Farming in the shade

Boy, that's a convoluted title. A fellow blogger (small farmer in Alabama) hit the nail on the head with her blog post today. Be careful to investigate photos and videos of farming practices. Often there is more to the story, especially when the video/photo is posted and narrated by someone other than the farmer. Please go look at her photos and insightful blog post here.

Our farm has a county drain running through it, right alongside the road. We have all sorts of wildlife that live in our ditch, but we've never seen this scene before. We think it's a she, and we think she's laying eggs. What do you think? Other than taking her photo, we left her alone. Anyone want to take a guess what kind she is? And then another day, much further away from the ditch, the girls found this little guy. He was mighty cute. Hope we didn't disturb his life cycle by picking him up. The girls put him right at the edge of the ditch. Apparently, it's a good year for turtles.

With gratitude to those who have given their lives through the years for our country.

As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. --Psalm 103:15-18

One of my friends bought a kick spindle just like this from this etsy seller and then found a used spinning wheel to buy. She likes the wheel better. She has her kick spindle for sale for $30 + shipping. It was used less than 3 hours total, so if you're in the market for a kick spindle, this is a good deal. Contact me for her information by using the "email me" button. 

While we wait for the fields to dry out and the soil to warm up enough to plant, we have time to apply nutrients to the soil. This is a tote bag of sulfate of potash. It's a really nifty way to handle small amounts of nutrients for small farmers.  Except for one thing. This tote bag came with a very small hole in the top that had a long neck. To get the potash out of the tote, we carefully lowered a five-gallon bucket through the long neck, filled it up, and lifted it back out. It was a bit of a pain. Someone suggested a pocket knife as part of the solution, but then the tote would not have been returned in the same condition in which it was shipped. The five-gallon buckets were emptied one by one into the spreader. Keep this in mind the next time you buy food from a small farmer. Just because we don't farm thousands of acres doesn't mean things are easier. In many cases, they're harder. Scary-looking spray drift? Nope, just a naturally-occurring minera...

The past few days have been a whirlwind of activity here on the farm.  We loaded the winter compost out. Four truckloads.  And spread a bit of what was left on our own fields. One step closer to planting...

Spring is a great time to dig thistles--before they become as big as lilac bushes. We seem to always be fighting with thistles, and we want to get them under control before they start spreading their seeds, later in the season. When that happens, it's all over.  A quick cut through the root just below the surface of the soil should do it. The Farmer says to make sure that some dirt gets in the cut, so that the bacteria in our healthy soil can start the decomposition process.  I don't claim to understand it all. I just tell myself it's cheaper (and closer) than a gym membership.