As the weather is cooling off, the garden harvest is slowing down. Yesterday afternoon, Anna assigned Alex and Vicki to pick bell peppers and tomatoes. The peppers looked so good, that I went ahead and ate one while they were working. Of course, Amanda decided she needed to eat one too, but she wanted a purple bell pepper.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Raw Milk Reality – understanding statistics
93% of all statistics are either made up or used in a way that misrepresents the data. Think about that for a second.
Opponents of raw milk almost always bank on the argument of public safety and pasteurization is needed to keep us safe. However, if you ever actually take the time to look at all the evidence yourself, instead of relying on our media’s headlines, you will begin to understand the actual risk you assume when consuming raw milk. I don’t want to convert everyone to raw milk, but I think people should recognize how much the mainstream media misrepresents scientific data.
Luckily, someone has already done an independent review of the data and added perspective to the statistics. http://chriskresser.com/raw-milk-reality-is-raw-milk-dangerous
Ledyard Horse Show
Yesterday we took the kids to the Ledyard Fair Horse Show. They showed in four classes, three beginner walk-trot classes and one polebending class. The kids and ponies did well, each earning a red ribbon for second place, Vicki and Devil in walk-trot pleasure and Alex and Precious for walk-trot command. They enjoyed the polebending and both cantered their horses to the finish. They got four ribbons each and had a good time. The horse show was fast and prompt for a change and we were home by 1 pm. More pictures below.
That’s a relief!
As some of our close friends know, I have been in discussion with my detailer about my next orders. For the past few weeks, all indicators have been pointing to a move out of Groton. Luckily, this morning I got some good news – orders to Newport, RI. I don’t know the details of the job (and it doesn’t really matter), but it is something on staff at the War College (not a student). This is significant, because Newport is close enough that I can commute without having to move. Hopefully, I will be able to get a follow on job that allows us to continue to stay in the Groton area.
To say that we are relieved of some stress is an understatement. While setting up a farm to the extent we have carries risk, we have decided to live the life we want now, instead of dreaming about it for the future. Therefore, we will continue to farm. We will continue to fine tune our operation to balance what we want for our family while trying to develop some income for the farm.
Our goal remains, Rob retires from the Navy in 2019 to be a full-time barefoot trimmer and farmer. Hopefully, that will be in CT, which allows us to build the customer base. It’s good to have a goal.
Alex the photographer
Alex has always had an interest in photography. He started with a Kid Tough camera that didn’t last too long. Then, we purchased him an actual Kodak waterproof digital camera. That was great until it got lost. Then he started using our Canon pocket digital camera. He figured out how to change it to Black and White mode and is very good at using the timer to stage pictures. Today, Anna found the missing Kodak camera in the barn, under the pallets of hay (it was gone since last Oct). Everything still works, so he is back in business.
All of these photos were taken by Alex.
Mack attack!
So, Mack has lived with us for about a month now. He came from a home with 2 working parents and a kid that didn’t do much with him. Now, he spends time outside running until he is ready to sleep, sleeps until he is ready to run again. When necessary, we put him on the dog run, but he is pretty good about staying with us around the farm. He loves to chase the goats, but eventually, they get tired of him, and turn to butt heads. That causes him to run away. He tries to herd chickens, and so far, hasn’t eaten any.
Overall, he is a good farm dog. He is very rough on toys and destroys tennis balls in no time. Alex and Vicki found a substitute item for playing fetch – tomatoes! Alex and Mack actually played fetch with a tomato for almost 10 minutes and he never bit through the skin. He has a very gentle mouth.
Here are some pictures of playing with Alex.
Things change
My interests and hobbies are quite diverse, but I am somewhat a Jack of all, master of none. With our adventure in farming, I have lost the ability to dabble in a little here and there and feel like I was honestly making some progress in each area. Therefore, I have been taking a hard look at each individual activity and asking, how much have I done that in the last 2 years, how much do I want to do it to feel satisfied, is that possible. While it seems a little extreme to completely stop doing things, that is where I am at emotionally to dedicate more time to what we currently have defined as important in life. The current example is fine wood working. I made the hard choice to sell most of my wood shop that is related to fine wood working (furniture, picture frames, etc). I am keeping all my basic tools for construction type projects on the farm, but I don’t have time to build furniture with everything else going on. Therefore, the shop space and money can be better spent elsewhere. What else will go be the wayside?
2013 goat breeding schedule
Anna and I sat down and figured out our breeding plan for the goats. We decided to breed all the does to the 2 bucks we bought. It wasn’t too hard to decide. However, we did also have some discussions about which baby goats we might keep, which does might get sold next year, and our herd goals. If interested, view the 2013 breeding schedule and price list.
Thoughts On A Week At Pony Club Camp
This past week Alex and Vicki spent five days at Ayer Mountain Farm participating in Shetucket Valley Pony Club’s annual camp. They are part of Mystic Pony Club, but our club had been invited to join them at camp. The ponies stayed at camp all week, but Alex and Vicki came in the morning and went home at night. They had two riding lessons per day and chores and crafts in between. I (Anna) was there every day with Amanda helping out and watching over the kids. It has been an exhausting week, but it was a very rewarding time spent with the kids.
The kids got to experience several different things during the week. Besides regular instruction twice a day they also tried fox hunting with hounds (in the walk-trot group), Alex got to jump cross-rails for the first time ever, Vicki cantered over ground poles, they both did pony club mounted games and they crossed the water on the cross country course. Alex even got to have a lesson with two other boys his age. Amanda was quite the little trooper, hangin out all week and she got lots of attention from older and younger girls.
So what are my thoughts after spending a week at pony club camp?
Well, I believe Pony Club is good for the kids. It exposes them to other kids who also ride and gives them opportunities to do things with the horses they would not get to do otherwise. Horse kids are generally good-natured, hard-working kids. I wish there were more boys involved, but such is life with horses…in a few years Alex may come to appreciate being a boy among lots of girls.
As in any organization, volunteers make a difference. There are individuals out there that sacrifice their time for YOUR children. I wish more parents appreciated this fact, not just in Pony Club, but across the board in kids’ sports and recreational activities. Salute those energizer bunnies that make things happen.
I ‘ve decided I want to ride my horse more. I need to have some sort of goal with my riding. King is 18, but to be honest he isn’t really showing any signs of slowing down. Watching other people ride all week makes me want to ride too.
Being at camp all day made me exhausted and I want to get in better shape. Who wants to be walking around in breeches and a tucked in polo shirt and not be in shape? Besides it will make me a better rider (theoretically).
All in all, we had a great week at camp. The weather was good, the kids behaved, the ponies behaved, and nobody left in an ambulance (though one girl broke her arm and another fractured a rib). Below are some more pictures.
An exciting announcement!
This year on the farm has been marked with a significant amount of growth in our endeavors, and we are not done yet. We are thrilled to announce our participation in CT Farm Fresh Express! Last year, we went to a showing of the documentary American Meat in Stonington. While there, we got to hear about a lot of other farms, bigger and smaller than us, with similar goals in mind. Deb Marsden, the founder of CT Farm Fresh was also there to talk about a service she provides. Participating farms let CTFFE know what products they have available on a weekly basis. She then lists them on her store and from Thursday to Tuesday, people can shop from local farms while sitting at home. For many families, this is a fabulous way to support local farms and have faith in the food being served to their family. Then on Tuesday, the orders close, the farms get notified of their orders, and she sends out the pickup crew to collect, assemble, and distribute the orders!
For our farm, it is a fabulous opportunity to slowly expand our passion. We will still offer our products for sale directly off the farm, and we will continue to have our advance purchase options. Email us if you want to be included on future notifications about these opportunities. But, if there are some other farm fresh items you would like to try, but don’t have time to search the farmer’s markets yourself, check out CT Farm Fresh Express!