Seeds and Chickens

We have recieved 2 new springtime pursuit catalogs this month, the Murray McMurray Poultry Catalog earlier this month and last night the Burpee Seed Catalgog!!!!! Looking through these has me so excited for spring, because really what could be better than baby animals and seeds growing in the garden.   In fact we have already placed our poultry order for pick up on March 21,  we did not use Murray McMurray this year instead we are using a hatchery that is here in Michigan and allows us to pick up the birds so we can have a smaller order.  What did you order you ask??? we ordered 15 Silverlaced Wyandotte's, 15 Goldenlaced Wyandotte's, 5 Buff orpington's and 5 Aracuna's (these ladies lay colored eggs like Easter eggs) in additon to the chickens we ordered 4 turkey's (2 for us and 2 to sell to a couple of people) plus and I am oh so excited about this part I ordered 2 geese.  Can't wait to have a few to browse the seed catalog and decide what is going in the garden this year, hubs has made me a few more raised beds and perhaps in the spring when we clean the livestock barn out we will be able to make a few more.  Last year's garden started with a bang but didn't end up working out very well in the end, mostly because of time constraints and Romeo the cat who ate all the begining plants.  I am hoping that this year I can make the garden grow enough to can some stuff that I grew myself instead of what I was able to buy at the Farmer's Market.  It would also be awesome if Thanksgiving Dinner 2012 could come enitrely from the backyard. 

Happy Christmas

 There was no snow, which the chickens appreciated.  We slept in a bit, tended the animals and then had fun opening presents and playing with our gifts (the hubs got me a first edition copy of "Gone with the Wind") before geting ready to go to my aunt's house for a big family Christmas dinner.  In addition to supplying the turkey, we brought deviled eggs and apples with a carmel dip.  It's a grand compliment indeed when the food you have brought is gone within the first hour of the party.  Lot's of complients on the taste of the turkey.
I hope that you all enjoyed your christmas celebration as much as I enjoyed mine.

Victorian Farm Christmas

Turkey's and Santa

I am pretty sure it won't be a white Christmas on the farm this year, the sun was out this morning melting away the light dusting of snow we recieved last night.  Oh well I am sure the chickens appreciate it, they do not like walking in the snow.  This morning I opened the coop door and nothing.. usually they all run out to peck the ground... then slowly a couple of the ladies started inching thier way down the ramp, concerned I opened the big door to find them all standing in a line waiting to get out.. guess those first girls really didn't like the snow.

The turkey's we bought and raised over the spring and summer grew up big and healthy!! One supplied us with a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and the other has been dropped off to my aunt's house and is being prepared for a Christmas Feast!!!  Many people have asked me how I can I eat something I raised from a baby, "wasn't I attached to it" "didn't it upset me" (these were the more tame comments I recieved) my answer is I live on a farm I respect the lives of the animals that I raise in the sunshine, tall grass and clover, give them treats of fresh pea's plucked right off the vine, and in return the animal supplies my family with fresh, delicious chemical and hormone free food, that not only do I know where it came from but what went into it, and the added benefit of knowing that the animal had a good life, with shelter, good food and lot's of time to run around and be happy!  We had several people who asked if they could get a turkey from us next year too, so all in all not a bad response.  We did decide to purchase 4 turkey's in the spring 2 for us and 2 to sell.  It should prove interesting, turkey's were lot's of fun to raise.  I learned a lot from those two birds.

It's Christmas Eve, at the farm we are all ready for Santa to come tonight!!  We've been watching his progress on the Norad Santa tracker.  I am currently at work, a little bummed as I won't be able to join my husband and son at the in-laws house for good food, laughs and grandkids.

Hello!

Well, Once again it has been a while since I shared any news or farm going ons.... for some reason I have had a serious case of writter's block as well as a lack of stories or funny inccidents to share.  One of my many descisions/resolutions ect..for the upcoming new year, is to be more vigilant in posting, either news, recipies, farm stuff or just stopping by to say hello. 

So... Hello

October is here and we are gearing up for our first Halloween party on the farm.  It's called the Spooky Barn party.  We hope to have one every year and grow it into a Haunted forest type of haunted attraction once our apple tree's are big enough.  The hubs and my son spent last Sunday building a coffin and lamp posts they are pretty spectacular in my opinion.   For the last couple weeks we have been getting ready for the party buying decorations and supplies and cleaning the house and the barn.  It's gonna be a blast!

Other than party preperation, it's pretty routine at the farm still getting eggs from at least one of the chickens and the turkey.  Pretty soon the turkey's will be off to the processor for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.

Incredible Edible Eggs

so far between Turkey's and Chickens we have had a total of 17 eggs.  Just thought I'd share some photo's of the bounty.

September recap

October is here, my Favorite month crisp cool weather, color everywhere!!!  Hot tea, hot chocolate and cider, sweatpants and sweaters, all of my favorite things!!! Whooo-Hooo.

This past month, we sent in 4 of our 5 male chickens in to the processor.  They weren't that big yet, just over 3lbs each, but they were causing quite the ruckus in the chicken yard.  We roasted 2 of them for dinner that same night.  It was wonderful eating something we have raised ourselves.  It was a little weird at first mainly because I am not use to cooking a whole chicken, usually it's just parts.  But, it was very good, and we still have one male left to keep the ladies in line.  About a week after the four of them left one or more of our chickens started laying eggs just little pullet eggs but it was so exciting, my hubs found them first in the coop and since I was at work I made him send me a picture.  Then about a week after we started getting chicken eggs one of the turkeys started laying two.  Both chicken and turkey seem too average an egg every day and a half.  Our big saturday morning breakfast's now consist of our very own farm fresh egg's.  I get a big grin on my face whenever I think about this.

Life is currently fantastic, I live on a small little farm with my wonderful husband and son, with two dogs, a cat and a fish.  Outside we have turkey's, chickens, apple and pear tree's.  What could be better!

EGGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

we have eggs!!!!! 3 little brown eggs.... I feel like a proud mamma. It's very exciting stuff here at the farm.

Our 1st Anniversary of Home Ownership

Looking around our little farm, it's hard to believe that we have lived here for only one year.  I tell ya the hubs has worked his behind off, whipping this place into shape.  When we first arrived the property had been used as a landscape supply company, so as you can imagine there where big mounds of dirt, rocks and various other debris laying about.. not too mention that it had been standing vacant for a couple of years so you can add bugs, overgrown yard and assorted other wildlife hanging around.
I hardley remember what it looked like last september, maybe because I much prefer the way it looks now, with apple and pear trees started and a chicken coop complete with chickens, and a small pen with 2 turkeys in it.  Inside the house we have some flooring changed, newly painted walls and a brand spanking new energy efficent boiler (hopefully putting an end to high heating costs).  While inside the house there are some area's that need to be painted and we sure could use some storage/shelving and I certainly need to get bit by the organizing bug, I love it, and given a bit more time it will shine like a new penny.

Another Tale From The Chicken Yard....

We did end up separating the wyndotte male from the rest of the flock, he's just too mean.  He is still in the chicken yard just separated from everyone else by being enclosed in a pen.  The night we put him in there, all the chickens came up one by one and peered in at him with this little attitude of serves ya right.  We've left him there a couple of days and nights (he has shelter and is protected from marauding creatures) tonight is the big night of letting him back in with the flock to see if his behavior has improved.  Update on that to follow.

Pumpkin Stuff

Summer is almost over, the daylight hours are getting shorter and the nights a little cooler, leaves are starting to change color and in some cases even starting to drop off the tree's, and if you can believe it they, those crazy retailers are starting to sell pumpkin flavored everything!  I like pumpkin pie and pumpkins in general..just not sure really how tasty they are in coffee, bagels and beer.

Tales from the chicken yard

Everyday I wander into the chicken pen to check on the health and well being of my flock. check their water and food and just to watch them, chickens can be quite entertaining!!!

So, welcome Dear Readers, welcome to the tales from the chicken yard.......

 One of our white crested black polish hens is a bit deformed while this does not seem to affect her in a physical way, she is the most affectionate chicken out of the flock.  Whenever I enter the chicken yard she runs up to me clucking away (I like to think that she is telling me all about her day) and continues to follow me around just making as much noise as she can.  A few days ago she decided that it would be much easier to "talk" to me if she rode around on my shoe.. she just climbs up on my croc and hooks her little claws in the holes and goes for a little "ride" all the while clucking away.  This gal makes me smile.

Our second tale stars our Silver-laces Wyndotte cockerel, who sadly is becoming a bit mean in his quest for dominance.  Tuesday evening the hubs and I were out checking on the poultry yards, when we here a bit of loud squawking and a bit of carrying on going on in so we wander over to discover that the Wyandotte male is attacking any chicken who happens by.. we toss a rock his way and he released the female he had by the neck, she is bloody so I go in, to check her and wipe up the blood, so an not to provoke more pecking and discover several other ladies with deep gashes on their necks.  Now, I know that this behavior is a natural occurrence in striving for a pecking order and mating ect..  however none of the other males seem to be as rough or mean with the ladies, he is not new to the flock all these chickens have been together since they first arrived in a cardboard box I assumed that the pecking order had long been established.  While we were standing there this behavior continued for quite sometime, long enough that the hubs went in to get him, meaning scare the crap out of this upstart.... hubs chased him into the silo and was going to separate him out for a bit to calm him down, but then hubs saw what he thought might be an egg, but couldn't reach it through the small openings in the silo, so he reached in with a broom trying to brush it towards the door, well the cockerel thought he was coming for him with that broom and flew out in our faces que a bit of a scream from me and much ducking.  It did seem to calm him down a bit and now he runs away from my hubs any time he sees him. 

The third and final tale from the chicken yard...
This evening when hubs got home from work, he let the dogs out as per usual, and straight away they started barking and carrying on, he calls to them, they continue barking, he steps out on the porch and watches and Rasputin jumps all around barking.. so he goes out to investigate and finds that one of the crevocour ladies has flown the coop (literally) and the dogs were barking at her because she was not where she belonged.  She had in fact wandered quite far from the coop and pen area, so hubs scooped her up and took her back to the pen where all the other chickens gathered around to hear her tale.

well that's all for now folks, check back soon and have a good evening.

Snapshots of our farm

let's play catch up!

Howdy everyone, so sorry that I have not posted in a few weeks, had so much going on and I never did get back on to post an update about the fair.  But I will share a bunch of new stories, plans and happenings for you now... so get comfy cause it's gonna be a long one.

Ok, way back on July 26, we went to the Fowlerville Family Fair.  It was pretty nice they had rides and carnival games (hubbs won me a little purple bear, just by picking a random rubber duckie)  we played ski ball and a racing game and won the usual little stuffed animal prizes.   Another fun thing at the fair was the racing pigs, this is where 4 pigs race each other around a small track and through some water. It was great fun!  We rounded out the evening by watching the Figure 8 Demolition Derby, which I found to be confusing at first but started getting into it, after a few rounds.

As for the rest of July it was a busy week for me, I planned and  therefore ran my family reunion, my parents were in town, visiting from Florida and I had to work my "regular" job.  It was also still very hot and muggy so I was not the best person to be around as that sort of weather makes me cranky. Everyone did survive, and I had a lovely visit with my parents, not to mention that it was great fun showing them around the farm.  My parents were kind enough to take my son back with them to Florida, so he has been busy enjoying being a spoiled grandchild. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~August~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yet another busy month for us (apparently that's just how we roll). Thankfully this month has seen a return to normal temperatures and cooler nights =)  this is my kind of weather, warm enough to swim during the day but cool enough to sleep comfortably. Sadly though the fireflies are all but gone just a few stragglers, signaling that fall is on the way and I can't wait I love fall.. apples, pumpkins, cool weather,crunchy leaves and of course Halloween (my all time favorite Holiday)

Our dogs, Napoleon and Rasputin are thinking they are pretty hot stuff, because the other night they "hunted" up an opossum.. When we put them outside for the last time the other night they caught the scent and went off to search out what it could be, then when they wouldn't come back when we called we discovered them sitting by the little creature. Since it had been wounded we humanely finished him off.  On one hand I do not want the little guys to eat my chickens or their eggs and on the other hand I really hate having to kill them.  It's quite the quandary.

In other wildlife news--- the hubs and I were relaxing in the hot tub Sunday night when we spotted (out by the apple tree's of course)  a doe and her twins, just taking a leisurely stroll through the orchard they didn't rush or pause for long, they were on their way somewhere else.  The starlings and other birds were loving us Sunday and Monday for mowing the very overlong grass, they spent both afternoons gobbling up bugs as fast as they could.

Just this past Sunday morning hubs and I finally made it to one of the local farmer's markets (even though it looked like it might rain at any moment) we had a wonderful time looking around at all the locally grown fruits and veggies, they had craft sellers and music as well!!  Hubs purchased some honey, cookies and an apple marinade type sauce and I purchased a new bag, a bouquet of flowers which included my beloved sunflowers, and cucumbers.  Once we were home I worked with concrete for the first time ever Sunday afternoon and I have to say I was rather good at it!!!  Hubs and I made a pretty good team, he mixed and poured and I leveled and smoothed it out, well I also handed him the tools and filled up the bucket with water.  We made cement pads in the cellar for the new energy efficient boiler and hot water tank.. (hopefully saying good-bye to $600 a month propane bill). After the fun of the concrete, hubs mowed the grasses and I turned my cucumbers into bread and butter pickles, which happened to be the first time I ever canned!! it seems to have worked pretty well, guess we shall find out in a couple of weeks.

the past months have been very busy for the three of us as we have learned how to farm, work on fixing up the house, working regular jobs, starting a business for me, hubs already had his own business and various other commitments and of course just life!!!!  But I have enjoyed every minute of it.

The County Fair!

Just a few quick bullet points about the going's on this week!!!

This week the annual fair is in town.... 4-H will be showing animals as well as other activities, tractor pulls and demolition derby's, games, rides and good food.  I have never been to this fair so I will have to post more on it later today after we've gone to it.

My niece had her graduation party here at the farm this past Saturday, the chickens and turkey's were in 7th heaven as all the kids wanted to throw corn for them. Though one of the kids got a little zealous with the throwing as was trying to hit the chickens in the head, no worries I put a quick stop to it and no one seemed to be affected.  The hubs and I got lot's of compliments on the property (what could be better than people appreciating all your hard work). 

Summer continues to roll towards fall, thankfully it seems the heat wave that was hovering over Michigan has moved on.  The orchard is doing well, green leaves on the tree's and some tiny apples appear and just as quickly disappear as the birds and deer find them.... they wouldn't have been big enough to eat anyway.

no more garden =(

It's official, I did what I set out to do, I grew something, something edible at that.  My pea's are still producing pea's, but, the amounts are starting to drop and the vines are browning.  Sadly, they were my only crop this year.  Oh, I started with big plans, pea's then corn and tomato's and green beans... perhaps some watermelon..... Well as you may know Romeo (the cat) ate my started corn and green beans right down to the dirt, and then continued being helpful (sarcasm alert!) by knocking the started tomato plants on to the kitchen floor where Napoleon helped the new guy Rasputin tear them to shred's. The strawberry plants did not bounce back from their transplant. Moral of the story no garden this year.  I am a little sad about it, as I also, wanted to try my hand at canning.  I could always hit a u-pick or farmer's market to get some good stuff to can. I am choosing to think that the slight delay gives me some more time to compost and make some more garden beds.  I think I may have time to plant some pumpkins but perhaps, I should wait, not sure yet.

July, has been a busy busy month.  We started out the month with a bang, had a little party to show off the new farm.  Our family and friends, brought ton's of good food, we provided hot dog's and hamburger's.  I made homemade lemonade, I squeezed so many lemon's the house smelt like lemon all day (no complaints there).  The hubs friend brought some homemade peach/brandy ice cream, which was so good the hubs hid it.  I have to say that nothing says summer like an afternoon and evening with good friends and family, splashing in the pool, yummy summery foods, wide open space and to top it all off fireworks.  Perhaps we could have done without the mosquito's.  I did get to watch my cousin Stephanie (all of 22 years of age)  chase chickens around the pen determined to catch one, well the brown one because he challenged her.  She did finally catch him, with some help from the hubs. 

My hubs, is the most awesome man on the planet.  He fixed the spigot out by the barn!!!! No more hauling water from the house to the chicken and turkey pens which is quite a distance and we usually ended up losing half the water along the way.   Makes evening chores that much quicker.  He sweat (it was super hot) , made some trips to the hardware store and was chest deep in a muddy hole, but it looks great, and I did bring him a frozen lemonade and some pizza while he cooled off and relaxed in the pool.
will post some picture soon.  Talk to ya'll later.

Farm Auction and Gardens

This past Saturday, hubs and I went to a farm auction, the entire contents of a farm that had been lived on by the same family for over a 127 years was being auctioned off.  We got there early for the preview, and there was some wonderful farming equipment spanning the last hundred years horse drawn on up.  They also had some household goods available.  Since this was the first auction that the either of us had ever been to, we were as excited as 6 years olds on Christmas morning.  We had decided on a budget before arriving (highly recommended as you can get caught up in the moment of bidding) and during the preview made a plan of action on what we really wanted or needed and things that we might like to have but were so so, set us a limit on each item, and thought that we were ready.... well, once the bidding starts it's fast paced and they move through items very quickly and so you may get caught up in the moment and there were several times I just wanted to stick my card up and bid on something cause I was so excited.  I managed to control myself though there were several things that I was like oh I'll bid it's not going for very much and then thought where will i put it or what will I do with it pop into my head, so I wouldn't bid.  But, really by the time all that went through my head they were done with the item and on to the next.  Guess, I didn't really want it anyway.  Out of our $200 budget we only spent $80, we did however have to leave early for a wedding and didn't get to bid on some stuff that we had really wanted.  The items, that we did get: 4 old leather horse collars and the harness sets to go with (really I only wanted 1 but they sold them together, so... good news though we already sold two of them for $10 more than we had paid for all 4 so it all works out) hubs got a hand crank meat grinder and my favorite item we got is a WWII ration books that still has some stamps in it.  I love all things historic or old items, especially if they have a story behind them.  "One man's junk is, another man's treasure".

My gardening plans did not really go as I planned, I have pea's galore though.  Which the turkey's love to eat, and so do I.  The strawberry plants that I got from my aunt did not transplant well, they are all limp and laying on the ground.... gonna leave them though in the hopes that next year they will come back.  Hubs built me another raised garden bed so I am going to attempt corn again (the cat ate the stuff I had started earlier) and put in the tomato plants that I started but, seem to to growth stunted.  Hopefully when I plant them in the ground they will spring up.  I think I am going to attempt to plant some pumpkins too.  Wish me luck on that.  One of these day's, maybe we won't have so much going on and I can actually make it to one of the two local farmer's markets.

Farming, even the small scale we do here at Ridge Top, really agrees with me. I love looking out over the farm... seeing all our hard work in action, the pens for the turkey's and chickens.  The orchard full of little apple tree's with the start of little apple's on them.  Butterfly's, grasshoppers, and bee's buzzing around all the wildflowers and tree's.  The evening lightning bug show is truly fab! Makes all the fields look like they are on fire.  It makes this gal smile.





Chickens and Apples

Saturday night, we moved the chickens from their brooder pens to their new coop and yard outside.  A little timid at first, they mostly stayed huddled together near the door to the coop, but after a few hours they seemed to be enjoying all that space to run around and flap their wings.  The first night in the coop went well and they all came running down the ramp Sunday morning, all was good with the chickens..... Sunday evening rolls around and we discover poor little chicken had been eaten (not sure by what), we found her in the silo.  We filled in some holes around our barn with concrete and set a trap for whatever animal it was.  We have not lost another chicken, so I am hoping that it has moved on.

I have some exciting news for you all.... our baby apple tree's have baby apples on them!!!!!! Here at the farm we are so excited.  We were told that most likely we wouldn't get any apples till next year at the earliest.  Not sure if they will get big enough to eat or anything.  Guess we'll find out in the fall.

I got some more pea's off my vines, but the strawberries are not bouncing back from their transplant and two extremely hot day's out of the ground.... I'll have to find a u-pick place around here so I can try my hand at canning jam.  Hubbs is going to make another raised bed for me on Sunday, so I will tray again with the corn, beans and watermelon, hopefully Romeo won't eat them this time.

Ridge Top Farm in Pictures

New Puppy

Meet our New Addition Rasputin the English Springer Spaniel.

Thursday night, was a perfect ending to an early summer evening.  The air was starting to turn chilly after a warm day, and the hubbs, DJ and I had a bonfire and a S'more.  After DJ had gone into bed, The hubbs and I were sitting in the twilight watching the fire when we saw 2 deer in the field behind us we watched them for a bit and those little buggers crept right up to our apple tree's.... I scared them off when I got up and walked toward the orchard for a closer look at the deer.  Oh well it's better for the tree's that way.  That was the first time we had actually seen deer on or around our property, though we see their tracks all the time, along with raccoon's, cats and other assorted critters.

Our new arrival that I mentioned in an earlier post, is a 6 week old, English Springer Spaniel puppy who the hubbs has named Rasputin.  We picked him up last Saturday from a breeder on the west side of the state, we drove 2 hours each way to pick up the little guy.  Napoleon is being a good "big brother" to Rasputin, playing with him and allowing him to cuddle up with him.  Romeo, in true cat fashion is spitting mad that we have brought home another wee beastie, and I admit that I was not the happiest person when he dug up my mini rose bush, and tried to bite one of my chicken's heads off. (the chicken is fine however).  I'm sad to report that George and Martha Washington do not like him, no they do not like him at all, however I believe that has everything to do with Rasputin chasing them around and grabbing ahold of their tail feathers.

Let's see, what else has been going on, OH!! I finally have pea's on my snap pea vines, and they are super super tasty. but, I have a question (please, leave a comment if you know the answer) will the pea's continue to produce all summer or will they die off?? do they come back in the spring or will I need to replant???  Now, strawberries I know come back every year, and I was lucky enough to acquire some from my aunt's front yard (with her permisson of course).  They even have some green berries starting and 1 that is turning red.  I am super excited that my garden has produced actual food, when prior years, I have managed to kill everything I tried to grow.  Unfortunaltey the cat is eating the corn and green beans I had started and keeps tearing up my sunflower sprout.  I am hoping to save the corn and green beans I think the sunflower is a wash.

The weather this week is awesome in the mid 70's and cool at night.  hopefully more bonfire nights soon.

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial day is tomorrow, so I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to my dad, grandfathers, uncles, cousins, friends, and all the men and women who have or are currently serving in the U.S Military.

Lot's of stuff has been happening the last week or so.  Last weekend I went away for a friend's bachlorette party weekend.  Ton's of fun was had by all.  We even took a duck boat tour, my first.  For those of you who don't know what a duck boat tour is, I will tell you, the duck boat is a land/water vehicle that was used during WWII they have been re purposed into "tour" boats, our driver drove us through town giving us the history of the area as well as some local points of interest then we boated across the harbor to the next town and we got another drive through town.

At the farm, it has been raining pretty much all week long!!!! The grass is super long and the new tree's and gardens are waterlogged.  On the other hand the grass is also super green!  The chicken pen and coop are almost down (me and the hubbs are gonna make a big push to finish it up tomorrow since we both have off work)  The turkey's are doing well, Martha the brown one has discovered that she can fly out of the pen to eat all the green green grass on the other side, George the white one is either to heavy or has not figured out how to get out.  The other day they were snatching mosquito's right out of the air.  Yesterday, when I got home from work Martha had made her escape and was sitting on the picnic table, just waiting for us to get home and let her buddy out.

In wildlife news, we have a sandpiper lady, who has made a nest in the field.  The hubbs, me and Napoleon were out walking the other day and stumbled upon her she was quite vocal  almost getting right up in Napoleon's face and then she flew off low to the ground and acted like she had a broken wing to try to lure Napoleon away from her babies, he just stood there cocking his head back and forth like "what the heck are ya yelling at me for"  he did try to go for her once but we held him back.  Since then we have given her a wide berth.  Hopefully soon the little eggs will hatch and the babies will take off. 

More soon from Ridge Top Farms, there hopefully will be a new addition to the farm next weekend. 

Finally, it seems that it is shaping up to be a beautiful spring day out.  The sun is out the sky is blue with some big white puffy clouds floating around and the high is 70 degrees.  Too bad that I will be at work all day, oh well this weekend's forecast is also predicting good weather.   I will be heading out to a girl's weekend/bachlorette weekend, and Hubbs is working some this weekend too.  A little break from the farm for me.
The farm is doing good, it has rained almost every day this week, so things are green is some places and muddy puddles in other's.  The turkey's were enjoying the sunshine this morning strutting about their pen.  We started turning off the heat lamp on the chicks, getting them used to the temps, it's starting to get a little crowded in the brooder as they get bigger, pretty soon they will have to be moved outside and then just a little longer and they will start laying eggs!!!! How exciting!!!  The hubbs and his son will work on the truck some on Saturday and hopefully that will be up and running soon.  That's all that's gone on this week at Ridgetop Farm.  I hope you all have a wonderfull weekend.

Spring has sprung

It's mid may, and I just ate soup and grilled cheese sandwich to warm me up!!! It's all of 48 degrees outside now and inside as well since we have turned the boiler off for the year.  Hard to believe that just a few days ago it was pushing 90 degrees.    Thankfully it is suppose to warm up again by the end of the week.  Funny how once your a farmer the weather becomes all important, you need to know weather or not to add straw to the animals beds and if you need to water the veggies and tree's or if Mother Nature will do it for you.  This past 9 months of living the farm life has taught us this lesson as well as many others and I am sure we will continue to learn as we go.

Lot's have been going on the last week or so.  Mother's day weekend the hubbs and I rented a power post hole digger and dug a hundred holes, 5 rows of 20, it was tough going there were Lot's of rocks and we had to drag it from hole to hole which took both of us because it was rather heavy, Hubbs had to do the lifting though cause the auger was almost as tall as me.  The sun was shinning bright and it was very warm we drank Lot's of water and even with the sunscreen I ended up with sunburn on my arms and face and of course my neck LOL.  (that's where the term redneck comes from in case you didn't know, because farmers are our in the sun in early spring everything is covered but their neck and it always gets sunburned).   While the hubbs and I were digging holes, my son was busy mowing the grass and picking up sticks.  The weekend wasn't all work though we did get some fun in we had breakfast at Ihop on Saturday and spent the evening with family and friends at my cousin's house.  On Thursday hubbs and I drove out to the other side of the state to pick up the 100 apple tree's, the drive took us about 2 and 1/2 hours each direction.  That same evening the tree's were in the ground, we had my cousin and her family over for dinner and the guys planted the tree's and us gals cooked the dinner while watching the kiddo's and dog's play.  After dinner the kids rode a small dirt bike around and the big boy's played on the 4-wheeler and shot targets. 

The turkeys are growing and appear to be healthy and are getting a little bold.  The brown one has discovered that she can fly just high enough to perch on the top of the fence of their pen or fly up to sit on the top of their hutch.  We have been trying to let them out everyday or at least every couple days to free range in the yard... they do so love their play time.  The walk around pecking at everything they think might be tasty my shoe laces, pants, the bricks and the dog.  The dog is very good with them surprisingly enough he just sniffs them and then will sit beside me and watch them. 

the chicks are also doing well, hanging out in their brooder they are getting their feathers and are attempting to fly.  We did have to pull two out and put them in their own box because they were getting pecked pretty good with bloody spots they are doing well now and since the bloody spots seem to have healed up some we might try putting them back in with the rest.  We ordered 1 rooster and then had ordered some straight run chickens so far we can see that we have the one rooster we ordered and at least one other I think that the free chick they sent is a male mainly cause it's bigger then the others it is still a waiting game right now to see who is male and female from the strait run.  Hubbs and his friend have been working on the coop and it's looking good.  This weekend we will be trying to finish it all up, since the chicks will be ready to move outside pretty soon.

The funniest story of the week though is:
I was heading back home after taking the post hole digger back to the rental site, I stopped for gas before I hit home and discovered fluid and smoke coming from the front end <sigh>  had to leave the truck there at the gas station and walk back home it was a beautiful day though so that wasn't so bad... no what was bad that has I walked past the little creek I stepped in a dead squirrel.<EWWWWWWW>  and I am sure the people who drove by will forever tell the story of the women who was dancing and shaking her foot around by the creek in a strange crazy dance.  LOL.

well folk's that's all for now, keep checking back for more pictures and updates and perhaps even an addition to the farm.

Chick Days

The Chicks have arrived!!!!!!

Fresh out of the shower this morning, I get a call from the post office in Lansing... me: "hello" Postal worker: "hello, your chickens are in", Me: "what?", Postal Worker: "your chicks are here and need to be picked up".   Obviously there was a bit more to the phone call than that but that really was the best part.  The Chicks were suppose to be here tomorrow Monday... (since when are post office's open on Sunday's??)  I have the day off tomorrow and had big plans for those little babies.  But instead hubby, who was off for a big motorcycle ride with his buddy's got a panicked phone call from me... Me: "the chicks are here" Hubbs: "what??" Me: "the chicks are here and need to be picked up at the Post Office in Lansing" again there was more there but really that's the funny part.  So hubbs turns around and heads back towards home to get a car to drive to Lansing to pick up our new babies, I on the other hand completely bummed headed to work.  The hubbs has sent me a few picture mails and dipped thier little beaks in the water and they are all doing well.  I am chomping at the bit to get home and see them for myself.  I am super excited to see them, and I will get pictures posted ASAP, so check back soon for those.

I really feel like our farm is here, before it was a dream but, now that there are turkey's and chicken's and some pea's in the ground and apple and pear tree's in the ground too..... Sometime I just can't belive it! and I am so loving it even if it's raining again today.

Birthdays, Rain and a mouse in my pocket

I know it's been a while since I posted last, a lot's been going on here at the Farm and with my "regular" job, I work at a Hospital and have my own photography company Reflections and Dreams Photography.  It was also my birthday and my granddaughter's birthday and Easter.  Grab a cup of tea or whatever you like to drink and I'll fill ya in.

Rain Rain Rain.... that's all it's been doing for the last couple of weeks with one day of sunshine thrown in here and there. Don't get me wrong I know that April showers bring May flowers, but, really I am kind of done with the rainy and super windy days I wanna be outside on my farm.

Currently all the apple trees, 18 of them are planted in the ground and even have buds on them.  The 2 pear trees are also in the ground and budding.  This makes me very very happy and the hubbs too,  especially since it was his idea to do the orchard.  We do plan on getting more tree's for the orchard and hopefully that will happen this summer.  DJ (my son) and the hubbs made me my first ever raised garden bed, and it's pretty awesome.  I planted my pea's that I had started inside out in the garden I am surprised to see them still doing so well since when I planted them it was raining and 37 degree's out.   However, it's been too windy to start them up the trellis they keep breaking so for now I am just leaving them lay on the ground, and keeping my fingers crossed.   I can't believe how fast George and Martha Washington are growing (that's the turkeys)  every time I look at them they look bigger and more like an adult turkey.   We bought them a hutch and pen and have moved them outside, Easter was the first day they spent outside we brought them in at night for the first two days but now they stay outside all the time and seem to be enjoying the green grass, worms and bugs they are finding.   In a few more weeks we are gonna add some panels to the pen so they have a bit more room to run around in.  Still working on the chicken coop and their yard too.  This morning I cleaned out the brooder with a bit of bleach water, cleaned the thermometers and the chicken wire top, and it sits waiting for it's new occupants who will be here in about 5 days!!!! So excited can't wait to get that box from Murray McMurray and here those little peep peep sounds.   We ordered 9 female and 1 male Silver Laced Wyndotte's, 6 female Creveours, 4 White Crested Polish and 5 Silver Laced Cochin's at a st run.  Plus they send you a free exotic chick so I can't wait to find out what that one is.

Easter, was also my birthday this year, and it just happened to turn out that I had a 3 day weekend, which I made the most of!!!!!  Friday I planted my pea's, and then had an appointment for my Photography company they came out here to my house (too bad it was too cold and rainy to take the photo's of the baby outside) then it was off to a birthday party with some family who also have birthday's in April, good company, good food and lot's of laughs.  My Aunt Pam bought me bunches of stuff for canning, and I am so so super excited to try some of that out this fall!!!! I also got a Mini Rose bush from my Aunt Karen and a garden Gnome from my Aunt Julie... he is not yet out in the garden I used him on my Easter table as a centerpiece.  I am pretty sure that little gnome is glad he is out of the cold.  Saturday is the day we went out and bought the turkey hutch and pen as well as some other stuff from our trusty Tractor Supply company, and the day we finished planting the tree's.  My hubbs that wonderfully sweet man I am married too took me out to a fab place called "Oasis spa and garden" it is a place that has small themed rooms where you soak for an hour in a hot tub!!!!!  We had an outside room so we sat and relaxed under the stars plus we had cupcakes in the shape of a chicken!  Easter Sunday we each got a basket from the bunny.  Since we were having people over we didn't dawdle to long with the baskets though, we finished some errands and got ready cooking and cleaning.  The Egg hunt was lot's of fun we hid candy and some really good gift cards in Camouflaged eggs even the "big" kids got in on the action once they learned there was a $25 American express gift card somewhere out there.  The camo eggs where really hard to see, even when you knew where they were.  More good company and good food.

Saved the funny story for last
 Thursday morning, the hubbs and I were woken by a the thump and bang of Romeo (the cat) trying to dismantle the radiator cover in our bedroom, upon inspection we discovered there was a little mouse hidding along the pipe.. so we put out some glue traps... later in the morning I found the cat on one end and the dog on the other end of the radiator the little mouse would run towards Romeo and he would bat in back down the pipe then Napoleon would try to lick it and it would run back towards Romeo... this went on for sometime, I left for work thinking that one of them would get the mouse or the one of the traps would.  When I got home from work I didn't see the mouse any where in the radiator, so thought that one of them had gotten it..... oh how wrong I was!!!! the next morning I picked up my folded up jeans of the floor of my bedroom and that little mouse came flying out of them all disoriented both the cat and the dog came up to it and sniffed it but did nothing! that's right not a thing there I am yelling and screaming and dancing around in my undies and a t-shirt and the two of them just sat there sniffing the mouse, my 10 year old son had to get a glove and some paper towel and take it outside...

Birthday Celebration on the Farm

I am sorry that I haven't updated in a while, what with mt regular job, Easter and Birthday Celebrations and a job for my side business Reflections and Dreams Photography.  I promise more later on all the exciting stuff that has happened in the last week.

Peas!!!!

I can't belive that I forgot to mention that all of my peas sprouted!!! They seem to be growing like crazy, let's hope it stay's that way when I move them to the garden beds.

oh P.S
the chicks arrive in 18 days whooo to the hooo

Queen of the Sun

I first saw this on a blog called Cold Antler Farm and since it is an issue that is near and dear to my heart I wish to share it with all of you as well.

Busy Weekend.

       This morning I took a moment to just look around, and I have to say that we kicked some serious bum this weekend.  Every day our farm is looking more and more like my dream farm and it's amazing!  Hopefully in the next few years we will be able to expand and add more animals and gardens, put in a wrap around porch and maybe a pool.  Sometimes big plans have a way of getting bigger, I know my dreams for this farm seem to get a little bigger everyday, though I do work to keep myself in check and remind my self that it will all happen in time, just have to keep plugging away at it.  In the meantime kick back and I'll tell ya what we did this weekend.

Saturday
 According to early weather reports it was suppose to be in the high 60's and sunny all day... pshhhhh what do weatherman know, it was cold and cloudy all morning long it finally hit the mid 50's in late afternoon.  That didn't stop us though we got up had some breakfast and got to work.  My son did a great job driving the lawn tractor around and picking up a bunch of trash, sticks and stones.  The hubbs and I headed into the feed and seed in town and picked up a mix of rye grass and clover seed.  Once we got back the three of us walked over the property again making sure all big rocks and sticks and trash was picked up, we mixed up the seed and hubbs hooked up the spreader to the lawn tractor and off he went throwing seed everywhere!  My son and I headed in to cook up some lunch.  After lunch my son took a break and the hubbs and I went into Home Depot to get some tree platning supplies.  By the time we got home the sun had come out and it warmed up a bit, we did take a detour and stopped to look at some cool looking utility vehicles. Since the sun was out we loaded up the cart with some apple tree's, stakes and rope and headed out to the back preoperty line to plant us some tree's, and plant we did!!!! With all 3 of us working on it we got all 10 of the Honeycrisp planted.  All work and no play make us grumpy, we don't want to be grumpy so we took ourselves off to the Bloated Goat Pub in town for some dinner and a little fun!!! Good food there!!!!!! 

Sunday
Again, according to the weatherman it was suppose to rain on Sunday.  Partialy the reason we seeded and planted the day before.  The brightly shinning sun woke us up on Sunday morning ok weatherman????   I spent the morning running some errands for my reunion meeting later in the day.  The hubbs got some stuff together and went up on the roof on the garage/game room to make some repairs.  Cyndi my aunt came over for lunch and to work on plans with me for our upcoming family reunion.  My son took most of the day to do his chore which, was picking up all the sticks in the "yard" portion of the property basicly the area that surrounds the house.  He kept wanting to take breaks, though it was 80 degree's but, in the end he got the job done and just in time since his friend walked up just as he put the last pile in the fire.  It was a beautiful day out so we fired up the grill and had some burgers for dinner.  The Turkey's has some fun too, the hubbs and I took them out for a few minutes to play in the sun and green grass, they each got a bug and boy were they ever proud of themselves for that feat.  It was neat to see the way they would hunker down when they heard the dog bark.  Once, the turkey's were safely back in the brooder, the hubbs and I did some basic repairs to the livestock barn (we are hoping to one day have livestock in it).  Ended the day by sitting on a log by the fire watching the sunset.  It really was a beautiful day.

as, perhaps  you know from my previous post I planted some sugar snap peas yesterday.  it was surprisingly easy I purchased a jiffy starter kit which consisted of some peat pellets that expand once you add water to them.  they expanded to really tall tubes hmmm I didn't think that i had needed that much dirt, so I re-read the carton and discovered that it was actually a starter kit for tomato plants oopppss oh well live and learn and remember to read the package.  I am sure they will work out just fine, though I am withholding judgement on my growing abilities until they sprout and i transplant them to the garden and harvest them, only then will I say I successfully gardened mainly because all previous attempts at growing things have ended in total failure.

Mother Nature has decided that perhaps spring can finally make an appearance here in Michigan, it is suppose to be in the low 60's on Saturday. whooo hooo!!!!! which means it's a work day at the farm, our plans include debris pickup: trash, rocks, branches and other yard waste, start planting the apple and pear trees, pound the fence posts for the chicken and turkey pens, work on the chicken coop, buy seed and seed the 3-4 acres we plowed in the fall, we are thinking about a clover and rye grass mix the clover to attract the bee's and the rye cause it grows quickly.  we need bee's for the fruit trees I very much would like to get our hive of bees or maybe even two, however I don't feel quite ready to jump into that just yet so in the mean time we are going to try and attract some local bee's to our trees I feel a lot of research and maybe even some classes are in order before I try to become a beekeeper as well,  I know a lot of people say it's easy and there is not much work involved but I am still a little leery of the bees if we decide to go that route it won't be until the next year or two. in the mean time I am researching bee's and watching video tutorials about beekeeping  it's very interesting and I am learning a lot of new information about bee's.

Even with all the work we have planned for this weekend, we are planning on some fun too. on Saturday the hubbs and I will hopefully be able to squeeze in a motorcycle ride with some friends and on Sunday I have a meeting with some other family members about planning our upcoming family reunion and I am sure my son would love to get out in the warm weather and play with his friends.

My Burpee seed catalog came in the mail today!!!! super excited it's filled with lot's of seeds and starter plants. =)

Sugar Snap Peas

I just planted my first ever vegtable! Sugar snap peas.  Hopefully they will do well, I started them in a starter kit by jiffy that I bought at Home Depot.   Will update more later, I was just so excited about planting my pea's I coundn't wait to share the news.

Mini Update

Howdy, folks!!!
   Not too much to update ya with this week.  The turkey's are doing well and their feathers are starting to come in.  One is all white and he is the bigger of the two, this is the one I call George Washington.  The other one's feather's are diffrent shades of brown, the prettier of the two I have to say.  The little brown turkey, who I call Martha Washington is developing quite the personality.  When I  clean out the brooder she pecks the bag and runs at it and head butts it.  Also, she  will grab my hair if a piece falls into the brooder and will try to run off with it like she has a prize worrm, she is quite disappointeted and confused when it suddenly disappears.   They also do a little jump and flap thier wings trying to fly. It's lot's of fun at our house, I could watch those little turkeys for hours at a time, they change every day.

On a side note, I have been having trouble with the paint color for the kitchen.  During the winter I had painted the kitchen with what was suppose to a golden yellow color but when painted  the walls turned out to be more of like a baby poop color. and all blotchy not exacttly what I was going for. To date I have bought 5 samples of color, and I think I have found "the one".  Wish me luck with that.

 In other farm news, we also bought 2 more apple tree's and 2 pear tree's so that is 20 tree's in all, and the chicks will be here in 4 weeks!!!! fun fun fun!!!!!!!!!!!

Turkey's and Trees

Turkey's
  I am so excited, after we went to the farmer's market on Saturday, we stopped at big acre feed store and they had turkey's.  Of course we bought some silly!!!!! Two of them to be exact.  We named them George and Martha Washington.  We're big on history over here.  We brought them home in a carboard box and they hung out there under the heat lamp while I got the brooder all ready and set up for them.  That's them in the picture, Napoleon doesn't understand, why they can't come out and play.  So, far they have weathered the first 24 hours just fine.  I love to watch them run across the brooder with their little wings extened.   (FYI- baby turkey's are called poults)

Farmer's Market
  Saturday morning, we headed out to the farmer's market in Flint, MI.  It has both an outside and an inside section.   Sadly, the indoor section was not really that impressive, they had some bakery's, a few stands that sold produce and flowers but it was basicly the same stuff you get in the store.  The few art booths that were there, were pretty cool and had some really cute stuff.  We did score a few local items, Cherry Wine made and bottled here in Michigan, My son got a cookie and we got some meatloaf mix and brat's made with Angus beef raised here in michigan with no hormones and no horrid living conditions.  We had the brat's tonight with some salad and the cherry wine for dinner.  It was very good.  After the market we went to tractor supply and of course big acre, where we got our wonderful turkey's.

Apple Tree's
  Well, Sunday we were just gonna hang out and relax and maybe hit the grocery store.  But, after breakfast we decided to go to our new all time favorite store, Tractor Supply (LOL) and get some fence posts, so we could start working on a fence for the turkey's and chickens.  Ended up going for a mini country Sunday drive (we missed our turn and decided to just keep going, you end up seeing the coolest things that way).  After lunch and the grocery store, the hubbs went back to the big acre feed store in Brighton and picked up 16 apple tree's (they were having a big sale).   We bought 8 Joanthan Apple trees and 8 Honeycrisp apple trees.

Ridgetop Farm
 Exciting things, are happening here at Ridgetop we are really on our way to having a farm.  Still to come is the chickens they will arrive in 5 weeks.  Also, still working on our garden plans and perhaps some bee's to help pollenate the orchard and the gardens.   We'll be planting the tree's and gardens once the ground warms up some more.  The hubbs and I are very excited about our farm, things are going well and my son is enjoying everything too.

Gophers and Weekend Plans

It's Friday!!!!!

Both the hubbs and I have the weekend off.   What to do, what to do?  Well, we had plans to work in the yard, removing trash and big sticks, cleaning out the horse trough (that's the chick brooder) and maybe starting on the raised garden beds.  Mother nature on the other hand, had other idea's and the temps will be in the low 30's not exactly conducive to digging up dirt, since our yard is now frozen mud as opposed to just mud.  Never fear, we always find something to do, and we did,  the hubbs, my son and me are gonna head to an indoor farmer's market in Flint, Michigan, I will post a review and maybe some pictures later this weekend.  here's the link for the Flint Farmer's Market if your local.  http://www.flintfarmersmarket.com/



Gophers have big teeth!!!
 this past Monday, my son discovered a dead gopher out by Napoleon's tie-out.  Since, we couldn't put the dog out, until the gopher had been moved, I had to move it, (insert suspense music).  So, your gal Helois, bundled herself up in some muck boots, coat and gloves and trucked out to the barn to get a shovel, back to the gopher and tried several times to get that little guy onto the shovel, it just kept rolling over (ugh!!!).  There I am in the yard rolling a gopher around, thinking to myself I hope this guy is really dead and does not jump up and try to attack me, cause I really didn't want to have to bash it with the shovel, long claws and big teeth, could have done some damage.  Finally found a stick that I used to roll the gopher onto the shovel with.  Poor thing it's side was all crushed in, I think it must have got hit by a car and attempted to make it's way back to it's home. ( which I discovered under the back porch).  Anyway, once the gopher was on the shovel I carried it to the back of the property and lightly buried it in the compost.  Whew, all this before 8am. 

Chickens and Seeds

chicken coop in progress

I finally get my chance to start being a farmer/homesteader.  That's right people, chicks have been ordered, seeds bought, plans started and the hubbs is building a chicken coop.  That being said, I am both nervous and excited, up to this point the only animals I have been responsible for have been dogs, cats, fish and 2 lizards, the lizards however didn't live very long. I will admit that I did not do enough research into the care of lizards before jumping into buying them.  So, when it was decided that we would start our farm with chickens, I took to research like a moth to flame.  (Research, is highly recommended by this gal, who is still upset about the poor lizards).  How do you research chickens you ask?  Well, I started with the Internet, you tube videos, and bought a few books, called hatcheries and  asked people who have chickens some crazy questions.  "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens" by Gail Damerow, was recommended by the women I talked with at Murray McMurray Hatchery in Iowa. This book has become chicken bible, it is packed with loads of information on different breeds of chickens and how to properly care for them.  Armed with this knowledge and help from my hubbs and son.  We (hopefully) will be prepared for our chicks who arrive, May 2nd, 6 weeks away.  Also, up for the next couple of weeks, is to set up the brooder box in the laundry room.  Chicks need to have enough space so, they can get warm and have space to cool down and have access to food and water and room to run around.  Pictures and an update on that later this week.

 It is, also, time to research gardens and how to grow things, cause let me just tell you that I have a very black thumb.  Anytime I have tried to grow flowers, plants or pumpkins they have all just withered.  I really feel that gardening is really going to be a big challenge for me, albeit one that I am looking forward too.  I was told by several people to start with peas, because they like cooler weather and grow easily, is this true???? Does anyone out there know anything about growing veggies and fruit, that can help a gal out?  Right now I have a tray of peat pellets waiting for me to put something in them, and research to do, to find the right place for me to put my garden.

Yes, there is still work to be done to the house, the land and the outbuildings to make this the place of our dreams.  But, you have to start somewhere. This is our start.

Our farm census so far:

1 woman, me Helois

1 man, that's the hubbs (he prefers his name is not online)

1 10 year old boy, (my son who is growing so very fast)

1 cat,  Romeo (who thinks it's his job to sleep 19 hours a day and rub cat hair all over everything)

1 Dog, Napoleon (that's Bonaparte not dynamite) Napoleon a black lab and Burmese mountain dog mix

and in 6 weeks there will be 25 chicks added to that.

Welcome to Tales from Ridgetop Farm; stories of everyday life and the journey into self-sufficiency

the day we moved in

I have wanted to be a farmer/homesteader, ever since I was a little girl and first read the "Little House" books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Ok, perhaps not always, as there were several points in time I wanted to live in big cities like New York and Boston.  But, since you can't have horses in the city I have always come back to wanting to live in the country on a big farm.  Lucky for me I found a like minded Fellow, and together we found a 120 year old farm house on about 5 acres.  So, it's not enough for a big farm, but, it's a start. My goal is greater sustainability and self-sufficiency in a world where those two things seem to have gone out of style. 

  This will be a place that hosts all farm-related posts,things about rural living, and (hopefully) local farm events, recieps and encouragement for those of you also, longing for sustainability.   So thank you for taking time to check up on the homestead in the middle of nowwhere, but a mile from everything. Check in often.