe8nY5ytTCZXuM7x17gBHgOm3sfyJNAQTM5UrZ/s320/9076855146_fa8e81afd1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and now the calves get to play outside...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLN2nqmbc_9Z6bRoCosWjmGhJAD1E2WveNy_toaRdhan8caC2KCDpc-K9lU_c8SaLU2vMoF0x-rKtUa_udf6319qAdFwOFRTKOV1WIMjZl7FgfCdFm0dqUGU4rk9BaXF_ZoRkHcB7Ug9QK/s1600/DSCN0817.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLN2nqmbc_9Z6bRoCosWjmGhJAD1E2WveNy_toaRdhan8caC2KCDpc-K9lU_c8SaLU2vMoF0x-rKtUa_udf6319qAdFwOFRTKOV1WIMjZl7FgfCdFm0dqUGU4rk9BaXF_ZoRkHcB7Ug9QK/s320/DSCN0817.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and Ada climbs the fence all by herself to bring them fresh grass.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCxRtO4MA1rNGD9ualzTQH59APISCuR_oEEGiqn8W02ccfloNXkiGtzJcFUdYjSg4YTqEyjK8VHU-7BBgQdv22bOIu5Zm52wOh0lxAAX68R6qxdXrJQWX3jY4rbNoTtI14RX8mupN3e1u/s1600/9076957052_4d2631dc60.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCxRtO4MA1rNGD9ualzTQH59APISCuR_oEEGiqn8W02ccfloNXkiGtzJcFUdYjSg4YTqEyjK8VHU-7BBgQdv22bOIu5Zm52wOh0lxAAX68R6qxdXrJQWX3jY4rbNoTtI14RX8mupN3e1u/s320/9076957052_4d2631dc60.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our new, NRCS-funded high tunnel from Ledgewood Farm Greenhouses--30'x72'.</td></tr>
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North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-15730827148845952072013-06-03T13:41:00.001-07:002013-06-04T02:44:58.333-07:00The GrouchyfarmThe last week of May was filled with the more-or-less standard cocktail of mistakes, excitement, progress, and fears. Maybe today I'll stick with some basic strategies from way back in Conflict Resolution class, which could be accurately subtitled "How to Critique Someone/thing You Love Without Causing Them to Ditch You." The only one I really remember is the good-bad-good method, and on the farm this week it would go something like this:<br />
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The good news is that vegetables are really fun to grow.<br />
The bad news is that we're planting them into quackgrass sod.<br />
The good news is that we know how to weed quackgrass.<br />
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Or a variation, good-bad-change:<br />
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It's really great that we grow thousands of fruit trees in the nursery.<br />
It's not cool when the stuff we put on them to protect them from getting eaten by bugs actually kills them.<br />
Maybe next time we should not use that stuff.<br />
<br />You get the idea. We've had some financial, emotional and agricultural setbacks whose ramifications will be reverberating throughout the life of the farm for the duration of the season if not longer. Most of the farm news I post to the blog is good news--not that I try to put a positive spin on everything, but there's so much good going on here that it's easy to find a whole post's worth of pleasant tidbits. On the other hand, I don't want any of you lovely readers to have the impression that our greatest struggles revolve around wondering if the rain will fall or what color to paint the barn trim or something like that. We are fortunate never to have to worry about being warm or fed, but the stakes are still high and for much of the farm the investment-to-payoff time lapse is six to eighteen or more months (or thirty years for the nut trees we planted) with all kinds of pitfalls along the way. Just ask me if you want to know more.<br />
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On a lighter note, there really is some excellent news this week: The remaining two pregnant dairy cows (Ryan and Kenya) have popped their babies out since my last post, and two new bull calves joined our ranks. We're rocking out in the milk production sector and the waiting game is over.<br />
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Tyler and Elsie hosted a class of eight Waldorf third graders and their teacher for a two night trip last week, and they all got going on some great farm projects. The Brussels sprouts are planted, the trees in the orchard are starting to be mulched, the brush pile was burned, and s'mores were made by all. Today we followed up by putting row cover on the Brussels sprouts to foil the flea beetles and planting almost a thousand sweet potato slips. Mark and Miriam never cease to amaze with their sharp wits, humor, perspective, and hard work. Life is truly good, and we live around hordes of brilliant, lovable humans on a beautiful, resilient and precious planet. Thank you for your time and see in the next episode.North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-48830000433315487212013-05-25T07:35:00.003-07:002013-05-25T07:37:30.502-07:00May 25, 2013I keep looking over at the stove to see why there's a pot boiling, and it turns out to be, in fact, the rain driving against the kitchen windows. This is new in that for most of the last week we have not had wind with our rain--it's old in that we have had LOTS AND LOTS of rain in the last week.<br />
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I'll do the category-by-category farm update, as usual:<br />
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Cows:<br />
Castrations yesterday: one.<br />
Current number of cows milking: five.<br />
Dairy cows due to calve: two.<br />
We're doing our tri-weekly milk deliveries to Jessie, and on Thursday we got a sample pint of her excellent $8-per-pint sheep's milk yogurt.<br />
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Bees:<br />
Hey, we have bees now! Lohman Gardiner of Gardiner's Honey moved four hives to our farm last week. Very exciting.<br />
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Goats:<br />
Just kidding!<br />
No goats. But here's a photo I found as I was sorting and cleaning of the sweet Rove goats at the farm where I WWOOFed in France.<br />
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Veggies:<br />
Onions have not yet learned to swim and seem to be surviving on a diet of drowned worms and mud pie.<br />
Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes are next in line to be planted out, along with Irish potatoes and squash.<br />
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Trees:<br />
Doing well. Here are a few photos from way back when we planted them with the handy dandy tree planter.<br />
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Pigs:<br />
Elsie headed up getting the pigs out into the woods a couple weeks ago, and they have been happily getting back to their evolutionary roots as forest dwelling critters. They are eating trout lily bulbs and lazing around in the shade.<br />
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Their blue barrel is for drinking water and is fitted with a metal nipple somewhat like a huge version of a guinea pig or hamster waterer, if you remember back to your elementary school days. The wooden feeder holds a couple hundred pounds of grain so the pigs don't have to be visited every day, and it has nifty flaps so that rain and crud don't get in, but when the pigs need a snack they just head over, nudge the flap open with their noses, and get a bite to eat.<br />
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The SQ cabin:<br />
Gilbert has done a beautiful job with the cabin. In this photo of the NW corner of the downstairs you can see the Jotul 602 (formerly used to heat the Yentes-Quinn residence), pretty wainscoting, the lavatory corner, the spiffy space-saving staircase, and the robin's egg blue walls. Sometimes I am tempted to move right in.<br />
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Little human:<br />
Ada is so much fun! She has spunk and feist like no other, loves our whole extended family and friends crew, is taking off with the scooter bike (along with Yukon, below), takes awesome naps, becomes a baby bear periodically and hibernates and catches fish and sharpens her claws, proposes yoga time and dance parties and painting, and generally helps us fill our days with fun, exercise, food, and that lurking question: "If I see no Ada and hear no Ada, should I breathe and relax or should I run like hell for the place I last knew her to be?"<br />
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<br />North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-90946304144765166952013-05-14T05:49:00.001-07:002013-05-14T05:50:39.863-07:00Working in high gear<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuBONCzbWpUMFe4jAih00oxZn0GU9P9RtHKYj85WdA2q2o26xc4WsIROmCpYBG9_2enaW9o6AdOr-LuVljZgOIf2_Q0YWmBS8QaG9hHieFoOmRUura01OVk3U8V3D2CkdjwsBQUVqsw4F/s1600/DSCN0751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>In the small, everyday conversations of life at this time of year, lots of people ask each other, "How's your spring going?" and this year more so than ever before I find myself honestly responding with "Really busy. And really good." This is our third year growing for our winter CSA members, and the first year that, when it has come time to plant onions, that I've been excited to do it and then excited while doing, and not pestering myself over the questions like: How did we do this last year? Was it right or wrong then? What should I change? What should I do the same? Am I forgetting anything?<br />
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We grew over fifteen thousand onion, leek and shallot seedlings in the greenhouse and, over the course of last Thursday and Friday, planted all of them. The weather was perfect: cloudy, with occasional precipitation and a nice little downpour at the end, and the planting operation was essentially seamless. Seth and I dunked each flat of seedlings in fish emulsion water before loading them into the truck; Seth shuttled them out to the field as needed, one or two people stayed busy pulling the seedlings out of their tray and separating them, and most of us spent hours on end digging small holes with one hand (right, for me), tucking in an onion with the other (left), and patting the soil back around it with the first (right). Fifteen thousand onions in one and a half days of work is not bad, and just as good was doing such satisfying work in such above-average company. The usual suspects (the farm owners) all participated, Tyler only occasionally when he wasn't busy spreading two semi-truck loads of chicken manure over the back hayfields before the wet weather came, and we got to experience the stamina and conversation of our two apprentices, Miriam and Mark, and our good friend Graham. Nonnie-Chris spent time making life interesting for little Ada, and that made it all possible. Thank you, all of you.<br />
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On the dairy side of the operation, we have calves coming out our ears. Five calves have been born in the last three weeks, two girls and three boys, and all are doing well--I think the only definitively named ones are the first two, Daisy and Carlos, who are both half Canadian Jersey and half Devon. Tyler delivered his first breech calf out of Regan, and the momma is currently being treated with antibiotics for what we believe to be a uterine infection. Elsie has made the first two milk deliveries of the year over to Jessie at Fuzzy Udder Creamery AND we have recently started eating the gouda that Elsie and Tyler made last fall when Jessie was done cheese-ing but we still had more milk than we knew what to do with. It is amazing, delicious, creamy, dense...I am imagining cutting a thick wedge for each of you. We are off and running again in cow world!<br />
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Another major part of this time of year, working backwards, are those little baby fruit trees we talked about last time. Those grafted trees are now planted in long straight rows just a few feet away from the onion patch. That was an epic project as well, in true Seth fashion--after thinking about how long it would take to plant the eight thousand fruit trees we needed to this spring, Seth decided we'd need a tractor drawn tree-planter. After thinking about how long it would take to design, build and tweak one from scratch, we decided to import one from Damcon, in the Netherlands. After it arrived (in the nick of time) we discovered our tractor couldn't drive slow enough for a person to pop the trees in at the desired spacing AND the part that opens a furrow in the soil was unnecessarily wide to the point that it was bogging the tractor down and digging in too deep. So, naturally, Seth up and welded a new shoe and sweet talked the neighbor into lending us his 20-hp hydrostatic transmission (aka really really slow) Kubota lawn tractor. And in a few short days, those little trees were out of the sawdust and into the soil.<br />
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Over the last week or two, thinking about an upcoming blog post, I have been realizing that the nature of farming could lead to a rather boring blog for the same reason that I love farming as work and life: the same things happen every year. Over and over again. The weather changes, and sometimes the field or the people or the exact varieties of plants and trees and cows, but the more we refine what we do, I think the more repetitive this blog will become. Sure, the tree planter is a new development and hopefully by next year I'll be able to show you pictures of a barn with new windows and siding, but the reality of the natural world reigns over all. I basically give you the farmer's picture of the seasons. Enjoy!<br />
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North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-91996264410642817722013-04-20T16:25:00.000-07:002013-04-20T16:25:55.405-07:00Grafting tutorial and moreSomeday, when I create a farm calendar, the months will be: January, February, March, Apple, May, etc...and happily, as of today, bench grafting of apples (and some minor amounts of other fruit trees) is complete. Below you will find Elsie's photo tutorial of how to make a whip-and-tongue graft. First, you practice by making hundreds of slices to hundreds of scrap twigs until you can produce the perfectly angled, oriented, and flattened cut with a single-bevel grafting knife.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoAq3rOmmoaFXe2JEQsECeWs6zY5Ci-4C3JPkVqY4rtLReEqOrbwWg4knvOsxsqdilqKsUjCXJpqAdtHZ_JXboEBV0XnPQNc21Fj18LY40Dr2VqVuUnVVci4auEuCkqGYgGvnGSmzqeDh/s1600/8631875637_c1f0512537_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoAq3rOmmoaFXe2JEQsECeWs6zY5Ci-4C3JPkVqY4rtLReEqOrbwWg4knvOsxsqdilqKsUjCXJpqAdtHZ_JXboEBV0XnPQNc21Fj18LY40Dr2VqVuUnVVci4auEuCkqGYgGvnGSmzqeDh/s1600/8631875637_c1f0512537_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then you make these cuts on two identical thickness pieces of wood: one side is the rootstock, which is a baby tree that you've lopped off about eight inches tall, and the other is the scion wood, a two-inch section of a young branch from a desirable variety. That's the "whip" part.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdr3z-PWaFL2b5d2o_HYcFpW0JDIKcJ-aOrXic84ozEoWx21vJ3x5xbMRY66fu0zTkGkpdct4OOyHfY8Sb0efjM0rou5XCRaAC_uUkFV-rGUr8LYqThahZI57ciGuG6ePxsxCXYXuARlo/s1600/8631874679_9d877f66ec_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRdr3z-PWaFL2b5d2o_HYcFpW0JDIKcJ-aOrXic84ozEoWx21vJ3x5xbMRY66fu0zTkGkpdct4OOyHfY8Sb0efjM0rou5XCRaAC_uUkFV-rGUr8LYqThahZI57ciGuG6ePxsxCXYXuARlo/s1600/8631874679_9d877f66ec_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then you cut matching slits into each piece of wood, slits that go parallel to length of the scion and rootstock. You push them together, with their "tongues" interlocked. I guess you could say they're French-kissing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vO7PuVt8pEZ-rjeCrD41MM9fQfSbByusrFqcZRhL93Crvnvk-9edEq6n4Tkg0-F0DrZtCg1sM4fKuryXi8L2q9zgQuEMWO5h-i9kTQpfLQefMNm2tqVTFN9NEi208TJq-tsuXj3OsfrL/s1600/8632980642_19f645a6b5_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5vO7PuVt8pEZ-rjeCrD41MM9fQfSbByusrFqcZRhL93Crvnvk-9edEq6n4Tkg0-F0DrZtCg1sM4fKuryXi8L2q9zgQuEMWO5h-i9kTQpfLQefMNm2tqVTFN9NEi208TJq-tsuXj3OsfrL/s1600/8632980642_19f645a6b5_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then you bind them together with parafilm grafting tape, and hope for the best!</td></tr>
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Our greenhouse is rocking out, and getting ready to have another similar-sized one constructed right next door. The spinach I was hoping to would supply our needs turned out to be a little too copious, and we've been selling it off the farm to much acclaim. You may have seen it if you've been shopping or eating at the Belfast Co-op, Fresh off the Farm, the Natural Living Center, or Shepherd's Pie.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghQ2Z08npstFr0PdTj6LuT9_-LDO2cdU9UItXHodbVoqvAh0wb_UtiyoTxNJANCrQoxupIABqFdiLjOQWlW1DOmo9jcu_Ibrc_zCoxu4yfHbT0dinQLComvYvz-yEd0zBDkO-qnn4XXAt6/s1600/8641662106_c0b6c8e255_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghQ2Z08npstFr0PdTj6LuT9_-LDO2cdU9UItXHodbVoqvAh0wb_UtiyoTxNJANCrQoxupIABqFdiLjOQWlW1DOmo9jcu_Ibrc_zCoxu4yfHbT0dinQLComvYvz-yEd0zBDkO-qnn4XXAt6/s1600/8641662106_c0b6c8e255_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yum</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsXKFSHpWz_79w7n-EKTPWhz7cPvaPN1qRpshWfXok_Y8lN0xSb2aZcG6o_21h345Zd9eUYNU7v53rEbmjiaPTrHbRVnR6NYrtm0dfYepVgZEzfoOQkpphar2kFn0oQyCbGiEhgloqEyY/s1600/DSCN0711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsXKFSHpWz_79w7n-EKTPWhz7cPvaPN1qRpshWfXok_Y8lN0xSb2aZcG6o_21h345Zd9eUYNU7v53rEbmjiaPTrHbRVnR6NYrtm0dfYepVgZEzfoOQkpphar2kFn0oQyCbGiEhgloqEyY/s320/DSCN0711.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Newly seeded alliums</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcRKAkwuBAOtnNBETfgNQCqU-GAN8htE1TLxlOMI-B46zffBH3b7EImaHaNiAuz8LcJ1WZZjxNm1sqtBekwmI5r14ZJscHtODskb4mLfbxJTO7M8G2j359Nj8wj83i8iXhw_JtzD4t_G4/s1600/8641675058_a736ab6ce9_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcRKAkwuBAOtnNBETfgNQCqU-GAN8htE1TLxlOMI-B46zffBH3b7EImaHaNiAuz8LcJ1WZZjxNm1sqtBekwmI5r14ZJscHtODskb4mLfbxJTO7M8G2j359Nj8wj83i8iXhw_JtzD4t_G4/s1600/8641675058_a736ab6ce9_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alliums are up!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdpkNj50KpcjrTvT-2P0X0eTrDmqgEMEKGgmBKqVRB7G-CKfHWWA6mk_63Yz5AiYPN17m0gXmePRHCOLfy6BCISUcnwuAM34akSAjpaf0phTI_r39EImCXWeCVVQngTDA85GKIlMtn_JF/s1600/8632976566_0e6a478147_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdpkNj50KpcjrTvT-2P0X0eTrDmqgEMEKGgmBKqVRB7G-CKfHWWA6mk_63Yz5AiYPN17m0gXmePRHCOLfy6BCISUcnwuAM34akSAjpaf0phTI_r39EImCXWeCVVQngTDA85GKIlMtn_JF/s1600/8632976566_0e6a478147_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh new wood on the barn, now covered up with typar, awaiting new windows, trim, and cedar shingling.</td></tr>
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<br />North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-30830266042828941122013-04-02T08:47:00.000-07:002013-04-03T02:56:11.158-07:00April showers, check.The fury of spring, days longer than nights, warmer weather, and awakening earth are all upon us. Right now you can assume that there is an inverse relationship between the amount of new blogging about the farm and the amount of new projects on the farm.<br />
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Our new apprentices, Miriam and Mark, are also journeypeople through MOFGA's journeyperson program, which basically means they are serious farmers-in-training and have spent many years working on farms already. It has been an absolute pleasure and boost to the workforce to have their strong arms and minds join our crew.<br />
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Currently, Seth is heading up the bench-grafting of 200-300 apple trees a day towards a goal of 4000 bench-grafted trees in by April 12, 2013. The mudroom/CSA room has been transformed into grafting central and our utility-pantry room has become the "healing in" room where baby trees stay warm and protected while the graft union callouses over and begins to grow.<br />
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The barn is being given a serious examination and every bit of rot is being amended in some way. The windows and doors have all been removed and will be replaced with brand new ones, and the day is not far off when cedar shingle siding will start going on those barn walls.<br />
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In the world of livestock, the pigs staged a mutiny after living in their freezing mud-filled quonset hut one cold rainstorm too long and Elsie showed up to evening chores a couple weeks ago to find them burrowed under and around a round bale of hay inside the barn. Coincidentally, we had been wondering how we would move them into the barn, so it was kind of a relief they moved themselves. But soon they'll have to go back outside since a barn can't have pigs while cows are being milked in it, and the cows are due this month to start calving out, starting first with two Anguses and followed up by the Devons and Jerseys. All cows except the yearlings are back on the home front as of yesterday in a paddock outside the barn, eating hay and tapping their hooves while they wait for the grass to grow again.<br />
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Here are the week's photos: <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWIxtClxZMWjA7D1wWfFNhQF5v4CzYExp7vY0OWUS_2pmbKyqeHXbhlA1_C754XqdFI6EblRlarC1Ji2IavloKXwBpld-zuW9sp7zBnWqelSiTYp6yq8u9iqZxLROLCe5w230MqbsxCTv/s1600/8576684685_fb0a8ec76b_m.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWIxtClxZMWjA7D1wWfFNhQF5v4CzYExp7vY0OWUS_2pmbKyqeHXbhlA1_C754XqdFI6EblRlarC1Ji2IavloKXwBpld-zuW9sp7zBnWqelSiTYp6yq8u9iqZxLROLCe5w230MqbsxCTv/s1600/8576684685_fb0a8ec76b_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filling the soil-blocker...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1afAKYdGSWcIHs-WJtYtqaDxD7NKros7b7akZb2zfG3REPIo4xXcHBFlxAcWdqOIwgktedj_1AbIrmkkJdZazFdgNWq64fPWxeptZ0BAIfGFba2dKwX0TW9L8X10C5Vol3nMZN26xl7Tg/s1600/8577784038_4130b52f08_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1afAKYdGSWcIHs-WJtYtqaDxD7NKros7b7akZb2zfG3REPIo4xXcHBFlxAcWdqOIwgktedj_1AbIrmkkJdZazFdgNWq64fPWxeptZ0BAIfGFba2dKwX0TW9L8X10C5Vol3nMZN26xl7Tg/s1600/8577784038_4130b52f08_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stamping out blocks,</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyH8T6xIzcUv6Qrv8U4-CGTaWbS1RxsOXCzKB9EdSY3oHlRo705SBXKw4OL1EfjX-opmuz9sK6QRlL-3k3baQc4PJoQpBWG-D7ifkqwhuiq6acFTZiwG3dl4IFG-ieE3M-sFjm7_GjT1y9/s1600/8576681641_c46ecd8c4d_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyH8T6xIzcUv6Qrv8U4-CGTaWbS1RxsOXCzKB9EdSY3oHlRo705SBXKw4OL1EfjX-opmuz9sK6QRlL-3k3baQc4PJoQpBWG-D7ifkqwhuiq6acFTZiwG3dl4IFG-ieE3M-sFjm7_GjT1y9/s1600/8576681641_c46ecd8c4d_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filling blocks with seeds.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIss8Q3Clu_sMOfplzcXAItInbhnoiLEMop7ypZHhduv40Vy_Ims6vqT7nd4UuoZjITL5QxCPkdk7LPVawnHgHM80xWeWtOrtOkqEA-e3maKoupUfX2k_oj8jsQ7SA2LERlKNaauWW8CV/s1600/8576679319_b572764154_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIss8Q3Clu_sMOfplzcXAItInbhnoiLEMop7ypZHhduv40Vy_Ims6vqT7nd4UuoZjITL5QxCPkdk7LPVawnHgHM80xWeWtOrtOkqEA-e3maKoupUfX2k_oj8jsQ7SA2LERlKNaauWW8CV/s1600/8576679319_b572764154_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early summer squash experiment.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixunDjO6ch1ssdMjn89Lo3uEAo3SZjxCgZruhQIs4XolqeKssh6HZz4fFBh9xjhuICTHZiPKGedi696aOWiYdKXkfVOXmfacsyvq_1uoY77I1su_1gLcUvkrTgkcSUIyw6tXfMvzN6Y0Tn/s1600/8561077929_993545dfab_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixunDjO6ch1ssdMjn89Lo3uEAo3SZjxCgZruhQIs4XolqeKssh6HZz4fFBh9xjhuICTHZiPKGedi696aOWiYdKXkfVOXmfacsyvq_1uoY77I1su_1gLcUvkrTgkcSUIyw6tXfMvzN6Y0Tn/s1600/8561077929_993545dfab_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moving pigs from temporary to long-term barn enclosures using the well-known "wheelbarrow method."</td></tr>
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<br />North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-33812655798203024972013-03-18T12:45:00.001-07:002013-03-18T12:46:03.629-07:00March-ing on<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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It looks like winter may be going out with a bang (or plop) this year, with Winter Storm Ukko predicted to bring us 8-12 inches of snow over the next couple of days. We have just a few residual patches of snow at this point, but they haven't shrunk over the last week since temps have stayed pretty solidly below freezing. Now they'll get some moral support from the big drifts coming in...<br />
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Elsie and Tyler got a new camera and can now contribute to farm photography. Here are some from Elsie's first set:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT5qBXeVsjQ_itAtEyNepDC7sOjoWMDMHiVFRr5x2npV7TIHKvn6hD3yQe8lMsVPStP4ljOjwrO4rhNS3OMStO1D1mdddsTsn01aw1LBqH84E0Xbz9alKaZHvF_mG4B8RYxusHaRXEn8UC/s1600/8559953977_94db97c8ac.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT5qBXeVsjQ_itAtEyNepDC7sOjoWMDMHiVFRr5x2npV7TIHKvn6hD3yQe8lMsVPStP4ljOjwrO4rhNS3OMStO1D1mdddsTsn01aw1LBqH84E0Xbz9alKaZHvF_mG4B8RYxusHaRXEn8UC/s320/8559953977_94db97c8ac.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May and April</td></tr>
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These girls are waiting patiently for work and fresh pasture, chomping on hay and looking plush in their furry coats.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQ2ey4-wXQ90cNlYt4lGLC4M-aILrS4-9ZNqd_HCR83aNnzw_uiNeL3vQgjIL6CiEmBtpVni7yG0hye3uuKnvLO1wYy5AuPo_iLUdD8UFdYtVZVY_71osUzem3F20-Hp-_I29Wq7KheCt/s1600/8559966605_fd76aa7845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQ2ey4-wXQ90cNlYt4lGLC4M-aILrS4-9ZNqd_HCR83aNnzw_uiNeL3vQgjIL6CiEmBtpVni7yG0hye3uuKnvLO1wYy5AuPo_iLUdD8UFdYtVZVY_71osUzem3F20-Hp-_I29Wq7KheCt/s320/8559966605_fd76aa7845.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">de-luscious spinach feeding us in the greenhouse</td></tr>
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One of our projects for this year will be to put up a second greenhouse so that we can grow more winter greens. Right now, the spinach plantings we had harvested from for the winter CSA have grown back and we are eating mountains of it. I've found it's especially good wilted in hot bacon grease with the bacon crumbled on top, along with a drizzle of really good balsamic and some toasted pecans. Mmmmm.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3LA1JosUdn8urZzt82lEXHMMFQ47PmYS6F_HrW6SYSBrhBU2-4h1NEV0AE7dhSAc32O-Zz3_aD98xSgFIgNT5qlaaoy2hLfKdV_0YMUtpV0-7F_QiOR349fZr_Zv1rWykCiTPXx1_NGI/s1600/8559964309_9f6f49ca8b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3LA1JosUdn8urZzt82lEXHMMFQ47PmYS6F_HrW6SYSBrhBU2-4h1NEV0AE7dhSAc32O-Zz3_aD98xSgFIgNT5qlaaoy2hLfKdV_0YMUtpV0-7F_QiOR349fZr_Zv1rWykCiTPXx1_NGI/s320/8559964309_9f6f49ca8b.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyler demo-ing on the barn</td></tr>
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Another project for this year will be finishing the barn--it needs replacements for some sills and studs that have started rotting, then new windows, then cedar shingle siding. Tyler's gotten started by ripping off the boards to expose the rotten spots.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGPE3nGa5FalAE6DSIPBsyXgoC0tT9U0GM4D4c7CC681Jao6eoQRr7wVStaa6C5mF1_vTYGWeJf63pCcfyXXics_uWCLbexpI84Q_e6rYtEKPh0L-GPcRG02FAVB788bOB_xs-Tj_JDZ0/s1600/8561066742_4e9f84fb2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiGPE3nGa5FalAE6DSIPBsyXgoC0tT9U0GM4D4c7CC681Jao6eoQRr7wVStaa6C5mF1_vTYGWeJf63pCcfyXXics_uWCLbexpI84Q_e6rYtEKPh0L-GPcRG02FAVB788bOB_xs-Tj_JDZ0/s320/8561066742_4e9f84fb2a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Allium babies</td></tr>
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I think I've made it through my annual week-long held breath between when we plant the first seeds and when they start to emerge, when my background train of thought is going "(am I really a farmer? what if those seeds don't grow? what if we fail? I don't think they're going to come up! are they too wet or too dry? was the seed good? what will we do? aaaaaaah...)" Strangely enough, those seeds sprout up every year without fail. But that's no reason not to stress out about it!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbyaagcpEfzPFYx50LR1Y55nSgV7-u3PtPPLPGRqnZkgBMKVT0LYhBgnZkfn4-_8olfm43xL2chv9ThQx-AluyK71VOkdUYBFa1sbY02NniTlnt7GhyphenhyphenJPvPr55xByRum_iPPCT7esnLie/s1600/8561081941_b899d0a4d3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbyaagcpEfzPFYx50LR1Y55nSgV7-u3PtPPLPGRqnZkgBMKVT0LYhBgnZkfn4-_8olfm43xL2chv9ThQx-AluyK71VOkdUYBFa1sbY02NniTlnt7GhyphenhyphenJPvPr55xByRum_iPPCT7esnLie/s320/8561081941_b899d0a4d3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bulk grain! Yes!</td></tr>
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<br />North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-76457988937131793792013-03-02T14:14:00.001-08:002013-03-02T14:16:50.587-08:00Grain Bin, Up!The four-ton silo went up on a snowy day last week with help from family and friends. Luckily, it doesn't actually weigh four tons, but it does hold that much grain. We're due to get our first delivery of grain in the next couple of weeks.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbWah_Z7z9v6HgAkmBw48W-k7CNbaFwQSnWOMOBI128Ngxp9TtHrrZ0-geg8eh7zgOUzEnGfopwNFCqhnuFAXL9P_4D5CyEHrcHwqO5NA9Mm3D6K4LJXq3LfGU34lNsgK8ajZwB0x-q67/s1600/DSCN0704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBbWah_Z7z9v6HgAkmBw48W-k7CNbaFwQSnWOMOBI128Ngxp9TtHrrZ0-geg8eh7zgOUzEnGfopwNFCqhnuFAXL9P_4D5CyEHrcHwqO5NA9Mm3D6K4LJXq3LfGU34lNsgK8ajZwB0x-q67/s400/DSCN0704.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graham-Ada-Elsie-Tyler-Gilbert-Jonathan-Seth</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnI7pF8TM0lWU_PmpOMzjCZsTYeLFjJ6cXefrbj9jD9_xuybsae2TvdSDmzx2zUQ-BVaIKRDvqJmSAUpepoOSwGWipSUwdReAgpsquoVtosr5UdfPXJ_yA3uTPWQn0ZKL58w2IltuekT8/s1600/DSCN0701.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnI7pF8TM0lWU_PmpOMzjCZsTYeLFjJ6cXefrbj9jD9_xuybsae2TvdSDmzx2zUQ-BVaIKRDvqJmSAUpepoOSwGWipSUwdReAgpsquoVtosr5UdfPXJ_yA3uTPWQn0ZKL58w2IltuekT8/s320/DSCN0701.JPG" width="256" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHF6KahdPHjSiHp2tAogQ7X1_tSbMLkIH2HCMYZLJfSezNK5rcTnSKz1oc0C8dTYgipt44-OVCGcizzf5UpddenmxR9bvzrmLNCxDHffL6ypeu6PPPsouHuPI7dFe9YDXu_3RJK1DFfEM/s1600/DSCN0710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHF6KahdPHjSiHp2tAogQ7X1_tSbMLkIH2HCMYZLJfSezNK5rcTnSKz1oc0C8dTYgipt44-OVCGcizzf5UpddenmxR9bvzrmLNCxDHffL6ypeu6PPPsouHuPI7dFe9YDXu_3RJK1DFfEM/s320/DSCN0710.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seth with the wrench on the inside...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_mHjgLquR_2ROT-fFP5eGYztg-AaYJNJ7HvgD5elI1fjOEWlNEhLnfmBtq_xqYhztJZUYgXIDsrWGHw1Iz5_S6j3n3B7vl86VW4ebv5BnnrGeXTHFFUbS31IfNiIS-WGjrH78SgLfK5k/s1600/DSCN0707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe_mHjgLquR_2ROT-fFP5eGYztg-AaYJNJ7HvgD5elI1fjOEWlNEhLnfmBtq_xqYhztJZUYgXIDsrWGHw1Iz5_S6j3n3B7vl86VW4ebv5BnnrGeXTHFFUbS31IfNiIS-WGjrH78SgLfK5k/s320/DSCN0707.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and Tyler with another wrench on the outside, tightening bolts.</td></tr>
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Our clan has had a bit of a temporary out-migration; at the moment, about half of us are away on trips to Nicaragua, Alabama, the Snow Row, and a spinner's retreat. Lucretia and Oai are holding down the fort on Stovepipe Alley and making ph<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span dir="auto">ở while Tyler and <span style="font-size: small;">Elsie keep critters fed on the Stream Rd. An<span style="font-size: small;">d <span style="font-size: small;">I'm keeping my l<span style="font-size: small;">ittle one fed, snug and warm at <span style="font-size: small;">home<span style="font-size: small;"> but with many adventures planned for the next couple days.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span dir="auto"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Also in the new<span style="font-size: small;">s fo<span style="font-size: small;">r the week:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span dir="auto"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fauna upda<span style="font-size: small;">te: <span style="font-size: small;">We've sold our lovel<span style="font-size: small;">y, hungry, e<span style="font-size: small;">s<span style="font-size: small;">capist flock of sheep off to <span style="font-size: small;">some farmers on Isleboro. The<span style="font-size: small;"> sheep have been on the <span style="font-size: small;">market for a wh<span style="font-size: small;">ile<span style="font-size: small;"> now, but with spring and green grass in the foreseeable future we <span style="font-size: small;">final<span style="font-size: small;">ly had some takers. <span style="font-size: small;">We may get into sheep again at some point, but <span style="font-size: small;">focusing on the dairy and relieving the pressures of almost dai<span style="font-size: small;">ly<span style="font-size: small;"> </span>fence-mo<span style="font-size: small;">ving duties seemed like a good move for the time being.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span dir="auto"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Flora upda<span style="font-size: small;">te: We set up the seedling greenhouse and plan<span style="font-size: small;">ted <span style="font-size: small;">our first seeds <span style="font-size: small;">this week<span style="font-size: small;">; one thousand shallot<span style="font-size: small;"> seeds</span> and <span style="font-size: small;">1500 leek seeds are now waiting on <span style="font-size: small;">some sun and light to get them up out of th<span style="font-size: small;">e soil. We're also enjoying spinach and cilantro out of the greenhouse<span style="font-size: small;">, along with the a<span style="font-size: small;">bility to dig in real brown tha<span style="font-size: small;">wed ground.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span dir="auto"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">And coming up next! Tomorrow we'll be at the Belfast Comm<span style="font-size: small;">unity Supported Agriculture and Fisheries Fair at the Belfast Boathouse, from 1pm-3pm. Come see us and buy our eggs<span style="font-size: small;"> and salami! </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-60685889135069314702013-02-23T14:52:00.000-08:002013-02-23T14:52:25.752-08:00Februa(g)r(a)yUploading photos from my camera today, I noticed the color theme was overwhelmingly gray, which seems to be oftentimes what February is like in these years of climate change. I hear tell that this part of Maine used to be white clear into April, but not so in the few short years since I landed here. We go on trying to check things off our lists and look forward to forecasts of snow (a meager 1-3 inches are due here in the next 24 hours).<br />
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With March just around the corner, we are getting our seedling greenhouse set up in order to start thousands of leeks, onions and shallots. Ada's here with me as I type, and has been an amazing young person to be around--she turned two and a half yesterday and I could brag on her endlessly. But really, you should just come visit us and see for yourself. I think that, all in all, we're gearing up for an exciting, productive, and thoughtful year of growing both in our farm enterprise and in our whole-farm picture. We're hiring someone to help us plan a layout for many of the possible future infrastructure components on the farm, and we're dedicating more of our resources towards soil and forest improvement.<br />
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Here are a few photos from around the farm:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10jcE9o1cVxMNlIMM383hWSld7JM6VDE-sL7W02epx-KUcFwWDcPSi6vhcioYcwEQ99gHr2fM-f3-Ww1yKdHCGOzZHfBw5xoi7OYBn0g2u4OMTmRGVvfJv-CYkvRKT-VaYnGsNcm4w1uC/s1600/DSCN0679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10jcE9o1cVxMNlIMM383hWSld7JM6VDE-sL7W02epx-KUcFwWDcPSi6vhcioYcwEQ99gHr2fM-f3-Ww1yKdHCGOzZHfBw5xoi7OYBn0g2u4OMTmRGVvfJv-CYkvRKT-VaYnGsNcm4w1uC/s320/DSCN0679.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seth next to the 4-ton capacity grain bin</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRSMXvIx6isTOVC8v7CkiclEz-IDYkZyRHN_flxLmF7WlgyO2g9Fr-tWLcmEeVik9xiKi5lejrbt6lCPpUQqvox5_8NW86Ct_3hgHM_Qswxu-MaozqzkPUw-AGduhfVcP9itxhh7QzGNm/s1600/DSCN0695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRSMXvIx6isTOVC8v7CkiclEz-IDYkZyRHN_flxLmF7WlgyO2g9Fr-tWLcmEeVik9xiKi5lejrbt6lCPpUQqvox5_8NW86Ct_3hgHM_Qswxu-MaozqzkPUw-AGduhfVcP9itxhh7QzGNm/s320/DSCN0695.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aged Brussels sprouts standing strong, but not that palatable, in the field</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoUuYuYVrZoe2bv2BErxO9-GsbBOCxgvtbitsqV_z9CaBO7UxZI3yTTOqUu8GspYAhEsKqW-uWZLlZWBT-16g9jblhENDJm_8JlaBYbGuJVVEZA_GUHzGF10-TXLVkeSepjyuhtwrQneK/s1600/DSCN0696.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRoUuYuYVrZoe2bv2BErxO9-GsbBOCxgvtbitsqV_z9CaBO7UxZI3yTTOqUu8GspYAhEsKqW-uWZLlZWBT-16g9jblhENDJm_8JlaBYbGuJVVEZA_GUHzGF10-TXLVkeSepjyuhtwrQneK/s320/DSCN0696.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The nursery trees, dormant and waiting for another summer of grafting and growing.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibIBQyLhNSd_-iJwHpQr7jfEVW8rZbgSR3b92Lf7GLcIFpB4-LKKVNMMKjdC5xHkdzxGblvpVjYrJYNoNj4qID27l6l40yh_bEpsADvyrA2QitQTcNNipCaxyVi1hkFbJqdpgRMEHx50Oc/s1600/DSCN0699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPELLrgIu2y0iMbulOZHRK4ChmPWVXZeKdMPyCsVitYZP9FIQMpU337NREaKUmEsiCkZGgGgKrLSEigJBw_9eeXPojPKY-r-6uHgMFQHuA6feQ_ZDg_hAWgcGsjuKpVrrrNgb9UxrkUcin/s1600/DSCN0698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPELLrgIu2y0iMbulOZHRK4ChmPWVXZeKdMPyCsVitYZP9FIQMpU337NREaKUmEsiCkZGgGgKrLSEigJBw_9eeXPojPKY-r-6uHgMFQHuA6feQ_ZDg_hAWgcGsjuKpVrrrNgb9UxrkUcin/s320/DSCN0698.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farm equipment also lies dormant at all scales</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibIBQyLhNSd_-iJwHpQr7jfEVW8rZbgSR3b92Lf7GLcIFpB4-LKKVNMMKjdC5xHkdzxGblvpVjYrJYNoNj4qID27l6l40yh_bEpsADvyrA2QitQTcNNipCaxyVi1hkFbJqdpgRMEHx50Oc/s1600/DSCN0699.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibIBQyLhNSd_-iJwHpQr7jfEVW8rZbgSR3b92Lf7GLcIFpB4-LKKVNMMKjdC5xHkdzxGblvpVjYrJYNoNj4qID27l6l40yh_bEpsADvyrA2QitQTcNNipCaxyVi1hkFbJqdpgRMEHx50Oc/s320/DSCN0699.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A glimpse of spring arrived from North Carolina by post!</td></tr>
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North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-87164166182593593462013-02-17T09:05:00.000-08:002013-02-17T09:05:49.288-08:00New Lunar Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday we had a farm meeting with the four of us farmers--Tyler, Elsie, Seth and I--where it was brought up once again that the North Branch Farm blog has been neglected. We're going to try to get back on track. One picture for each month since the last post:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lettuce, mache, pac choi and spinach in our unheated winter greenhouse (November)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pork sausages hung in the smokehouse: andouille, bratwurst, hot italian, chorizo, and Seth's "liver perfection medley"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yukon and Ada in a snow cave after last weekend's nor'easter (Nemo?)</td></tr>
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We've had all kinds of adventures in the last few months. In the bovine realm, Tyler and Elsie started drying off the dairy herd in mid-December, which took a couple of weeks, but the humans and cows have had a break from lactational work for the last month and a half. The cows aren't due to calf out until late May or June, but at that point we'll have 6 or more little calves running about and we'll be swimming in milk once again.<br />
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Our herd of Coopworth and Romney sheep are wintering over in the barn and are due for their little ones in April. We had a hard lambing season last time around, so we're hoping for more and healthier lambs this year out of our eleven ewes.<br />
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The seven piglets that were born last fall are four months old now and doing great, living off of a lot of rotten squash and other culled vegetables in addition to their daily grain rations. They do eat a lot of grain though, and--forseeing their appetite and all the other hungry animals on the farm--we are in the midst of assembling and installing a 4.2 ton-capacity grain silo so that we can get regular deliveries of bulk pelleted organic grain from Maine Organic Milling Cooperative in Auburn, ME. We're quite excited about supporting this relatively new cooperative business, reducing the amount of packaging coming onto the farm, and getting a better price for high quality feed for our critters. We're also hoping we can resell grain to folks in our neighborhood who want to buy organic grain without all that packaging but who don't have their own grain bin.<br />
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The vegetable operation seems to have been a rollicking success, and it feels like we've just passed a natural "new year" in that area. Our winter vegetable CSA had its last pick-up on February 7th, and I ordered seeds for this years' vegetables the very next day. We still have a fair amount of vegetables lingering in the basement--especially rutabaga and celeriac--which we could sell, but most of it we'll eat ourselves until we can start harvesting fresh food out of the greenhouse and the garden again. We ended up our CSA season with 51 members (our goal was 50), and my most heartfelt thanks go out to all of them. We also sold to numerous other venues, including Crown o' Maine Organic Cooperative, the Natural Living Center in Bangor, the Ampersand Store in Orono, the Belfast Co-op, Fresh off the Farm in Rockport, and to restaurants including The Lost Kitchen, Francine Bistro, Shepherd's Pie, Natalie's, Waterfront, and Fresh. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for purchasing and eating seasonal, organic, delicious produce! Your body thanks you too.<br />
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Coming right around the corner is the beginning of the fruit tree season. After sending a few thousand trees off to the Fedco Trees warehouse last November, things have pretty much been on hiatus in tree world. But! Pruning time is now, and not long after that is bench grafting season (late March-early April) and not long after that is tree planting time! One goal for this year is to have a tractor-drawn tree-planter to save our backs and our time. Nothing like a little metal fabrication project with a fast-approaching deadline to really make you feel crazy.<br />
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I think that's the news. Enjoy, and stay warm.North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-16556201831504803822012-11-17T04:42:00.000-08:002012-11-17T04:42:01.658-08:00North Branch Farm Stand, Thanksgiving EditionI'm here with a shameless marketing ploy, so I hope those of you far away can see it as news of the farm, and those of you close by can spread the word! Here goes...<br />
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Why go to the supermarket when you could come to North Branch Farm? Our
farm stand is open now through Wednesday, November 21, so come on over for a turkey
and everything to keep it company on the Thanksgiving table!<br />
<br />Find us at 122 Stream Road in Monroe for winter squash, onions,
garlic, cabbage, carrots, leeks, herbs, Fuzzy Udder Creamery cheeses
made with our milk, locally grown and freshly milled oats, and dry beans
in six varieties! Turkeys grown organically by Lucretia and Oai on
Stovepipe Alley are available by pre-order, as are apple, pumpkin and
blueberry pies (fresh, or frozen for travel!) baked by Elsie. Also
available by pre-order or by luck: licensed raw milk and cream from our
heritage Devon cows, 10 lb boxes of frozen organic wild blueberries from
Montville and 14 oz bags of frozen organic cranberries from Ellsworth.<br />
<br />Open daily on the honor system from 6:30am-8pm. Call Five-two-five-3323 or email northbranchfarm(dot)monroe(at)gmail(dot)com with questions or to pre-order. Pre-orders should be in by noon on Tuesday. Thanks, and enjoy!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piglets on their second day, born three weeks ago</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Yentes-Quinn house, only a day or so away from being fully shingled!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Over 2000 trees and fruiting plants were dug and sent to the Fedco Trees warehouse last week!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Shapley-Quinn/Gilbert/Apprentice Cabin on its way to livability</td></tr>
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North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-56553951776242214802012-09-24T11:42:00.000-07:002012-09-24T11:42:16.432-07:00First Frost, Etc.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We've had some blazingly brilliant days and cool nights here on the farm, with our first light, patchy frost just a week ago. Fall is a time I am both excited and relieved by every year, and I'm glad to see it's here again. Just in time to save us from our ridiculously prolific tomatoes! Late blight and frost pulled the old one-two on those solanums, and now all that's left are some fat brandywines slowly going soft on the windowsill.</div>
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North Branch Farm is in a bit of a frost pocket, so when the weather forecast for Monroe says the night will be clear and 42 degrees or lower, we assume we'll get a touch of frost. And if there's anything winter squash doesn't like, it's just that. Last Sunday, we harvested our entire squash crop--about two-thirds of an acre--in a day.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crates of Red Kuri in the field</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last of three wagonloads of squash</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half of our harvest crew: Seth, Kirsten, Willie, Clayton, Timmy, and Katya</td></tr>
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Last week we also opened our North Branch Farm stand, right in front of the farm, where we sell all our standard fall crops along with some leafy greens and fresh herbs and any other home garden items we have in surplus. In a month from now, we'll be selling at two farmers' markets--the Bangor European Market, Saturday 9:30-1 on Buck St; and the Ellsworth Woodlawn Market, from 11-2 on Sundays, so we've been gearing up for that as well. We hope to see some of you there!North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-61460212097397107782012-08-27T13:35:00.000-07:002012-08-27T13:35:09.447-07:00August's Closing Shop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">Time flies when you're working hard...sometimes you forget to eat lunch, or
pee, or even (astonishingly) write a blog entry. But the farm is still
here, and thriving on the whole. We are deeply grateful to Kerstin and
Katya, our apprentices this season, for the many hours of hard labor they have
put in on the farm.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Before I go farther, I want to formally invite all blog readers to our annual pig roast, co-hosted at our place by North Branch, Artisan Builders, and First Light Community Midwives. It is on Saturday, September 8th at 3 pm and it is a potluck (don't bring pork)</span><span style="font-size: small;"> family-friendly event</span><span style="font-size: small;">, with hay rides, music, and fun. We hope many of you can make it, and feel free to contact us here or on our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/NorthBranchFarm">facebook page</a> if you need more details.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">We are actually coming to the end of an
interesting time in the vegetables and fruits right now, when we mainly watch,
wait, weed, and water.<span> </span>This slight grace
period in the cultivated crops coincides beautifully with hay-making, and when
that’s not going on we have endless lists to fill the time between morning and
evening milkings.<span> </span>We’ve moved firewood,
worked on building a small cabin, frozen green beans, made sauerkraut, canned
salsa, bud-grafted 4000 fruit trees, fenced in tens of acres of new pasture, treated mastitis infections, hosted an ultimate frisbee game and cook-out, planned a field trip to the Blue Hill peninsula, broken and repaired my camera (one excuse for the dearth of activity here), had our weekly meetings, and even gotten the veggies and fruits certified organic by MOFGA!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Now for the photos:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> </span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDRsWuRaXt80xQw8bECQZQJGO9nJl5szODJrjMr7f10KGVvI1Njw-GyWC-9wbDbiFad3Pq72Ftyj5dS_BHG7sUkZj53QKpETeb52y6yy1x6VrZVRXuZ8F763RlBLTj35Siwp60JBi7RHA/s1600/DSCN0467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDRsWuRaXt80xQw8bECQZQJGO9nJl5szODJrjMr7f10KGVvI1Njw-GyWC-9wbDbiFad3Pq72Ftyj5dS_BHG7sUkZj53QKpETeb52y6yy1x6VrZVRXuZ8F763RlBLTj35Siwp60JBi7RHA/s320/DSCN0467.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of our farm, looking south from the new cabin.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZNEv4UOqe6ap_S4Sf9SG413UO3T6UTtZvIYfvFMR9ozLSIFt8eQ6Rpm-SuVSs1Tk4nxej_YW_1PPYZEvmugUQPo8wry0chQWCzwO0medH5gLpFYA3pGR1yX-CpBkW5NhdCbQF4kyDE5C/s1600/P1000488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZNEv4UOqe6ap_S4Sf9SG413UO3T6UTtZvIYfvFMR9ozLSIFt8eQ6Rpm-SuVSs1Tk4nxej_YW_1PPYZEvmugUQPo8wry0chQWCzwO0medH5gLpFYA3pGR1yX-CpBkW5NhdCbQF4kyDE5C/s320/P1000488.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The milking parlor</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZcugnhDbAC2Iit1vAnZc2OYz9mDbSdjGojdZE_GEeeUahju7hfPvNv6ItswxTUBrnNlS3CsPwhV8-QCmauKmL63iEJOxkwuXTIb58pcCeg1-D6MqeekOIk0vgRQl98DF_3OK5cQcPmck/s1600/P1000482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZZcugnhDbAC2Iit1vAnZc2OYz9mDbSdjGojdZE_GEeeUahju7hfPvNv6ItswxTUBrnNlS3CsPwhV8-QCmauKmL63iEJOxkwuXTIb58pcCeg1-D6MqeekOIk0vgRQl98DF_3OK5cQcPmck/s320/P1000482.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyler, a blissful milker</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7rgSjNwLo_NN3l4sbJ7DYEK1mKFITRMfB9L0vdZm_IA0iA4tQz1-WVunLJcdnwEEDA7xpBZN06eRAVxliuDkdxcMs4fZO8dhrBocY0PhsopKxOzAbnDIBgsNMZh8cDONBAXvXnYd3MMmb/s1600/P1000475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7rgSjNwLo_NN3l4sbJ7DYEK1mKFITRMfB9L0vdZm_IA0iA4tQz1-WVunLJcdnwEEDA7xpBZN06eRAVxliuDkdxcMs4fZO8dhrBocY0PhsopKxOzAbnDIBgsNMZh8cDONBAXvXnYd3MMmb/s320/P1000475.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our new Massey 80 hp tractor</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdZXZOgbAUC-r-3mDku5_hLdq945zFEIZj5tmA8AYHt1Pv16687hU-x7YP4NI3GQnXX_ViDQVyhlZ2qSmLXRgsXrKqE-su5Br6ZU_TEr2KkpHTmR0pGQrz5v43wD7AmIYHKZtTDuJ8dNG/s1600/DSCN0470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrdZXZOgbAUC-r-3mDku5_hLdq945zFEIZj5tmA8AYHt1Pv16687hU-x7YP4NI3GQnXX_ViDQVyhlZ2qSmLXRgsXrKqE-su5Br6ZU_TEr2KkpHTmR0pGQrz5v43wD7AmIYHKZtTDuJ8dNG/s320/DSCN0470.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frida the Brown Swiss, on loan to us for three months.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnES51gYxtuCAkAkeDsO3Onh7Rv082hKrV9KTPx1RSC6A2OmuE9X2GfcoEMLgXJQfbpPIkMpv6POOBrExm0E4kn-UcYPO7FsuwjRA1FEaMT9nM-YrPRg_x-emL1dk8J_oHD9nAP9TUjSD/s1600/P1000460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnES51gYxtuCAkAkeDsO3Onh7Rv082hKrV9KTPx1RSC6A2OmuE9X2GfcoEMLgXJQfbpPIkMpv6POOBrExm0E4kn-UcYPO7FsuwjRA1FEaMT9nM-YrPRg_x-emL1dk8J_oHD9nAP9TUjSD/s320/P1000460.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elsie filtering milk.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Additional feline news:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We are the new adopted family of a burly gray cat named Scottie who has come to help us with our rodent problems. Mere days after Scottie came to live at the farm, we found a scrawny, loud little kitten scrunched under the edge of our outhouse. What shall we do with the little lass? She's crawling with fleas, and seems to need a home! We're feeding and housing her for now, and waiting to see how she and Scottie get on. </span>North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-43655439284469597182012-07-16T01:57:00.002-07:002012-07-16T01:57:41.783-07:00Fence-Building etc.<br />
It's July 15th, and the crops are in! We just have some late successions of lettuce, pac choi and the like to get in over the next couple months. Potato planting this year was a speedy group effort: dig a shallow trench with a wheel hoe, band in fish meal and sul-po-mag, plant whole sprouty potatoes, and then cover them up with the same wheel hoe. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDF12eNfQ4beMe19RdWZwpZbdf3yDYh06CDvinulojS0is6ujnQJThwnKDCcNY4Mi2Rdv0GNYt6affMsFj2PtaDwcfcAQHmDCEAybo9_y8tYuG1rX0mtxYODLpoum7D_syVIJlBQaRJAjd/s1600/DSCN0400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDF12eNfQ4beMe19RdWZwpZbdf3yDYh06CDvinulojS0is6ujnQJThwnKDCcNY4Mi2Rdv0GNYt6affMsFj2PtaDwcfcAQHmDCEAybo9_y8tYuG1rX0mtxYODLpoum7D_syVIJlBQaRJAjd/s320/DSCN0400.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gib cleaning up during potato planting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6c2BKGL8F6AAv2mxDuoYi15cnrl28SZCkMiHWUQ0qoSX9gXHK6FUmd1Dko9-c598t_T-yUHXLb8s0XDgeCoPLD8UeW3GCZy0Ojp6QpGSESSxgn12RDwtmUuRkhLsk-nruhOtePd-zJpaD/s1600/DSCN0403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6c2BKGL8F6AAv2mxDuoYi15cnrl28SZCkMiHWUQ0qoSX9gXHK6FUmd1Dko9-c598t_T-yUHXLb8s0XDgeCoPLD8UeW3GCZy0Ojp6QpGSESSxgn12RDwtmUuRkhLsk-nruhOtePd-zJpaD/s320/DSCN0403.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elsie and Ada cleaning up on stunning-ness during potato planting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0QtDu22zDWIr2fuAwFfJe2zQ_ezbDSklnKmn-D9bB0Iqs9nK-cYajy0l0FmzLpykAEvRadGV43vTGoUNSMmPln4KvMF-UBlNy74SMm-ujgVc2WdDceCwHvAQy_V-ZANgL23Q5gslB1gF/s1600/DSCN0411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd0QtDu22zDWIr2fuAwFfJe2zQ_ezbDSklnKmn-D9bB0Iqs9nK-cYajy0l0FmzLpykAEvRadGV43vTGoUNSMmPln4KvMF-UBlNy74SMm-ujgVc2WdDceCwHvAQy_V-ZANgL23Q5gslB1gF/s320/DSCN0411.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna (that's me) seeding pelleted carrot seed with a double gang Earthway seeder. Didn't work so well.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sHnSvitejNohZnnP7AVZczTHj5ZN2V6fNVEVMQpVDr1S5D0Y8BmyszCDyA-9Lpmi_iEoPkDVXaYaUo5Fbw8BslyIVWLrrEuhLPLLQR9A0OoI7OaIq9Kv73owWyIXcHoUmbosgHY6G_y-/s1600/DSCN0414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sHnSvitejNohZnnP7AVZczTHj5ZN2V6fNVEVMQpVDr1S5D0Y8BmyszCDyA-9Lpmi_iEoPkDVXaYaUo5Fbw8BslyIVWLrrEuhLPLLQR9A0OoI7OaIq9Kv73owWyIXcHoUmbosgHY6G_y-/s320/DSCN0414.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna on the double gang seeder and Chris on the single to complete the 3-row bed.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9Ppmzgxbh251_3AmVHlXl87n0pv88EGi72GzdFimsJefLzVM9qab72QA6L9radJVnXhVUw0i4kEJUu6mJgtyxIOhMlLoeq6Dhz68rCBvb_AZjsxMNY2FMtykqPkMut1d1SwDdA9R53qP/s1600/DSCN0419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9Ppmzgxbh251_3AmVHlXl87n0pv88EGi72GzdFimsJefLzVM9qab72QA6L9radJVnXhVUw0i4kEJUu6mJgtyxIOhMlLoeq6Dhz68rCBvb_AZjsxMNY2FMtykqPkMut1d1SwDdA9R53qP/s320/DSCN0419.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crops and barnyard around the summer solstice.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WEw1hM88hattx_OT8ooDQ3uy4B7OFhKauS5nTgVB93WoCWeBGWnXkORQM7M8IUBXmLKiFZFsoQ5HxvnES0_G6LvRYNcfyIRknJR4WELyeKDJ5bGJwDK7gMSHwPQ5u6L56fHBr2Wv7-N4/s1600/DSCN0421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1WEw1hM88hattx_OT8ooDQ3uy4B7OFhKauS5nTgVB93WoCWeBGWnXkORQM7M8IUBXmLKiFZFsoQ5HxvnES0_G6LvRYNcfyIRknJR4WELyeKDJ5bGJwDK7gMSHwPQ5u6L56fHBr2Wv7-N4/s320/DSCN0421.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyler walking through the orchard.</td></tr>
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On June 23rd we had a fence-building party to really get things kicked off, and get those deer moving out of the orchard and away from their young apple trees snacking. To prepare, Seth dug many of the post holes with a borrowed post hole auger that hooked on to our Kioti tractor, and Seth and Tyler hauled and put into position many of the cedar posts they had cut from the woods surrounding the orchard.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAPCJSjL3ifPswwyE3RtiIHWUmzZVWEwBz6TaECYiRMR4KIgrVXasI8JiJzvovs-YMFWjRzxbPcAHCxHWKoS302yDN2ums8a3VkZATXCGnzyThCfBrHBL12s6AKm0XO2wnNWzaYiXCQ-W/s1600/DSCN0424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAPCJSjL3ifPswwyE3RtiIHWUmzZVWEwBz6TaECYiRMR4KIgrVXasI8JiJzvovs-YMFWjRzxbPcAHCxHWKoS302yDN2ums8a3VkZATXCGnzyThCfBrHBL12s6AKm0XO2wnNWzaYiXCQ-W/s320/DSCN0424.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Touching up a hole by hand.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5uVxFMseFe4rvsjwijxe0TYYKzNHt_u0KgDdhmsuLOzb4IjBIGW0-k64c8-vfr-aWR1Ey8fTzXsBk2tjNW3j_xW-QowDF6t9udPYZJsrYrKpV4kdpJTGxw2Zyn6WhSGfhcwM_62K6oB1/s1600/DSCN0428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU5uVxFMseFe4rvsjwijxe0TYYKzNHt_u0KgDdhmsuLOzb4IjBIGW0-k64c8-vfr-aWR1Ey8fTzXsBk2tjNW3j_xW-QowDF6t9udPYZJsrYrKpV4kdpJTGxw2Zyn6WhSGfhcwM_62K6oB1/s320/DSCN0428.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting the posts</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPx3LWMmH0NhMT6E2isJu5s17njtPOzSxgijzdGGQuWqNROBXd3TBWXBq2oQ5HNAHZc_YBQN5A2gxNxPn1yt6nPX3lPKj2R1b625mLGFzmjUcNYGXV02qe4yIiBJAaBOYrTkOOPEP9RA_-/s1600/DSCN0429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPx3LWMmH0NhMT6E2isJu5s17njtPOzSxgijzdGGQuWqNROBXd3TBWXBq2oQ5HNAHZc_YBQN5A2gxNxPn1yt6nPX3lPKj2R1b625mLGFzmjUcNYGXV02qe4yIiBJAaBOYrTkOOPEP9RA_-/s320/DSCN0429.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first run of posts, heading north along the east side of the orchard</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GhBY0RIe8_D2d2R8gY-5kCiyqYEQqYP7vcL_Qhnzi9IM2MoHm9apmar6ftIcQ5S_gu8tWWTwd9uAjDrKVE5BzdyRn8TADlq2bHCF0s-NusNgCOx8EN-nJ7d-r85-4imuAeRHUKeMk5Kn/s1600/DSCN0433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-GhBY0RIe8_D2d2R8gY-5kCiyqYEQqYP7vcL_Qhnzi9IM2MoHm9apmar6ftIcQ5S_gu8tWWTwd9uAjDrKVE5BzdyRn8TADlq2bHCF0s-NusNgCOx8EN-nJ7d-r85-4imuAeRHUKeMk5Kn/s320/DSCN0433.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting up for the gate, the last posts to go in.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trusty post hole digger</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2fYgQmCmImhhtsWqABWdrpZuywsYFx0qJKQse7kIukq31oAbj7T_K3voWGNEq0ghtkBXQ-GiP7q3iCycR1RqzBb1JIMA2fR50Lbp3p25TXyueAra8n-C0YqbaPyitjZSeLKYDCJRLMgg/s1600/DSCN0438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2fYgQmCmImhhtsWqABWdrpZuywsYFx0qJKQse7kIukq31oAbj7T_K3voWGNEq0ghtkBXQ-GiP7q3iCycR1RqzBb1JIMA2fR50Lbp3p25TXyueAra8n-C0YqbaPyitjZSeLKYDCJRLMgg/s320/DSCN0438.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last run of posts, heading east along the south side of the orchard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ta-daaaah!</td></tr>
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A few days after the fence started going up, our two apprentices for the season arrived: Kerstin and Katya. They are amazing, hard-working, and great company. Thanks to them, we have caught up on a lot of farm work that had been neglected and things are looking beautiful. Now, for a little more rain!?!?North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-85855942618147412222012-06-13T05:39:00.002-07:002012-06-13T05:42:20.929-07:00In the news...Hey Everyone-<br />
Check out the Bangor Daily News feature that came out yesterday, June 12, 2012, about North Branch Farm:<br />
http://bangordailynews.com/slideshow/young-farmers-working-together-on-the-midcoast/?ref=maineframe<br />
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Things are going blazingly well here on the farm, with the usual setbacks to keep us humble and in check. Deer have discovered the young apple trees in the new orchard and are making tasty snacks out of them while we race to cut cedar fence posts for an eight-foot deer fence around the whole six-acre block. In the shuffle of farm priorities, we neglected to cover our delicate home garden crops--zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, melons, and eggplant--with row cover, and they have been decimated by squash beetles and flea beetles in a matter of a few days. We sprayed them and will cover them today, and hopefully they'll be able to recover to give our apprentices and us some food this summer. The only other bad news of note is that one of our calves was very sick--we figured out it was a selenium deficiency (our soils, like most in this area, have no selenium at all) and got him an injection of selenium, and he seems to be recovering well though he will probably be at least partially blind for life.<br />
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We got our 30 laying hen chicks and 40 meat bird chicks out into chicken tractors this week, and they are happily chomping grass, clover, and bugs along with their organic chicken grain pellets. Ada's not the only one who likes to eat chicken feed!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJsgYqnRrEm5JfiTU_JdwXDI6jpMRFRW8HKH1pXE7MdWWek95-XNH2nCh7duG66qTteX5uwDBtZb2jiJ1S5ktd6XmI-jdMNejSifIKH742QOK8AidBPhNKwpJJBPX_Y0r26mybh0Phk1u/s1600/DSCN0373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJsgYqnRrEm5JfiTU_JdwXDI6jpMRFRW8HKH1pXE7MdWWek95-XNH2nCh7duG66qTteX5uwDBtZb2jiJ1S5ktd6XmI-jdMNejSifIKH742QOK8AidBPhNKwpJJBPX_Y0r26mybh0Phk1u/s320/DSCN0373.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meat chicks on pasture</td></tr>
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People started stopping by the farm yesterday after seeing the BDN article, to tell us about it and to chat, and we thought, "Okay, now we <i>need </i>a sign, even a temporary one..." This has been in the works for the last month or so, but one thing led to another and before long we had a massive, eleven foot high cedar structure (not so temporary), and a sign that will hopefully be replaced within the year with something more permanent and artful.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphNJEOY624rvXKqgsENI_e5te-sLkQpahsFTFC5j2YZrb6NeEDibj6aL_0ztOkP2r1HMz2144jI-F8p3ZIeDEilGjsfVXMAd8lvUTB0EtYpc3h9cl0EnqeX2fp7pV3LyOHoyTyPYsRHbk/s1600/DSCN0378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhphNJEOY624rvXKqgsENI_e5te-sLkQpahsFTFC5j2YZrb6NeEDibj6aL_0ztOkP2r1HMz2144jI-F8p3ZIeDEilGjsfVXMAd8lvUTB0EtYpc3h9cl0EnqeX2fp7pV3LyOHoyTyPYsRHbk/s320/DSCN0378.JPG" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">North Branch Farm goes public</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The vegetable crops are doing great so far this year--brassicas (cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi and Brussels sprouts) are looking healthy, alliums (onions, garlic, shallots, and leeks) are sturdy, solanums (tomatoes and peppers) are loving the sunshine, and one of our new and exciting crops, sweet potatoes, is settling in nicely. We have yet to plant the root crops, and the winter squash is seeded but not sprouted yet. The annual crop of quackgrass is not as bad as in previous years, but we still have our fair share.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGGUwIFUeLe4flgAzOdb15TNLiSeT5Accq2kBf2x74Xhn1v7B9TRTPrPtt9WVc4lOQSDdOTMXeCa0bsMoXCfkFERtWJIiEWkNZu3FJ2tsckSWCBIh3e_ufqd7QnFGoelA7PqH1j_Mpd_8/s320/DSCN0368.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ada and Seth killing quackgrass.</td></tr>
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We're in the thick of preparing the milkroom so that we can be state-licensed to sell milk. We basically emptied the existing milkroom and started fresh: painted the walls a sunny yellow, rewired and plumbed the whole things, installed an electric hot water heater, and bought and installed new stainless steel hand-washing and milk-equipment-washing sinks. The vacuum system is also functioning, and Tyler's gradually training the cows, starting with the Jerseys, to be milked with a Surge belly-milker (photo from http://surgemilker.com/): </div>
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<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="194" data-width="259" height="194" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSmwEbzQ6aq-fsSEukI6YaY0Ffi1OuY19HTUJiw5tBc8EhQGIC1" style="height: 194px; width: 259px;" width="259" /></div>
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In fact, I just heard the vacuum pump turn off; morning chores must be moving along! The cows themselves are a little ahead of schedule, and Tyler and Crew are milking six cows right now, mostly by hand. Elsie has taken on the noble, labor-intensive work of milk processing. She has put up many pounds of fresh, yellow, I-can't-believe-I-can't-stop-eating-it butter, hand-churned in her vintage Dazey churn. She also bought a wine cooler to function as a mini cheese cave, and has already begun to fill it with wheels of cheese: Parmesan, cheddar, Caerphilly, and more.</div>
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It's raining today, but it will be busy nonetheless. The list of rainy day options is endless. We could repair a tractor, spread beneficial nematodes to control wireworms, kill and butcher a sheep whose time has come, work on the milkroom, clean, clean, clean, and more...</div>
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Thank you all for your continued support, near and far, and we hope we get to see you or hear from you soon. </div>North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-67743454340982421962012-06-05T15:31:00.002-07:002012-06-05T15:31:29.342-07:00MayGood, happy Cinco de Junio!<br />
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We have been like busy bees and busy beavers here at North Branch Farm, but my camera is not up-to-date on the happenings so there may be a shortage of visual evidence to back up my claims; judge for yourself if they are true...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJA98mVeTEV5GXaA7UgtFM1mz9BMa1X1KCz4HXYt7zzbjYdbm-DcpmZl6xY_vuldMM7_2uUKTnhF5Nn8GRrsf5BanwAGZYonqkXY8IzihTngY2T04mn1wg6Z82xZP2obqNEGFw0B-MTlKN/s1600/DSCN0304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJA98mVeTEV5GXaA7UgtFM1mz9BMa1X1KCz4HXYt7zzbjYdbm-DcpmZl6xY_vuldMM7_2uUKTnhF5Nn8GRrsf5BanwAGZYonqkXY8IzihTngY2T04mn1wg6Z82xZP2obqNEGFw0B-MTlKN/s320/DSCN0304.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plowing the vegetable field, one luscious furrow at a time.</td></tr>
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We prepped what we estimate to be one and three-quarters acres of vegetable ground this year, and it's slightly less than half full at the moment. Yet to go in the ground are squash, carrot, beet, rutabaga, parsnip, root parsley, popcorn, sweet corn, and dry bean seeds, as well as potatoes, the leafy greens for fall and winter and some late storage cabbages. Already planted in the field are more cabbages, pac choi, Brussels sprouts, onions, leeks, shallots, celeriac, kohlrabi, parsley, basil, rosemary, tomatoes, and hot peppers!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4q5xcQvTSlVWzJMgZ37eciC37FZZbOvarW4J401PxeKGRbloBxTSarvnzu7h2KjCLjdou8iWldBjWQYj0Fgb5i1xKiwkxbVmU0RzMUmcbdDKQVygPGmdH5Osn0nNSv7m0GIvJew7K_6Z/s1600/DSCN0325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4q5xcQvTSlVWzJMgZ37eciC37FZZbOvarW4J401PxeKGRbloBxTSarvnzu7h2KjCLjdou8iWldBjWQYj0Fgb5i1xKiwkxbVmU0RzMUmcbdDKQVygPGmdH5Osn0nNSv7m0GIvJew7K_6Z/s320/DSCN0325.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabbage seedlings in the greenhouse.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbYwQtmKMYTLyr50ksBxsnPnFw-T-uQGoLr4kGysaUYqLWoxJvYVfXBxGgQaYhEQewEvWERGlvr7xliRV_1c_TGk8mHCBGIbICyi1Itm_jRGbmtCP2y3FQ1yA6W1iZ-8RQJcLbzk4LC9S/s1600/DSCN0329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlbYwQtmKMYTLyr50ksBxsnPnFw-T-uQGoLr4kGysaUYqLWoxJvYVfXBxGgQaYhEQewEvWERGlvr7xliRV_1c_TGk8mHCBGIbICyi1Itm_jRGbmtCP2y3FQ1yA6W1iZ-8RQJcLbzk4LC9S/s320/DSCN0329.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fiddleheads!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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Nine third-graders from the local Waldorf school spent two nights here on the farm with us in May, and we had a great time with them...playing, working, cooking, eating fiddleheads, and more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHv3MPTqMaN1y2XsdzTfiRIi_XxnWBnC7wZ6BLEs69v8rshiCERG0kXnuTzBoGTfjWIMOYqCqWOOaLNugYm3lASX9gMpM0ZDm0pXnEwbKzKGP64n8g56Vok7cqw_vj3dfDy44_dFA12Bk/s1600/DSCN0347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHv3MPTqMaN1y2XsdzTfiRIi_XxnWBnC7wZ6BLEs69v8rshiCERG0kXnuTzBoGTfjWIMOYqCqWOOaLNugYm3lASX9gMpM0ZDm0pXnEwbKzKGP64n8g56Vok7cqw_vj3dfDy44_dFA12Bk/s320/DSCN0347.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fullest full moon we'll see for a while.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtE8VzdeBIMXUZ0kaj1AZ19Q5mFEo4iav8HWh4D3GFWjpseYX8ynLIL57-MnhqA15JC2CmR6vc7cCZ0ZSZ-9UOamhNTDcUfrBDYAejeYA6AvA9HpHuL0XjEMp7RJt5bgoQ2Z7_br-SyZq/s1600/DSCN0349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwtE8VzdeBIMXUZ0kaj1AZ19Q5mFEo4iav8HWh4D3GFWjpseYX8ynLIL57-MnhqA15JC2CmR6vc7cCZ0ZSZ-9UOamhNTDcUfrBDYAejeYA6AvA9HpHuL0XjEMp7RJt5bgoQ2Z7_br-SyZq/s320/DSCN0349.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabbages on the move!</td></tr>
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The cow update is that of eight mama cows, seven of whom we plan to milk, five have calved and are doing great. Tyler and crew are racing to get the milkroom licensed so that we can start selling our delicious milk to the Fuzzy Udder Creamery. Every animal is out on pasture except one pig, busy rooting up barn stalls, the newborn calves, and two adult male sheep who would cause problems and pregnancies if they were out with their kin. We can hardly believe it's really June, because we've had chilly, wood-stove-wanting weather and 3+ inches of rain this week. The visiting season has commenced, so if you're coming to Maine, call us up and pay us a visit.<br />
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Sales plug of the day: High bush blueberry plants are $15/each, potted and ready to plant. CSA shares are $365 for 18 weeks of abundant vegetables.North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-21272194357613841362012-04-30T06:13:00.000-07:002012-04-30T06:13:03.665-07:00Mission Orchard Accomplished.<br />
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Some of you may know we spent last weekend tucking hundreds (440-ish, to be more specific) of fruit trees, mainly apple with some pears and cherries thrown in, into the brand new North Branch Orchard. The week preceding orchard-fest was a marathon of using, breaking, borrowing, and repairing equipment: tractors, chippers, plows, disk harrows, and our bodies. It was a close shave, but by the time a crew of about twenty showed up to lend a strong hand on Saturday morning, we were ready for them. Here, after a cute opening photo of our newest lamb, is a series of photos from the orchard-planting party, shot mostly by Chris Yentes and MK Shapley-Quinn.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lamb #2 of 2012, a hefty little guy</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Orchard Prep Checklist </div>
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Step 1: Graft trees, grow in nursery, dig and store in basement.</div>
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Step 2: Plan a fenceline. </div>
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Step 3: Fell all trees dead near or leaning towards fenceline.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptDI-P6NHYqGEf8cSbydfymYmih7imDbcPMY0eOP89ALZRj4FHy6kC6jUfFmet4gNWS2Sn9H6ot_PBPb0Pmu94ePLfFsohjN23v24IJZjP3KmFUmykrMHDWAFr4rx19zv_M0v1TED8nFA/s1600/DSCN0240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptDI-P6NHYqGEf8cSbydfymYmih7imDbcPMY0eOP89ALZRj4FHy6kC6jUfFmet4gNWS2Sn9H6ot_PBPb0Pmu94ePLfFsohjN23v24IJZjP3KmFUmykrMHDWAFr4rx19zv_M0v1TED8nFA/s320/DSCN0240.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 4: Haul off logs and chip brush for mulch from felled trees</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Step 5: Put chips on high bush blueberries.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzL_C_TEqm0iJz_-y-i6yBzNyYSbIYlzveagZLW3tu-HpwlT5h8lIuuINNNicGWCetoFhld02ixcaB5gDX8o9dzNOO69759rTxx3BwGzJ1P-Mj0GBOz0PMHSIAZpKKoPUmLoGZ1qqrU339/s1600/DSCN0251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzL_C_TEqm0iJz_-y-i6yBzNyYSbIYlzveagZLW3tu-HpwlT5h8lIuuINNNicGWCetoFhld02ixcaB5gDX8o9dzNOO69759rTxx3BwGzJ1P-Mj0GBOz0PMHSIAZpKKoPUmLoGZ1qqrU339/s320/DSCN0251.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More chipping.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbrjMhlZHtLZi9cDrxw6lE6FNhCqcSgw8ueALQ1M1talGTAZvJhDiA6uqhWswUNuZ1jT2dv6-sFeLcrY00vrXfbiKQ0UpxNO_SQ5WrrZ6f2hUlkKk-YZMsAuO_nsyPYaXS_Y2wjDZnkBo4/s1600/DSCN0271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbrjMhlZHtLZi9cDrxw6lE6FNhCqcSgw8ueALQ1M1talGTAZvJhDiA6uqhWswUNuZ1jT2dv6-sFeLcrY00vrXfbiKQ0UpxNO_SQ5WrrZ6f2hUlkKk-YZMsAuO_nsyPYaXS_Y2wjDZnkBo4/s320/DSCN0271.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After step 6, plowing and disking the orchard site, comes step 7: planting party!!!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQjebwWvk4tXSRUfKGwbUSbIr9HuBJ5FFH4-7E_HiiDHjtkd_aUp9IWbrAyK7mG6cwLX4AutiMc4v5h7mwXWNHfn-3Zu8G9SI3bs8e3ZyUUaNuWcKWLliBuB7BWGg95S1nsvOi_FSuugVz/s1600/DSCN0274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQjebwWvk4tXSRUfKGwbUSbIr9HuBJ5FFH4-7E_HiiDHjtkd_aUp9IWbrAyK7mG6cwLX4AutiMc4v5h7mwXWNHfn-3Zu8G9SI3bs8e3ZyUUaNuWcKWLliBuB7BWGg95S1nsvOi_FSuugVz/s320/DSCN0274.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Women labeling trees.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjX68Uy42YIWdJ6qHYLZ70cqjlP6dX-ASykB0VcxOM9sAdDDly24kgUyNToMy_5jVj0KDvM0Wjad5SljipLDrK9D0jUioLCwLnNEeVYZ_cRIZu_o0xlHdY2GyOYh3gCBDhDmrKuEB5Xq5v/s1600/DSCN0276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjX68Uy42YIWdJ6qHYLZ70cqjlP6dX-ASykB0VcxOM9sAdDDly24kgUyNToMy_5jVj0KDvM0Wjad5SljipLDrK9D0jUioLCwLnNEeVYZ_cRIZu_o0xlHdY2GyOYh3gCBDhDmrKuEB5Xq5v/s320/DSCN0276.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree planting lesson.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3aPIZdqxQqnitzuVobaMeEZmb9ZOEYJmyAqiWqyOhqZ2H8rTFlPyOVAOxlw6OytW34eqtkCi2eJ9hTTYbUmbrAWoo77-SHWW-j59AEKxwkQ9Ih9Y3A7lAO_2nk0HRRHS0zeiDsF0uKfV/s1600/DSCN0277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3aPIZdqxQqnitzuVobaMeEZmb9ZOEYJmyAqiWqyOhqZ2H8rTFlPyOVAOxlw6OytW34eqtkCi2eJ9hTTYbUmbrAWoo77-SHWW-j59AEKxwkQ9Ih9Y3A7lAO_2nk0HRRHS0zeiDsF0uKfV/s320/DSCN0277.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trees ready to go in the ground.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndecSHiLx2EMfLLJEiDo7xf01tAyy17_QJA64M8rqN_T_hXxcM2rj0acXl9-dOV3nyxAp4Q5UAL1mHZba7F3bIs9sekYlZHMjLh_0pFy1yGIrg4I_jGN_Vur32WFeJnFnGHfUea1y-8bC/s1600/DSCN0282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndecSHiLx2EMfLLJEiDo7xf01tAyy17_QJA64M8rqN_T_hXxcM2rj0acXl9-dOV3nyxAp4Q5UAL1mHZba7F3bIs9sekYlZHMjLh_0pFy1yGIrg4I_jGN_Vur32WFeJnFnGHfUea1y-8bC/s320/DSCN0282.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tyler doing last minute disking in the orchard's Moody plot.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLysLYuql0rALeg_CIyCM0eMWgaza9zQ2N5P8m_IAE12eoBXw1zY43XY7AQyHKqHONjZ0oIcGllhjKzD7TJogtAKTqANCe5uBut3APgiZpwu1auR7A8aiYHezm3LgZRRNEszcfJsoyeD4/s1600/DSCN0289.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLysLYuql0rALeg_CIyCM0eMWgaza9zQ2N5P8m_IAE12eoBXw1zY43XY7AQyHKqHONjZ0oIcGllhjKzD7TJogtAKTqANCe5uBut3APgiZpwu1auR7A8aiYHezm3LgZRRNEszcfJsoyeD4/s320/DSCN0289.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cousins sleeping.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crew on cider break, day one.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP30_j5xkgY9TK3MT92XzsZ9YswJVCpbpi9Zdtm7XlpbmZ1vA8oovGoknH39x6Z8B4_sC1F4z9KXbXPp2cPWybz0xXKsBzdBBitI4LK8JsiM0uLWlipZUQhduhUzAPEKw1D5keD_gixUd9/s320/IMG_0067.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last tree goes in the ground!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBo9ba4QcDJ6V20h_Hg4YTVzdIkh-Hb5oi9gT8gtrtDRErTt9XkUeQaNBy0tTXsP-LErjz4kCvrWlH6DMnaFCvIW-ImRxxZ_mM95dlg774Rg-ESr1gF_v47B4Kiw7WCtT4GlRVcXsik5QE/s320/IMG_0068.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victorious! The crew, day 2.</td></tr>
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Thank you so much to all who helped with this wild endeavor. </div>North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-82247804157859478722012-04-21T02:56:00.003-07:002012-04-21T02:56:44.022-07:00April Fool's and beyond<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Friends, Neighbors and Family!</div>
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Three short weeks ago, on April 1st, 2012, the Gawler parents arrived to set us and our barn roof straight. Equipped with safety gear of all kinds, they inspired us (once again!) to be more cautious on the job--and more lighthearted--as John whipped out the milk room roof while Ellen landscaped and cooked a hearty meal.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8r4rdEEdKcF0mw7dfHCQyWJQYUisEHQNXe5FEJ8ncSQhthBRnCXCwf8EBvYGQIS69BO6lwZH3bBjPPzXHIxEtAqkMXwCLW7fB7wOWF3D-CD_dIiD5hL7rT6W4Ye6hbDM4Hp_WjMcBMfzQ/s320/DSCI0194.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="213" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bare essentials of metal roofing personal gear: hard hats, safety goggles, fire extinguishers and first aid kits.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUNSGFneYsAWCRR3P0sLLq-ZhUveM-2jcCrdTfFHIaaIPZo_e4nSyMkPLbNu6MuRKAYtEraKyhX2IFQhSgbR-gbb0aSDjoMA4sc3eAVjhB5kWS3XESplNygyJf8Q6-gZnMDhfBXYdHKuu/s1600/DSCI0192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUNSGFneYsAWCRR3P0sLLq-ZhUveM-2jcCrdTfFHIaaIPZo_e4nSyMkPLbNu6MuRKAYtEraKyhX2IFQhSgbR-gbb0aSDjoMA4sc3eAVjhB5kWS3XESplNygyJf8Q6-gZnMDhfBXYdHKuu/s320/DSCI0192.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barn roof rescue squad and OSHA inspectors</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMf4y_GEfVWopfekptkNLXZYZdmMwxlRZwJanu5fYsuGl4IrQPUqnnUXQED30W1QPgRdoSrOuMQOyBhyphenhyphenC2oWv55q5i-JcP7UrivzOjU4uYHCmklgQN4C5pX0MAH7GvVoCgXBws0YbvN3K7/s1600/DSCN0208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMf4y_GEfVWopfekptkNLXZYZdmMwxlRZwJanu5fYsuGl4IrQPUqnnUXQED30W1QPgRdoSrOuMQOyBhyphenhyphenC2oWv55q5i-JcP7UrivzOjU4uYHCmklgQN4C5pX0MAH7GvVoCgXBws0YbvN3K7/s320/DSCN0208.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our newest calf, a bull, born to the second Canadian Jersey</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPX9KhZaHA-lxivlnDTMmtpWMiA-9_4n_I2CBg2Vjcs-nFclky2VtsRa2k0sV8KcR1h-w7n8idrr5106u2EpIw9gDdw6pxXVIuDCT87dun3jiJS24yNQZusTksnuQ40YxaAClB_u4xLAf8/s1600/DSCN0216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPX9KhZaHA-lxivlnDTMmtpWMiA-9_4n_I2CBg2Vjcs-nFclky2VtsRa2k0sV8KcR1h-w7n8idrr5106u2EpIw9gDdw6pxXVIuDCT87dun3jiJS24yNQZusTksnuQ40YxaAClB_u4xLAf8/s320/DSCN0216.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Onions & Elsie on March 31st</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Onions on April 3rd</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seth's grafting set-up</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7GodekPjhxRehatnvD06oei5pQZEUUECICyeT-ClaM6Dj91-GAR9qTc9i2P0oErK2i6U6kHrv1Im8lz01Pno-XlKzQqJ-UDRXoVKeYWpCCJlnk9kMGJeNSmNZkotbIYN0yEzukStMZxQk/s1600/DSCN0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7GodekPjhxRehatnvD06oei5pQZEUUECICyeT-ClaM6Dj91-GAR9qTc9i2P0oErK2i6U6kHrv1Im8lz01Pno-XlKzQqJ-UDRXoVKeYWpCCJlnk9kMGJeNSmNZkotbIYN0yEzukStMZxQk/s320/DSCN0229.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our enchanted farm!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-45695857481623502852012-03-18T11:07:00.001-07:002012-03-18T11:07:05.129-07:00Alliums<style>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first March snowstorm (of two so far)</td></tr>
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About two weeks ago we seeded our entire 2012 crop of onions
and leeks in the annual edition of the North Branch Minifarm. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna seeding leeks</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minh filling the water tub</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leek seeds in their mini trenches</td></tr>
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<span></span> We have over eighty 11”x21” trays full of
potting soil and thousands of seeds, furiously putting out radicles (we hope)
and starting to push their little green hairpins up out of the dirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since our greenhouse is way bigger than we
need for seedlings, and way bigger than we can easily heat, we plasticked off a
kind of room within the greenhouse to be the seedling zone, and in there we
have 9 mesh-top tables, a potting bench, a woodstove, and barrels full of
hundreds of gallons of water to help moderate the temperature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On cold nights we have to get up and stoke
the woodstove through the night, and on warm days we have to open ventilate it
as much as possible so it doesn’t get too hot, but given that our onion
seedlings seem to be thriving, I think it’s working out.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The seedling room, looking down towards the woodstove.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_0Wb2-0yKG26guasffyOBouivIRxxvTgORk9mIVn77jyOyjjMyznSSZTWCRWEyjdBCQb249MIq1vm56fnrdz41RxSd_ErWfHS-w0ANUQAAuG8xOYlrK_7a0d_DELfMaZ2nbHoDyuCwUl/s1600/DSCN0054.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_0Wb2-0yKG26guasffyOBouivIRxxvTgORk9mIVn77jyOyjjMyznSSZTWCRWEyjdBCQb249MIq1vm56fnrdz41RxSd_ErWfHS-w0ANUQAAuG8xOYlrK_7a0d_DELfMaZ2nbHoDyuCwUl/s320/DSCN0054.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lettuce and spinach seedlings for the home garden.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Onion knees, the miniature cousins of cypress knees.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span>
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<span style="color: black;">The new cow we’re milking—our
Canadian Jersey—acts like a cow should: calm, placid, overall so…bovine,
especially in contrast to our American “Milking” Devons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She stays with her calf through the days, and
we separate them at night so we can milk her for a gallon and a half or two of
sweet Jersey milk every morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
rest of her herd-mates are still out in the back field, happily chomping on old
round bales and sipping from the stream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbkKTeQVhcvcm39x9PMVQk-kksFB5A18zWTWfWIopGQX8dR198ed1gmRboErCiGCKBvtsnYZIe38f2u0AEFd-Utgh_w-e4LQxQRsTmwKKs8vqx9aa1jkbPbuFJR03jPSLIyk__o9d9ZJt/s1600/DSCN0029.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbkKTeQVhcvcm39x9PMVQk-kksFB5A18zWTWfWIopGQX8dR198ed1gmRboErCiGCKBvtsnYZIe38f2u0AEFd-Utgh_w-e4LQxQRsTmwKKs8vqx9aa1jkbPbuFJR03jPSLIyk__o9d9ZJt/s320/DSCN0029.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black;"><span> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Elsie and I dug the first spring parsnips yesterday, and I
chopped them into matchsticks, tossed them with miso and olive oil and baked
them for Chris’ birthday dinner last night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They wintered well, but the ground’s still frozen solid below about six
inches so many beautiful parsnips lost their elegant tails as we dug them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After temperatures above 50<span style="color: black;">°F during the days and above freezing at night in this
week’s forecast, I think we’ll be able to dig parsnips and maybe even carrots by
next weekend.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Tyler, Gilbert, and our apprentice Willie spent most of
yesterday re-wiring the barn in preparation for becoming an official milking
operation and also for being able to see in the barn at night without a
headlamp (ah, modernity).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The milk room
is almost totally gutted and ready to be renovated, and the next cow due to
calve is starting to bag up, according to Tyler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This farm will be seeing its first commercial
milk sales for almost thirty years in the not-to-distant future; right now we
plan to sell our cows’ milk to Fuzzy Udder Creamery, owned and run by the
intrepid Jessie Dowling in Unity, ME.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Willie’s putting in his last week with us before he heads back over to Village
Farm, where he will work for a second season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I think he wins the “most manure moved in one week so far” award for
2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not glamorous, by any means, but
absolutely crucial.</div>
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The sheep are scheduled to be sheared by Tyler, Elsie, and
friends on Wednesday, after which I think they will enjoy their greenhouse
lodgings much more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These days, I often
go into the greenhouse with Ada to check the temperature in the seedling house
and find the poor woolly ewes in the east half panting and lying around
lethargically, their huge fleeces sprouting out from under their army-surplus-canvas
sheep-jackets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ram we have on loan—Gregory
Bateson—is new to being a dad, but if he did his job we’ll have around fourteen
lambs in the next month or so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And not
too long after that, it will be the season of baby lambs sproinking around in
the new, green grass!</div>North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-81967511977913767212012-02-27T12:54:00.001-08:002012-02-27T12:54:40.911-08:00Cow World Hay-Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello friends, farmers, and eaters far and wide!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgirHixcmF1kAgfa7GbdmdsRRHHmR_9ROyPIS3e4-GjjGIWwanmLxWD9krt8L_lTKhY3XdHhOMeLCM9AI7H2slpWBJSX7nhMTgzZZ2k9o0cpo6xD-ESUpD3PsoRQX7xpDxMyX0CzGxHO5ym/s1600/P1260018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
There's much to catch up on for the last couple of months. Life on the farm is good, but what has gotten us this far, you might wonder?<br />
<br />
On the Cow Front: <br />
These days I say the cows are all Home on the Range. We had many many round bales out in the back field that we didn't bring into the barn before winter, so rather than the traditional New England winter cow plan (cows live in barn, humans feed hay, humans bring water, humans shovel endless piles of manure), we set up an electric fence around the whole back field, including a bit of a stream and some woods, and the cows are all out there together running around, eating, drinking, and spreading their own darn manure. Sometimes we walk out there and when we arrive not a single bovine meets the eye. Soon though, we see them plowing out of the undergrowth from their safe haven from wind and snow among the trees. There's something a little out-of-the-ordinary about seeing cows roaming in a forest, but they seem to like it a lot and the Holsteins have gotten a taste for pine needles. And when they are out in the field, they find themselves in a cow all-you-can-eat buffet (if all you want to eat is hay), and when they get bored they can charge the bales and beat them to a pulp, which is better than when they're cooped up in a barn and usually end up taking out their cabin fever on each other. It seems to be a system well-suited to this winter of very little snow.<br />
<br />
While Seth, Ada and I were away, the cows were busy multiplying (not sexually, though, that we know of). Our friend and helper from winter 2010-2011, Graham, moved his cows to our farm. His crew consists of Jerry, a Guernsey oxen, Buddy and Pal, a team of milking shorthorns, and two Holstein steers. Tyler then purchased three black Angus: a steer, a young heifer, and a bred heifer. Then he went and bought two bred Canadian Jerseys--determined by ultrasound to be due late March, and to be pregnant with girls--who joined the herd a week and a half ago. Well, much to our surprise, one of the new Jerseys delivered a healthy bull calf yesterday. Not what we expected, but not too bad either! We now have twenty-five cows on the hoof and about seven in utero.<br />
<br />
On the People Front:<br />
Ada, Seth and I drove south mid-January, spent a couple weeks with my
lovely family in Chapel Hill, NC; drove to Liberty, SC to buy an old,
small and rust-less Toyota pick-up; spent a week in Celo, NC with
friends and then Seth headed down to be with family in Alabama and
Atlanta while Ada and I took a leisurely drive north with my sister,
Mary Kate, an able and witty driving companion. Seth made it back here
the day after I did, after driving 22 hours in two days. We landed back
in our new house and have been so pleased to return to our beautiful,
bountiful home.<br />
<br />
Less than a week after we returned, Tyler and Elsie headed out on a whirlwind tour of northeastern farms that use horsepower or that otherwise piqued their interest. They checked out Greyrock Farm in Cazenovia, NY; Natural Roots in Conway, MA; Northland Sheep Dairy in Marathon, NY and others. I am pleased to report Tyler and Elsie did not defect to any of these other exciting and innovative places but returned to their sweet little home in Monroe to keep at the hard work of starting up a diversified operation on a previously neglected farm. <br />
<br />
Sometimes it can be challenging to keep a perspective on the extent to which we are pushing ourselves, but I think that going away every once in a while--whether to see other farms or other families--helps us to both farm better and live better. When friends would ask us, on our travels, what we were doing on the farm, we'd barely start to answer before they would start look at us like we were crazy. So, in case you are wondering what we're doing, here's the quick run-down of what comes to mind right now:<br />
Cows: Milking seven cows in summer 2012 to supply a local cheesemaker. Raising three cows to slaughter this fall. Bottle-feeding six calves. Making hay to keep all thirty-two cows plus sheep and draft horses fed through winter 2012-2013.<br />
Pigs: Raising one pig for slaughter this spring. Raising two or three pigs for slaughter late fall.<br />
Vegetables: Growing storage crops for fifty winter CSA shares and one or two winter farmers' markets, using only horses and hand-power. Growing vegetables to keep us all nourished through the summer. Plowing another couple acres to rotate into vegetables after cover-cropping. Setting up an irrigation system. Becoming USDA Organic.<br />
Fruit: Erecting an orchard fence 2800' long and eight feet high. Cutting 250 cedar posts for the fence. Planting a four-acre apple orchard. Keeping one acre of high bush blueberries cultivated and mulched. Grafting 5000 young fruit trees and planting them in the nursery.<br />
Sheep: Seven ewes pregnant, due with 14 lambs this spring to raise for meat and fiber. Expecting to have a breeding flock of twelve to fourteen in 2013.<br />
Infrastructure: Milling lumber to build a 32'x80' pole barn to house horse equipment and our sawmill. Finishing the roof on the barn and milkroom. Getting cedar shingle siding on the barn and the new house. Digging a small pond to irrigate vegetables. Many, many other projects too numerous to list.<br />
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And, not least of all, taking care of each other, having fun, scheming & dreaming, cultivating good relationships with our significant others, playing music, singing, and raising our young ones with love and playfulness! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTC5JwzQwOnCAe0nm-XK9V5-KGKFnQ6iROqYJDfdFO3Zu5Axx0TxCc3b1Ym-d6dBmM8alzpHb-oZFcUXVPgn36h3lpLPlm31onsi353G7OVj66rXncwEJx24wAshwfwOdfQCyyfAXwIJH5/s1600/P1070013.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTC5JwzQwOnCAe0nm-XK9V5-KGKFnQ6iROqYJDfdFO3Zu5Axx0TxCc3b1Ym-d6dBmM8alzpHb-oZFcUXVPgn36h3lpLPlm31onsi353G7OVj66rXncwEJx24wAshwfwOdfQCyyfAXwIJH5/s320/P1070013.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ada rebelling happily against her momma's wishes at the tender age of 16 months. Pantsless in the snow, AGAIN!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-87195146359390415592012-01-05T11:45:00.000-08:002012-01-05T11:45:35.225-08:002012 Debut<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A quick run-down of the last month and a half:</div>
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-We killed three pigs and two steers for meat, and Seth shot his first buck on the last day of hunting season. Our freezers are overflowing with meat. Help us! Eat it!</div>
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-Dolly, our Haflinger draft pony, became very ill and had to be put down. We miss her.</div>
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-We made buckets and buckets of sauerkraut and fermented ginger carrots with our new shredder-grater attachment for the Hobart mixer. Yummm...</div>
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-A new helper around the farm, Willie (formerly of Village Farm in Freedom), is giving us a hand and hoping to work with Tyler on logging with draft horses and milling lumber.</div>
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-our friend and housemate Chris Williams is splitting every last eligible stick of firewood on the farm in return for his room and board. In his free time he is teaching himself leather belt-making, playing with Ada and baking delicious cheesecake.</div>
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-We are mostly subsisting on a diet of meat stews and sauerkraut, with eggs thrown in for variety, and are enjoying it and feeling healthier than ever.</div>
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-Seth, Ada and I moved into our New House. We are reveling in Not Driving Anywhere for days at a time.</div>
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-The farmhouse residents (Tyler, Gib, Elsie, and Chris) insulated the ceiling of that house and have enjoyed a much-improved interior climate ever since.</div>
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Hope all is well in your lives in the new year--take care. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ada eating her first snowball while we make applesauce and apple butter.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-TVgu6EXeCm1OTfcrlfXeUzimw0RE9cW-B3-Pzt2i_NuLGFuZQC5Mh3MkciAU5JR3CWtFAwEO1R9X6eaOAiuEwetTApzNKoeCMEcKrqNI32nUK1VfJN0MElDF8JGabTcNRGHjcLtZrxb/s1600/PB280008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5-TVgu6EXeCm1OTfcrlfXeUzimw0RE9cW-B3-Pzt2i_NuLGFuZQC5Mh3MkciAU5JR3CWtFAwEO1R9X6eaOAiuEwetTApzNKoeCMEcKrqNI32nUK1VfJN0MElDF8JGabTcNRGHjcLtZrxb/s320/PB280008.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hams, bacon, and deer jerky smoking in the smokehouse, newly relocated to the farm.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiA8jqOvNsuvfAwZGuQly2ipqvHRb_euzJdq1AGuKbGuTizqIogmrLsRgJOorUmKJ4hjBj9giFJ23aE9aFpVHzD3tfeBF3Ytt25l8D1ptxYOyf6NqYCMP7RHGylXaH9f5UM0BTjZ0K-yki/s1600/IMG_2197.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiA8jqOvNsuvfAwZGuQly2ipqvHRb_euzJdq1AGuKbGuTizqIogmrLsRgJOorUmKJ4hjBj9giFJ23aE9aFpVHzD3tfeBF3Ytt25l8D1ptxYOyf6NqYCMP7RHGylXaH9f5UM0BTjZ0K-yki/s320/IMG_2197.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Winter CSA (this was pick-up #3) in full swing in our redecorated and re-purposed mudroom.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFs1hpW1QT3I0HRsK8ZwfV-gj98hDB8DGHCNicWByCgvuPepa-RLj4DYdEN2ovqlzDf9A8ec5xejGZAQ9Z5tHG4t4cbyetxlx4AWZCGKc6cUGoOO1vIr9OFx6EaQr0PdWAErrk0Sqmh-jq/s1600/IMG_2189.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFs1hpW1QT3I0HRsK8ZwfV-gj98hDB8DGHCNicWByCgvuPepa-RLj4DYdEN2ovqlzDf9A8ec5xejGZAQ9Z5tHG4t4cbyetxlx4AWZCGKc6cUGoOO1vIr9OFx6EaQr0PdWAErrk0Sqmh-jq/s320/IMG_2189.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harvesting parsnips before the ground freezes up.</td></tr>
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<br />North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-83861820312006210152011-11-24T15:12:00.001-08:002011-11-24T15:21:13.445-08:00November's Elixir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br />Last week, Elsie, Chris, Minh, Ada and I all headed over to Paul Bernacky's Wayback Farm in Belmont with 18 bushels of apples and a lot of empty buckets and came back with...CIDER!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqydWtlt9Xhqz9HOsitvOQVq9C-lbOxaW3gWYhITW-hOqR_ebRHNqgH1Lmnc6quDlCTbh_gfnHRXb0SKz0VBRorBzIpWT3eD7BdB0YE5lBwcq1_afbWYf-vXUKOCEwFBANKHhN3jHqUgD/s1600/IMG_4739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqydWtlt9Xhqz9HOsitvOQVq9C-lbOxaW3gWYhITW-hOqR_ebRHNqgH1Lmnc6quDlCTbh_gfnHRXb0SKz0VBRorBzIpWT3eD7BdB0YE5lBwcq1_afbWYf-vXUKOCEwFBANKHhN3jHqUgD/s320/IMG_4739.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the cider on our way out</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkNl6ojXQeWwB037khN7tfQ5yhPStCOiVwGmt_kfInTja8SRNi9NpmJmABvsmulHTzEliuGMCU39nNQj5UTJijNYZIjehYxwefYfoE6y7qn9oUqfg82o7RlHcPi9NZiBDec4rL3s7ZXVz/s1600/IMG_4725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqkNl6ojXQeWwB037khN7tfQ5yhPStCOiVwGmt_kfInTja8SRNi9NpmJmABvsmulHTzEliuGMCU39nNQj5UTJijNYZIjehYxwefYfoE6y7qn9oUqfg82o7RlHcPi9NZiBDec4rL3s7ZXVz/s320/IMG_4725.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filling buckets with cider.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_b_-uBZvk1DoAGYBZ0ROqL8oKlSwWgmZLzF6mRTa8NM6A4uXjvnfZL1JAkfeuI1em1YhLF02YAVqEiUcMk9yToCCnECWbml5gpydb6qcrXwXX_8gyYwjokXS2vtFBTq9RAJKRRd4s23i9/s1600/IMG_4724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_b_-uBZvk1DoAGYBZ0ROqL8oKlSwWgmZLzF6mRTa8NM6A4uXjvnfZL1JAkfeuI1em1YhLF02YAVqEiUcMk9yToCCnECWbml5gpydb6qcrXwXX_8gyYwjokXS2vtFBTq9RAJKRRd4s23i9/s320/IMG_4724.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole cider-barn-contraption, running off a belt from the tractor.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8q-w-Xgc02xrHLk3Tke3nTxoGlmVKHvKRZw8jqWcV4TB-KySi9fAe5xsNXxRXKRfGYFhJC0VOr1YjH3hKUeMjothmhepTEQ_LF8_jz3MlzUc62eLhOugL-tyR5U7LREbYYC_eg9hAHHpB/s1600/IMG_4718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8q-w-Xgc02xrHLk3Tke3nTxoGlmVKHvKRZw8jqWcV4TB-KySi9fAe5xsNXxRXKRfGYFhJC0VOr1YjH3hKUeMjothmhepTEQ_LF8_jz3MlzUc62eLhOugL-tyR5U7LREbYYC_eg9hAHHpB/s320/IMG_4718.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Juice starting to trickle out of the press</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxC0X_5aARclc1vbplHRkKlVmbuNuz6Vb_8MeHPYSq9srnQuduZ31hPsRboMcPbaWkQ3QlhuOxE441pHDXI2kckGlVCQy0LU86tRhZql3JaWyzVz6XBECJY1JqanjVJGobQzhg2MgSzCWn/s1600/IMG_4713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxC0X_5aARclc1vbplHRkKlVmbuNuz6Vb_8MeHPYSq9srnQuduZ31hPsRboMcPbaWkQ3QlhuOxE441pHDXI2kckGlVCQy0LU86tRhZql3JaWyzVz6XBECJY1JqanjVJGobQzhg2MgSzCWn/s320/IMG_4713.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Minh and Elsie letting out the first bit of cider that came out while filling the cloths.</td></tr>
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<br />North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-54809471804368286852011-11-14T05:22:00.001-08:002011-11-14T05:40:57.256-08:00CSA and Barrel Washer<br />
This time a week ago, we were madly painting, harvesting, re-organizing, and setting up our new barrel washer in preparation for the our inaugural winter CSA pick-up for our 33 members who we support in the noble challenge of eating healthfully, locally, and seasonally through the winter months. We had a boomingly successful first pick-up day and are already looking forward to the next one. The enjoyment we get from people coming to our farm and getting excited about our vegetables is topped only by the feeling of satisfaction we get afterwards thinking about our food being eaten across the state. Below are a couple photos of the assembly of the root washer inside the little greenhouse we built for it:<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDudItRhOi4XziUWlSJzYKqiskLRaWvhhZMl_kugtSDPPsRpLrKsBXWop1GloE6ih2Uhm9OsVd-sHD6ONl0lGhzazPBHLzf0XdQ5WWIiTHNDYPrLuEXNKYgkS8jDhIiOYSLW7FzuC6o7L/s1600/PB020007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDudItRhOi4XziUWlSJzYKqiskLRaWvhhZMl_kugtSDPPsRpLrKsBXWop1GloE6ih2Uhm9OsVd-sHD6ONl0lGhzazPBHLzf0XdQ5WWIiTHNDYPrLuEXNKYgkS8jDhIiOYSLW7FzuC6o7L/s320/PB020007.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seth screwing on the slats of the barrel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGOgmBcLZSnaKPVBkbyrmVUeHgc75583pQAly7hJqdaFhylsXbHz6S6_bqHrLnvsRHo3t7FJ3kj4VgQp7DKSwmEjp3UIKFeeFPh-JI19SB0emgrDAkWsNdUCxs95KX8xTOfHUlv_W8qyV/s1600/PB020006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAGOgmBcLZSnaKPVBkbyrmVUeHgc75583pQAly7hJqdaFhylsXbHz6S6_bqHrLnvsRHo3t7FJ3kj4VgQp7DKSwmEjp3UIKFeeFPh-JI19SB0emgrDAkWsNdUCxs95KX8xTOfHUlv_W8qyV/s320/PB020006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the greenhouse built onto a rock wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkkOzToH8-Jas5tOeI8CL5nwNf37b1XcUB0WWIho1_L5iHHI7uegUa1ij5Ljbg51Lk6rmOfT8vi91Pp86GA33ncGpvN1UZiXv_YMrJB0upu36PPzB2VG023NzoWnLzeCZmz1vNY8OXnGn/s1600/PB030009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkkOzToH8-Jas5tOeI8CL5nwNf37b1XcUB0WWIho1_L5iHHI7uegUa1ij5Ljbg51Lk6rmOfT8vi91Pp86GA33ncGpvN1UZiXv_YMrJB0upu36PPzB2VG023NzoWnLzeCZmz1vNY8OXnGn/s320/PB030009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...looking down the barrel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLj7uDsAXEnUykT1fvAiij509OHlNi8QF04LXUJofvTyBcIgSU7OtG8oszOe_vEW8amVIBojO4xeG_3oHGGxJMecLWPAwqwvhG_kOgNUor2BxNRgHYYb_9au09353jJkVnCNZ2ihseXFe4/s1600/PA130001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLj7uDsAXEnUykT1fvAiij509OHlNi8QF04LXUJofvTyBcIgSU7OtG8oszOe_vEW8amVIBojO4xeG_3oHGGxJMecLWPAwqwvhG_kOgNUor2BxNRgHYYb_9au09353jJkVnCNZ2ihseXFe4/s320/PA130001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And here's Ada, asleep during an applesauce making party.</td></tr>
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<br />North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1928036849323141971.post-73154762038370181552011-11-05T07:30:00.000-07:002011-11-05T07:31:24.187-07:00Woodmizer encore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8nFNKDOsB100kBBqOePOjexhajODeQ93PkPZ_D1joBgngzfaGkA9l3GDiymnR6FFjHjpMG0F54cM53gg6kDvBolXUCPFFM42lox8snwqy6ANvdr6JzN49e08KA0iTj67zwfaXQ2egxb_/s1600/IMG_2280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ8nFNKDOsB100kBBqOePOjexhajODeQ93PkPZ_D1joBgngzfaGkA9l3GDiymnR6FFjHjpMG0F54cM53gg6kDvBolXUCPFFM42lox8snwqy6ANvdr6JzN49e08KA0iTj67zwfaXQ2egxb_/s320/IMG_2280.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Greetings, everyone!<br />
In the press this month, Seth and Tyler made the front page of the monthly magazine Acres USA, "The voice of eco-agriculture," as stars of an article on the profitability of portable sawmills. You can't read the article online, but email me at northbranchfarm(dot)monroe(at)gmail(dot)com and I can forward you the pdf if you're interested. The barn floor, which we were in the process of re-boarding at the time the article was written, is now finished and we danced on it at our wedding and then loaded it up with round bales of hay the next week.<br />
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The sawmill has seen a lot of use lately: Seth milled up 13-foot long hemlock strapping which we bent around a jig and used to form frames for a wooden, gothic-arch shaped greenhouse. This greenhouse will shelter the <a href="http://www.grindstonefarm.com/Go.aspx/Root-Crop-Washers">barrel root washer</a> for which we purchased a kit from Grindstone Farm in NY and will hopefully be assembling later today! Unfortunately, our only 13-foot long sawlog was at the bottom of a large pile of hemlock, so rather than moving all those logs aside, Seth just milled his way to the bottom of the heap and got us a nice, large stack of two-by lumber as a byproduct of building our little 20'x12' greenhouse.<br />
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November's coming along fast and hard, and here at North Branch Farm
we have been taking advantage of a nearly endless stretch of crisp,
sunny days to get our winter storage crops harvested and packed away
into the root cellar. Our harvest started way back in July with garlic, then moved on in September to onions and squash.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-UuTxc8tPwG8uVO8zSLUPnHtA1MuGO9fdf7fQIWTbk1kIkJv_EKBm3yq7C2RLHqBq3eZv0XkHw4L2cN8GYJRsJVNvUL57V8AFJwDCBiwgKbC_WJNFPPTTTiL1ZO5VkrJggUe0BNNlbmN/s1600/IMG_2721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-UuTxc8tPwG8uVO8zSLUPnHtA1MuGO9fdf7fQIWTbk1kIkJv_EKBm3yq7C2RLHqBq3eZv0XkHw4L2cN8GYJRsJVNvUL57V8AFJwDCBiwgKbC_WJNFPPTTTiL1ZO5VkrJggUe0BNNlbmN/s320/IMG_2721.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris and Anna and Eric load squash onto the horse-drawn haywagon before a supposed hard frost that didn't happen.</td></tr>
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In October we cleared out our cellar and brought in the bulk of the harvest: carrots, cabbage, rutabagas, beets, leeks, celeriac, and apples. We've been packing most of our crops into bulb crates for storage, and they've proven great for just about everything; not only do they haul vegetables well, they can also be used to carry firewood, laundry, lunch food, books, and just about anything else on the farm. They stack great, they're sturdy, they're lightweight, and they're easy to clean. One drawback: they're plastic. Someday we'll get back to wood.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgsmJ85zJVGVOvdRFnZZN7iB81CAlpNpYwOgoYoe1g0wvgDwkWexeEZM7oKrk1_zV_NnZD4YLdsvbcrAsB6EOGjhb1rz6SJLOSq4CjlnS9o_hR8kzqfHpMR2Jol1vOc5Buy_2MKxatzUS/s1600/IMG_2776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgsmJ85zJVGVOvdRFnZZN7iB81CAlpNpYwOgoYoe1g0wvgDwkWexeEZM7oKrk1_zV_NnZD4YLdsvbcrAsB6EOGjhb1rz6SJLOSq4CjlnS9o_hR8kzqfHpMR2Jol1vOc5Buy_2MKxatzUS/s320/IMG_2776.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bolero carrots, a storage hybrid from Johnny's Selected Seeds.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cvvuq_srM_9utno09xTmUev5G9MPdmws6MlTWp77lSSJrIORVaiej4FHbia09xf8pEK5Py4Q3vsnBHB9_9zPClgWNvDdRJ1A8bq7YLhaexuqZ1hbr4-fP_ummiaqbTeoBJf4zSoXtExu/s1600/IMG_2787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0cvvuq_srM_9utno09xTmUev5G9MPdmws6MlTWp77lSSJrIORVaiej4FHbia09xf8pEK5Py4Q3vsnBHB9_9zPClgWNvDdRJ1A8bq7YLhaexuqZ1hbr4-fP_ummiaqbTeoBJf4zSoXtExu/s320/IMG_2787.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mammoth Red Rock cabbage, from Fedco Seeds. Our green storage cabbages are Bartolo from Fedco and Storage No. 4 from Johnny's.</td></tr>
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The last two days have been potato-harvesting days. Using our little old horsedrawn potato-digger, we dug up the quarter acre of potatoes then sorted and picked them up by hand. </div>
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The potatoes had a rough year between the wire worms, late blight, scab, hollow heart and lots and lots of rain, but due to our enthusiastic over-planting we will still have more good-quality potatoes than we need for our CSA and ourselves. And the 2500 lbs of culled potatoes? We plan to eat them while they're still good, then set up a cooker outside and boil them for our four pigs. I was inspired by reading a little James Herriot this summer and in one of his collections of short stories he tells how the old farmhouse compound he lived in, in England, not only had a built-in pigsty, but that pigsty had a built-in wood-fired cooker in order to cook up potatoes and other pig food. Our pigs will surely appreciate hot boiled potatoes on a cold fall day, if we can figure out a system that works well and doesn't get anyone scalded.</div>
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Finally, for a different perspective on things, here are a few pictures of our area and North Branch Farm from Elsie and Tyler's ride in Elsie's dad's plane:</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Belfast</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mount Waldo</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hub of the farm: barn and silo, greenhouse, old house, new house, veggie fields.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0raW7IPrhqm1QxFVEX-eAKaa_xzVRvINBz1w1yGkXYIUT2DGTl1ubKfvvhBlFFh_MDXhI_KXslZvKOj5KCUPaejh7uvSXGTnkPWpR1fqLTvXXxAD1ISXtmZCY824aAkfrCodKltUigO4/s1600/IMG_2748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0raW7IPrhqm1QxFVEX-eAKaa_xzVRvINBz1w1yGkXYIUT2DGTl1ubKfvvhBlFFh_MDXhI_KXslZvKOj5KCUPaejh7uvSXGTnkPWpR1fqLTvXXxAD1ISXtmZCY824aAkfrCodKltUigO4/s320/IMG_2748.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The farm from much higher</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">So...until the next time, stay warm and eat well.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>North Branch Farmershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00812513986146994910noreply@blogger.com0