Another Market Day

Summer goes on.  It’s been a strange summer, weather-wise.  Overall, it’s been cooler than normal.  The market days have been going very well for the farm and we’re always grateful!!  The next market day is tomorrow, August 9th from 08:00 until noon at the Ligonier Country Market.  Come on out and enjoy the market.  We’ll have three varieties of summer squash, garlic, shallots, “Contender” green beans, “Pencil Pod” yellow beans, young kale, “Red Norland” potatoes, and cukes.  Hope to see you there!  We’ve been getting the fall vegetables planted:  lettuces, carrots, etc., in preparation for the November Christmas market in Ligonier.

Market Day June 21st

Boy, it’s been right warm.  The 85-90 degree temps and humidity are a bit much.  Storms are in the forecast this week.  I’m preparing for another market day this Saturday, June 21st at the Ligonier Country Market.  Unfortunately, the blueberries are taking their sweet time in ripening, so they won’t be on the list of offerings.  We will have romaine lettuce, kale, spring onions, snow peas, and herbs.  The season is progressing nicely and we’ll have lots more come July.  Enjoy the warmth.  See you at the market!

Market Day Preparations

I’ve been busy prepping for the market.  Two kinds of lettuce, two kinds of spring onions, three types of radishes, some young kale and baby beet greens along with herbs.  Tomorrow, June 7, 2014 is market day at the Ligonier Country Market.  Stop on by!  I’m the one in the cowboy hat.  Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Market Time Has Arrived

The vegetables are finally ready for market day tomorrow in Ligonier.  Although the market began last weekend, the veggies have taken longer than expected to be of harvestable size.  Join me tomorrow at the Ligonier Country Market.  I will be selling:  green onions, green garlic, radishes, baby lettuce, baby spinach, baby kale, arugula, peppermint, chives, and lovage.  Hope to see you there!

May Is Dandelion Time

What do ya know about that?!  It’s May already.  What in the world happened to April (let alone March)?  It’s been a rainy and cool past few days here on the old homestead.  Good weather for the spinach, beets, carrots, and ducks.  The sheep aren’t too thrilled with the rain.  Everything is a muddy mess.  I’ve been working on extending the pasture fence the past few days since it’s way too wet to work the soil.  The temperatures have been running about 60F during the day and about 45-50F at night.  The grass is growing well…and so are the dandelions.  If you’re moaning at the thought of dandelions, take heart.  It’s just about time to start making dandelion wine.  It looks like the dandelion flush will begin this weekend.  I hope to make a video of the process so you can see how I make that wine.  Stay tuned to this blog!

Westmoreland County Envirothon 2014

Fortiter Farm was honored to be the invited speaker at the county’s 2014 Envirothon. The Envirothon is a competition between county high schoolers on environmental topics. The winner of each county’s Envirothon goes on to compete at the state level.  These are some intelligent young people at this event!

Freckles and I were there along with two laying hens. The students were great and Freckles had a blast meeting everyone.  I talked about everything on the farm from how much it costs to produce a dozen eggs, the ins and outs of growing vegetables 11 months out of the year,  to how to control certain types of pests without chemicals, to sheep diseases.  When we finally got home and I unloaded her from the truck, she ate a mouthful of hay in her pen and then went to sleep. Little lamb you had a busy day!  Many thanks to all the high school students who were very attentive and welcomed us!

Triplet Trouble

Yesterday afternoon, when I got home from work, I went out and fed the critters like I normally do. When I was out feeding the sheep, I noticed that one of the triplets was acting very strange. She had a lot of white foam and mucus coming out of her nose and mouth…copious amounts. She was gasping. She was going up on her hind legs and coming down on all four. She also was urinating a lot. When she shook the slime off her face, she bleated. Her head was held way out and when she moved, she shook her head. Quickly, I ran in the house and looked up all possible medical conditions.

My first thought was pneumonia or some type of upper respiratory issue, but as I read the symptoms, it didn’t fit her symptoms. The next possible ailment was a type of bloat. I’ve never heard of a lamb, 2 weeks old and not consuming pasture grass, getting bloat on milk. Having no other alternative, it was my best guess. I called a couple who raise sheep and their thought was that it was a digestive issue and that I should expect a dead lamb in the morning.

Not wanting to accept defeat, I ran out and gave her about a tablespoon of olive oil to act as an anti-foaming agent. If it was a bloat, the reduction of foam would allow her body to expel the gases that were building up in her digestive tract. There was nothing else I could do but pray. I went out about an hour later and the foam had disappeared and she stopped bleating but she was just standing there, listless. I thought, “well, we’ll see”. I went out just before sunset, an hour after noticing no foam, and she was out there nursing with great fervor, acting like nothing ever happened. What a miracle! This morning, she’s acting like nothing ever happened. Needless to say, I slept very soundly last night.

Moving right along

The weather this past weekend was superb! A bit hot, however, for spinach. It was 83 on Sunday. Some snow arrived yesterday (Tuesday) along with sub-freezing temperatures. The vegetables looked fine this morning at 27 degrees. I started planting potatoes on Monday with 100ft planted so far. The triplets are doing very well. Here’s a shot taken yesterday when they were one week old.

New Faces on the Farm!

The next ewe to give birth did so this morning…around 06:00am. We have triplets! So far, all are doing well. I have to keep an eye on them to make sure that they all are nursing being the mother only has two teats. I stripped her teats to get the milk flowing and made sure all the babies got a chance at the milk bar. Here’s the link to see them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldh6JBC_Wrc

Separation Anxiety

I spent most of the day getting the lamb’s new digs ready. It was time today to get the orphan out with the other sheep. She’s out in her jug (pen) where she can see the others but is still protected. Gave her a bottle then got her set up with hay, pellets, and water. She’s sheltered from the rain…it’s coming down pretty good now. I sat for a time, outside her jug, in the rain, watching her as she nibbled on hay and eyed the water dish disapprovingly. She cried when I left her. It sounded so pitiful. One of those sounds where you just want to run back and scoop her up, tail wagging. But, I just walked away. Her time with just me is done now. It’s time for her to be what she is supposed to be and be part of the flock. And, speaking of time, it’s about time for me to make supper and then enjoy a hot bath and a warm fire to get rid of this chill.