"'Tis the Season"

The Dogwood (Virginia's State tree) in the yard is now in full leaf, which means that gardening is in full swing!  Now, I am a reluctant gardener whereas Jorg is an enthusiastic one.  While I am dragged, kicking and screaming, to the various veggie beds I do, of course, enjoy the fruits of our labors.  We have already tasted the first strawberries from our small patch, have harvested the early beet, and have lettuce and spinach available in satisfying amounts for our regular salads (along with eggs from the chickens). Now that the last frosts are over (we hope!) the tomatoes from the greenhouse are in the ground, as well as broccoli, brussel sprouts, and snap peas.  If the bugs don't get them (mild winter, so a possibility) and a possible drought is avoided, we shall have a great Summer feast.  In the pipeline, it takes a couple of years to get them established, are asparagus, paw paws, plums and blueberries, and with the existing figs, peaches, pears and apples, promise a "fruitful" future.  Funnily enough writing that all down makes the back aching work in tending the beds, and keeping the bugs at bay almost worthwhile!

Summertime Blues and Highs

Well the highs first. The Triskelion Farm Sailing Club was officially inaugurated with the naming and launch of the PS (Pond Sailboat) Emma. She is a mini Sun Fish and perfect for our 2 acre pond. Not quite up to Aegean and Mediterranean standards, but adequate for an old sailor with a dodgy knee! It does mean we need a dock, as manoevring in and out in two feet of muddy water is inelegant to say the least. Maybe by next year......

It does allow me to repeat one of the few poetry verses I know (from the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner - very apt!):

"The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
the furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea."

On the blue's side the prolonged drought (we have had less than an inch of rain in the past month or so) and a poor first cut is making our target of at least 1500 bales for the winter look very unlikely. We have already put the cows on round bales, and are feeding hay to the horses as the grass has stopped growing in the paddocks. The heat has also taken its toll on the chickens. I always thought that farmers had a perpetually worried look on their faces, and now I know why! The constant balancing of animal husbandry, field condition and crop potential is enough to wake you up in the middle of the night screaming. Even at the small holding level that we farm at, eyeing the weather and measuring the level of the grass in the hay field are hourly concerns. It's easy to see why so many have given up the land for less stressful pursuits.

On the vegetable garden side it has been highs and lows. The squash did well until the bugs took over, but the egg plants have struggled to get established. A good crop of tomatoes has been spoiled by an aggravating amount of end rot - keeping a constant supply of water at the base being one of the culprits. The early lettuce and spinach were good, and we have some nice water melons, but the potatoes were totally ravaged by beetles. Sometimes it's just hard to be in three places at once!

We learn something new every year, and you can't beat hands-on experience, however good the advice from outside. I'm sure next year will be a bumper year in all respects, although I will still be looking quizzically at the weather!

C'mon, you can do it.

The rain started last night, initially as a thunderstorm, then settled down to a soft, monotonous soaker- exactly what we need. Like many hay growers we have been viewing this summer’s weather with some apprehension, as conditions are drier than we would like. Last year, drought conditions forced the price of hay up so high that many people either gave up their livestock, or tried to do without hay. Cattle owners resorted to unconventional silage sources and horse owners picked up an interest, many for the first time, in hay extender pellets. Rescue operators in the southeast faced the dual stresses of trying to feed their horses and trying to accommodate the high number of distress calls. Like many rescues, we reached an all-time high for the number of horses we housed.

While we recognize that recent weather patterns and economic conditions have made for more expensive hay and feed, we encourage people to hang in there and keep their horses. If you have had your best guy or gal for 20-something years, now is not the time to send them packing. If you do not feel a sense of responsibility to them, how in the world can you trust in strangers with no emotional connection to them to keep them safe? We rescue the horses that have or will have absolutely no one else to take care of them. Virginia has the 5th largest equine population in the country and we have many horses displaced through genuine owner hardship or lack of owner accountability. Please don’t add your horse to this population. Do the right thing- keep them safe at home, even if you have to give up Netflix and fast food for awhile. It’s not that hard. Maybe not everyone can do it, but most of you can.

Still no calves. The cows are oblivious to our anxiety.

Yesterday, a potential adopter met one of our horses for the first time. It was love at first sight. Our little mare, to our great relief, was the epitome of grace and good behavior- especially for a four-year old. Four-year old horses are generally more likely to step on your feet and panic in wild-eyed, snorting, full-scale alert over bugs and planetary motion when someone shows up who might be interested in them. The potential adopter was kind and skilled and I was jubilant when she handed me the application.