Watching things grow

This is a very fun time of year.
Matt remarked to me the other evening that we can practically watch the garden grow.

Potatoes!

We have some flea beetle enjoying our plants. As beginner gardeners we learning what we are up against in this venture

Here is an interesting observation regarding the quinoa. Its the stripe of green on the far left of the garden. Part of it is thick and green, the other part looks like it did last year: smaller, thinners and changing to bright colours. The area that looks good is where we had our garden last year. I believe it needs richer soil and it is only thriving in the area we have improved with compost over two years now.

But the garden isn't the only thing growing!

We moved our piggies with the trailer for the first time. This is something fairly important to us. The first year we raised pigs we didn't move them with the trailer until the day they went to butcher. What an ordeal, and the clock was ticking away! Finally, the last one we had to wrestle into the trailer, and with 220lbs of unwilling pig, it was not a fun time. Also, after months of loving on them and putting our hearts into raising them very best we can, who wants to take them to the butcher all stressed and worked up?
We have learned a lot since then, including the benefits of  pasturing them. We move them continually through the summer and each time we pop them in the trailer to move them. We don't have fancy chutes to load them, so really we are relying on their desire to load themselves. We try to make it a very rewarding experience and the first try kind of sets you up for future loading. 



This turned out to be a perfect first loading. A couple even followed little farm girl into the trailer before I had brought all the goodies out.
They are drowning in grass once again in their new spot and loving it!

Speaking of drowning in grass...

We had an interesting chicken moving experience.



We generally just take down all the chicken fencing, which is a predator proof electric poultry netting, and move the camper and set up over. Then we reset the fence and herd the chickens who didn't follow back in. We didn't realize quite how quickly the grass in the hay field was growing and about two minutes after letting the chickens out, they were completely gone! There was just rustling grass here and there and the occasional head popping up in a sparse area. We had to go all over gathering lost and wayward chickens. As we finished there was a suspicious rustling less than ten feet away, and sure enough, one last chicken! Now I remember why over last summer we used to move them in the evenings after their curfew!

 Here are some pictures from around the farm this week.

A gorgeous morning butterfly

I wish I could decorate my house as nice as the beauty we find outside...

Not to attract from the lilac, but notice how one flower at the very top only has three petals?

A squirrel came onto the deck during breakfast. Its was Tonka's delight to make it very unwelcome. She is still watching for it!

Love these colours!

Beep out hunting ants. No improvement to his leg but he is getting very agile by compensating in various ways.

Note little farm girls "chick purse". Its a little bag with an open top that beep rides in to his various bug catching destinations.

We fenced an area to til and plant green manures. It will be our garden expansion for next year. Right now I have horses eating down the grass. We were hoping to run pigs and let them weed it next but they are still too little to make quick work of it.



The garden is my favorite spot right now. Sun and warmth, good things growing, horses munching and chickens scratching.

And off all the good things we are growing, here are the most important ones!

I love sharing my days with these little farmers!