Fresh Eggs For Sale

Not ours but we get a similar range of colors

Funny story that I probably wouldn't have shared but for a development this week. A few weeks back Ken the beeman was at a local Farmer's Market, sharing a table with a lady selling eggs and produce. Now Ken's honey is exemplary, I can vouch for that having eaten it but apparently, according to a passing FDA Inspector, he can't sell it at the market because it doesn't have the weight in grams! As Ken said, he wasn't intending on exporting to Europe, or even Canada, but rules are rules. The Inspector then turned to the lady and said, "you have to take down your sign saying "Fresh Eggs", only eggs that have been inspected and passed by the FDA can be classified as "Fresh"". "But", said the lady, "these were taken out of the coops this morning, they are fresh". Well you can't buck the guvnment, so down came the sign (at least while the Inspector was around, I guess!).

OK, so big laugh all round, typical bureaucracy, and really no one buying at a Farmer's Market probably cares. End of story. So now cut to this week. CNN reports that half a billion eggs have been recalled due to salmonella, and that at least 1,000 people have been poisoned. Now it could be seen that the FDA Inspector was right and only "fresh", as in untainted, eggs get to the consumer and this proves that the system works. Well, no, the eggs did get to the consumer and it was only after they were sick that the eggs were recalled. My Merriam Webster defines "Fresh" as (and I only quote the first entry:
1 a : having its original qualities unimpaired: as (1) : full of or renewed in vigor : refreshed (2) : not stale, sour, or decayed (3) : not faded (4) : not worn or rumpled b : not altered by processing
There is nothing about waiting three days while an FDA Inspector ticks a box to say they are OK, even if they aren't! I shall continue to put out my "Fresh Eggs For Sale" sign, regardless.

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!

Preparations for Next Year

It's never too early to anticipate a happy event! No, I'm not pregnant, and neither is Jorg. Our animal "children" keep us more than fully occupied! Next year (2011) is a milestone birthday for me, and we will be receiving an influx of family visitors on the farm. This will be especially exciting as none of our UK family has seen Triskelion Farm. As a prelude to the visit we have been scraping and painting the house woodwork, and the garden in front of the house has been cleared of the old bushes, leaving room for something more in keeping with the style.



The red barn sides and ends have finally been finished, with a new sliding door, rotting timbers cut out, and the broken glass replaced by plexiglass windows. Jorg is busy painting, and an old carriage wheel will take pride of place above the door. The barn was in bad shape when we bought the farm, with both sliding doors falling off, one side collapsing and sliding out, and the other with gaping holes. It was much too nice to let go, and the main support timbers were sound. Our thanks to Tod Davies who has made a great job of the renovation over the past three years. We now have three cow stalls, a sheep stall, and a run in/winter stall for the minis and Oreo. The hay loft is sound, with only some minor work needing to be done on the roof, and just the electrics needing completion.


One of our granddaughters who is particularly anxious to come and help with the farm and horses is 8-year old Milly, who has been learning to ride and is now a competent tacker-upper, stall mucker-outer and rider. She, and her cousin Aoife, will be welcome additions to our volunteer ranks as, of course, will their parents (just joking - possibly!) Milly has also taken a shine to Bear, one of our sanctuary horses and our oldest inhabitant. He will be her special responsibility while she is with us.

Visitors from the South

They are my favorite visitors, the Barn Swallows. Although whether they are visitors here, or in the south when they leave for the winter, I'm not really sure. However, if their leaving is a sign that Summer is over (as they line up on wires as if waiting for a train) then their return is a definite indication that Spring is well underway. One swallow may not a Summer make, but the four pairs that have returned again this year are surely a hint! It amazes me that they can fly as far afield as Argentina, and still find their way back to a small barn in rural Virginia. Supposed to be something to do with the Earth's magnetic field, which strikes me as OK for the North/South direction, but leaves a lot of latitude (pun intended!) for East/West deviation. Anyway, I'm just glad to see them back, and watch their antics in catching their body weight in bugs to feed their offspring and themselves. My bird book says they fly around 600 miles every day to collect enough! Makes my daily 4 miles around the farm small beer, and puts into perspective those thousand's of miles journeys.

Triskelion's Leonardo and Triskelion's Mona Lisa

We say farewell to Leo this Sunday, and to Mona shortly. Weaning has been relatively trouble free, and are thankful that our cows are so easy to handle, and seem to have passed that down to their calves. Mona is a sweetie and, as we bonded in those first 24 hours as I tried to encourage her to suck Bessie not my fingers, she will be hard to let go. Not least because she is a great example of a mini-Jersey calf, but also she gets quite excited when she sees me coming. Leo is more timid and standoffish, but perfect for a bull calf as you really don't want him in your pocket - even if it is cute when he is small! Both have been taught to halter, lead and tie, and should do us credit in their new homes. Mona will be joining Elvis, and Leo is off to WV with a clean bill of health, both with up to date vaccinations.

Spring is Sprung

As the White Rabbit said "I'm late. I'm late..........." So much to do and so little time to do it.

One minute it's winter and everything is cold, grey and lifeless; the next we are in the 80's, and green, pink and white are bursting out all over. No half measures in Virginia! "Spring is sprung and the grass is grizz" as we used to say. Add your own variation to "I wonder where the.......is?" Lawn mower, veggies, gardener, chainsaw?















The bees, or at least the first hive, have arrived, just in time for the apple and pear blossom. Ken, the Keeper of the Bees, set up our first hive, a small colony to start us off - about 10,000 bees! They were a little tetchy at first, having been kept inside when they expected to be out and about, then vibrated for an hour's drive, and finally dumped in a totally new environment.















However, sanity prevailed and the Lewis's and Clarke's of the hive flew off to scout the farm, and I had the privilege of actually seeing the "waggle" dance on their return. A communication involving body movements and wings, that imparts distance from the hive and declension of the sun, and probably includes acreage, number of trees and likelihood of bee-eating varmints!

On a serious note, maintaining a good honey bee population has become a serious problem. Without them the pollination of fruit in particular becomes seriously impaired. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is a phenomena where a hive's bees (which can contain anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 bees) up and leave, with very few dead bees apparent. Other problems include mites and fungal infections that have also reduced honey bee populations throughout the world. Beekeeping is being encouraged to combat this decline, and if you don't feel up to doing the job yourself many beekeepers (like our own Ken Woodard) are looking for suitable places to put hives, and will maintain them, providing honey in exchange. Still not convinced, then try some of his honey. What's not to like!

The orchard is now complete, with apples, crab apples, pears and peaches, and while the younger trees will not fruit until next year the amount of blossom on the older ones promises some fruit this year (deer permitting).

Meanwhile, Jorg is furiously planting veggies while maintaining good crop rotation and we hope for some great produce to pack out the larder.

Pet Myths

O Frabjous Day!

"O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'

He chortled in his joy."

Yesterday a strange thing happened. A large yellow disc was seen in a cloudless sky, and the temperature reached a level no longer requiring the wearing of 6 layers of clothes! Cleaning the water troughs suddenly became a pleasurable experience, and hoses miraculously became conduits of water again. Was this the end of winter as we know it? Has March remembered the "going out like a lamb" part of the rhyme? It may be too early to tell, but the sun and 60F are fine by me.

Of course with the warmer weather comes the work! Veggie plots to be pooped and turned over; clover to be seeded for the bees (meaning a fence to be erected to keep out the deer (clover AND young apple tree shoots - mmmm!); muzzles to be inspected and mended ready for the spring grass; grassy areas and paddocks to be chain harrowed to get rid of the ruts and hoof marks; and so on and so forth! However, better that than the eternal gloom and cold we have had this winter. My worst since coming to Virginia in 1999. But then Jorg kept telling me I hadn't seen a real VA winter. Well now I have, and survived it, and intend to thoroughly enjoy the sun.