Growing Up and Moving On

Remember when the asparagi was just a boot or so high? No more!







Time flies, eh? One minute they're wee little whipper snappers who need all your time and attention, the next they're stealing booze from your liquor cabinet and heading off to university....

Farmer-Apprentice Relationship

Here's a couple of photos of Apprentice Tim and Farmer Brock. Obviously they're discussing important farming issues and cultivating the mentor-mentee relationship.





And for shits and giggles, here's a picture of Tim enjoying the tractor and a t-shirt that references a little television program by the name of Northern Exposure:

Strawberries

Last year's strawberry plants are starting to produce some fruit! For the past few days, we've been busy weeding, mulching, and cleaning up last year's strawberry patch. Check it out:



And this is what it looked like not so long ago:







Who would have thought that there were strawberries underneath that dandelion patch?

Last of the Mohicans

For your viewing pleasure: an empty rabbit hut.



But wait! There's something scuffling around inside....



A chicken! Here she is in all her glory:



Unfortunately, she's the last of her kind on the farm. Minks, dogs, birds of prey, and other assorted predators got to the once thriving, free-range chicken population on Makaria Farm. This little lady, however, is a survivor! She likes to follow us around the farm and make sure we're not getting into any trouble. Lately, she's taken to hanging out around the RV and poking around for slugs. I like to think that she thinks of us as her flock.

Despite her friendliness, she never lets you get too close. Farmer Brock, however, insists that she can be petted. After a few soda pops (if you know what I mean) around a campfire the other night, he attempted to demonstrate this theory. Long story short, Farmer Brock wasn't successful and I really, really wish I had a photo to share of that special moment....

Hark!

What's that in the distance? Snow? Ice?



Let's take a closer look....







Yup. That's right. It's a weed! Thousands of tiny, vegetable choking weeds that, if left unattended, can grow up a few feet and drop hundreds of more weed seeds. That's crazy. This little fella is called pigweed, which I think is an appropriately obnoxious name for an obnoxious plant.

My crystal ball tells me I've got a lot of hoeing to do this summer.....

6 Farm Photos

1) I found a robin's nest in one of the sheds. Mama robin was not impressed with my rooting around for fertilizers in the shed. She's got babies to hatch.



2) I also noticed these colourful bowling pins in the same shed. Maybe there will be some summer time bowling in my future?



3) We're planting some sweet corn! Here are the seeds.



4) We've been doing a lot of transplanting these days, but before we separate soil blocks and head out to the fields, we have to check the bottom of our trays for slugs. Although slugs are slow movers, they're fast eaters. Kind of like Tim, Brock, and everyone else on the farm except for me.

5) For the first time, I also noticed these warnings on the bread trays we use for soil blocking. Apparently these warnings go unheeded.

6) Lettuce! This is the first crop I've actually been able to harvest and eat here on the farm. We've got a lot of lettuce out in the fields, but these guys have been growing quite successfully in one gallon pots in the greenhouse.

Beer, Mac 'n Cheese, and "The Postman"

A couple of weekends ago, I had the day off and the farm to myself. So I took this opportunity to drink beer, have dinner, and watch The Postman in Farmer Brock and Heather's house. Dinner included mac 'n cheese, kale buds, and avocado.

No, Kevin Costner, thank YOU for being there for me!

For those of you not in the know, The Postman is a post-apocalyptic movie about a drifter, Kevin Costner, who reluctantly fights tyranny by delivering mail. It includes excellent lines like "You give out hope like it was candy in your pocket," a guest appearance by Tom Petty, a rousing rendition of "America the Beautiful," and a pretty awesome scene where Costner gallops, super slow-mo, up to a child to snatch a piece of mail from his hand:



All in all, a very enjoyable evening....