1st Farmers' Market

I am so excited to report that the 1st Beaufort Farmers' Market was a huge success!  The crowd was waiting for us to open at 9 and we saw a steady stream of customers until around 1030 when things started to slow down.  I sold every bit of produce I had except for 3 onions and a few bunches of herbs! The other artists at my table, Susie Willis, Brian Wright, and Mandy Prodgyzinski all sold their crafts as well.  I'm just hoping that I'll be able to keep up with the demand.  Please remember that I am a one woman show!  I operate my garden, chickens, and bees on my own and run out of hours in the day to get things done!  I will continue to bring as much high quality, pesticide free produce as my little garden can grow!  I have not been able to harvest honey from my hives yet but anticipate an extraction in the next few weeks.  I know folks want honey and I'm happy to provide it ASAP!  As soon as I extract, I'll post an update but come quickly as it sells almost as soon as it is out of the hive! 
Thank you so very much to my family and friends who have been supportive in this venture.  Thank you for coming by the farm to lend a helping hand, for encouraging me when I get frustrated and behind in work, and for coming out Saturday!  I look forward to many more successful markets!   

Family

Monday evening finds me with a smile on my face.  I had a wonderful weekend with my mom and grandma, my sister went to the prom, friends came by to chat and help out, goals were accomplished, I ate too much..
I did have to cut off the ring that I've worn for 15 years or so.  One swollen finger and Sheldon's snips later and I regained feeling!  I planted seeds, harvested lettuce, moved the goats around, introduced the chicks to the outside world and dirt... I feel calm and yes, rather collected.  Having my family here was so fulfilling and needed.  I was surrounded by their sounds and laughter and love and I am reminded of how very blessed I am.
The garden is alive and green. Right now I'm harvesting lettuce, chard, and kale.  The arugula bolted way too early to even harvest more than a few springs.. Soon to come are beets, radishes, onions, potatoes, and maybe a few peas if it doesn't get too hot too soon.. Or tomatoes if it does?  The chickens have finished their short molting spell and are laying again.  The bees are busy gathering nectar and I hope to gather their honey in a month or so.  The baby chicks went out into the new coop yesterday and seem to be content and comfy.. Their first rains came today.  Charlie and Butterbean are in the old portable chicken coop for now.  They've figured out the electric fence.. again.. so I'm trying this for a while.  They'll be moved around the yard every day to eat a rectangle of grass.. I think they'll get bored very quickly but it's worth a try for now.
The farmers market is coming up in two weeks and I have a lot of work to do.  Yard sales yielded lots of baskets, a board for posting products and pricing, grandma brought coolers, table cloths, and aprons, and I'm on my way!  I am very excited about the prospect but rather nervous at the same time.. I'm hoping I'll have enough to last three hours a week, but I'm thrilled at the opportunity and challenged by the idea so this too is worth a try.  I will put out a list of available goodies a few days before the market.  In the meantime, if you're in the neighborhood stop by!  I have eggs, lettuce, kale, spinach, and chard available now! 

New Logo!

Thank you to Alan Joyner for creating my new logo!  I'm looking forward to t-shirts, stickers, and business cards coming soon!

Swarm Pictures

Crop Mob Spring 2013

The Crop Mob held on March 30 was a wonderful success!  About 20 folks showed up to lend a hand with a multitude of projects.  The hoophouse frame is up and ready to go, the pig pen has been cleared out and ready for the house to be put into place, the Two Bees sign is up, dirt was moved, wood chipped, weeds picked, bees checked, and a great time was had by all!  It was so uplifting to see so many folks working together.. Some have been doing this for years while others just bought their first pair of gloves for the event!  It was amazing to watch young and old learning from one another and to see such bright smiling faces!  Thank you so very much to everyone that came out!

This Spring has been a bit "wacky" to say the least!  At times, it felt more like January than March.  The cold, rainy weather has really stalled seedlings.. my potatoes are just now coming up and those poor tiny seedlings are finally starting to take off.  It seems the worst of the cold is behind us.  Everything in the garden is finally coming to life and I hope to have my first veggie boxes out in a few weeks. 

The bees have been VERY active lately.  The three new hives that were put in a few weeks ago are doing well.  One of my older hives is busting with bees.  I checked yesterday and there are queen cells, which means they will swarm soon.  I've got emergency lesson plans set up at school in preparation for the swarm that will surely come.  I just hope I'm lucky enough to be around when it happens.

I had a little bit of that luck on Saturday.  I looked up to see a huge cloud of bees.  As it turns out, it was a swarm that settled right under a table near the hives.  Pictures will be added soon.. I was able to capture the swarm and they are now in a nuc box close by.  I'll check them in a week to make sure the queen is settled in and laying.  So, lucky me, I now have 6 hives, and maybe 7 by the end of the week? 

Crop Mob Photos

 Three new hives were installed...

 Land for the new pig pen was cleared, chipped, and burned...

 A view from the garden...

 Hard at work tackling weeds!

 The hoophouse going up...

Leland trying out his new gloves!!

Happy As a Pig in... (well, almost anything)

I am a creature of habit.  Not that I haven't always known that.. I've fought the urge for years.. Move to Portland, San Francisco, Belize, join the Peace Corps.  My mother told me once that I suffered from "greener pastures syndrome", and it has taken me 35 years to finally realize her truth.. Thanks mom! 
I came home today and carried out my usual daily chores: 
I took care of the chickens.  At the moment I have 18 laying hens and 1 rooster.  Each evening after work I go to the hen house and throw out food, collect the eggs, and check their water.  I notice a little bit more with every trip.. The Aracuanas (they're the ones with the beautiful green eggs!) are brave and friendly. One golden hen jumps on the side of the feed bin every day and never seems to mind when I reach out to shoo her away.  The Speckled Sussex are calm.  They are beautiful heritage birds with a light purple hue in their feathers.  I had one stand on my feet today as I was trying to get to the feed.  She just looked up at me like "hey.. where's the food".. The Black Sex Links and Barred Rocks keep their distance..and my little game hen, who is less than half the size of the others, holds her own and has been for 4 years now.  In the next few weeks I will be expecting to add about 50 new hens to the mix.. I'm incubating 6, picking up 20 layers from Newport Garden Center, and getting the others via mail, 15 of which will be broilers for meat.  New brooders need to be set up soon.

Charlie and Butterbean, my dwarf nubian goats, are crying away while I'm making the rounds.  Each day is the same.. Charlie tests the electric fence as many times as he can stand until I get his feed in the bucket.  He's so excited about this every time that I can't help but smile.. He's like my chocolate Lab Henry.. jumping around, crying, head butting.. All for the same sweet feed he got the day before!!  After this, they usually run around, chase each other off the hills, and frolick a bit before heading in.  Watching them play is always one of my favorite parts of the day.  I'm hesitant to add to their company right now.  I eventually want to get a few more females and start milking them for cheese, soap, and milk... I think I'll hold off on that one for a bit longer.. I may like my routines but I don't know about having to be here EVERY day.. morning and evening to milk.. I'm not that committed yet! 

The bees are the definition of routine.  They are the most amazing creatures to watch.. Today especially since I now have 5 hives.  On Saturday I installed 3 new hives and replaced the queen in my weak one.  I'm watching them closely for activity.. that being a very good sign that all is well and they are settling into their new home.  I'll go back in the hives in a few days.. once the weather decides to warm up.. and check to see how they've done over the last week.  Fingers are crossed for a good honey harvest this season!!

The cats and dogs.. well they certainly have routines.  The cats spend all day sneaking up on one another or lounging around.. the dogs eat dirt.. and send me to the vet for an $800 bill with an additional surgery costing $2000 that hopefully won't happen!!  They lick, scratch, beg for food, and follow me around the house. 

I'm settled into my routines.. I am happy that I haven't decided to sell this place and move for the hell of it.  I'm happy that I've learned to clear my head at the end of the day by doing simple things like taking notice of chicken patterns.. I'm happy that I've been fortunate enough to end up here, and happy that I am building a life that I love.. Sure I dream of other places all the time, dream of having other things, but in the end my pastures are pretty green right where they are. 

Don't forget about the work day Crop Mob planned for this Saturday.  We'll be starting around 8 am but come by whenever you can.  There are plenty of projects to be completed and enough to keep the kiddos busy if you wanna bring them too!  Please consider leaving your dog at home however, I've got 3.. one of which has been really sick recently and probably doesn't need the stress.. Bring gloves and any useful tools like shovels and rakes that you can cram into the car.  The more the merrier!!  Email me at seahorsenc@gmail.com if you need details or directions!