Taking time for beauty!
There are so many beautiful moments on the farm, one has to pause from all the work to breath it in. I try to capture it when I can.
What appears here to be fog spanning the field at sunrise is actually smog from local forest fires that the morning dew is holding down.

Even driving the tractor at sunset I have to pulled out my phone . . .

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When I’m in the field, I wish others could see what I see, so often I take pictures or videos and send them to my other wildlife friends. There is beauty in the farm itself, and of course our many “veggies with spirit”, but there is also quite a bit of wildlife, and not always good for our veggies.

If you don’t know what track this is, it is a deer!
We have had much problem with deer and ground hog this year. The mild winter and extreme amount of rain during this whole last year has been good for wildlife and our area of Jersey is overrun by “veggie lovers”.

Guess? Wild turkey. This one is a loner and seems to like the farm,
our house, and a few neighbor’s yards these days.

Small little toads about 1 inch long have hatched everywhere
this year all around the farm.

Dragonflies and many insects and even birds find their way into
the greenhouses and can’t seem to find their way out. I try to catch
what I can and help them on their way. This time a hummingbird
found it’s way in.

Unfortunately after exhausting itself, I was able to get it out and it took flight for it’s last time, only to die in my hand as I was bringing to our wildflower garden.

I am still surprised sometimes by what I find.
A small box turtle the size of my outstretched hand. I saw it from the tractor after mowing down a field of wheat. I picked it up and put it thru our fencing back towards the woods.

I wish I could show you all the things I see, but then I really wouldn’t get much work done. I am blessed everyday by the beauty on our farm!

After six full years of active growing, I decided to take some time off to rest and enjoy what life offers other than farming. I have been practicing my music and dance, knitting, finishing up the treehouse project that started two years ago, and spending time with my family. I am hoping to fully rejuvenate over the winter and make a come-back. I am now spending part of my time preparing for the next season.

Our beekeeper decided to plant several fields of buckwheat to provide flowers for our bees. We also have been experimenting by stone grinding the seeds. I was amazed at the sheer beauty of the flowers.

Newly planted strawberries are beginning to root.

The two year project of our tree house is finally completed! It has been a wonderful hideaway.

Eight more greenhouses to go with compost and mineral spreading. It is a back breaking labor of love.

Many thanks to those who have not forgotten us and reached out. We hope to see you soon. 🙂

 

 

We have been feeling bad about not updating our website for almost two years, but 2015 was an extra difficult year with having almost no help on the farm. Debi and I had to work so many hours, trying to do everything ourselves. Regardless, the farm still looks gorgeous and cleaner than ever. Here are the some of the beauties:

Thank you for all of your support, everyone.
Have a great holiday season! See you in the new year.

This Winter has been the coldest one with an unusual amount of snow accumulating almost every other day. Our precious Winter break was spent shoveling snow off the driveways and around the farm, but rewarded by a cup of good hot chocolate waiting on the wood burning stove. Nevertheless, we were able to capture many beautiful moments that the snow had brought us. Here are some of the photographs . . .

Despite the enormous amount of snow piled up and covering the entire sides of our hoophouses, the inside story is quite a contrast. Look at these gorgeous greens waiting to be harvested and enjoyed. With the sun shining outside, the temperature soars up to the 80’s and warms up the entire space during the day so that our delicate plants can survive another cold night to come.

When these little seedlings grow big enough to be transplanted to the field, we know then Spring has finally come to the farm!

 

Alas! The little plants that were dormant in the ground are lifting their heads up through the March snow to let us know that Spring in on it’s way. The Winter seems to want to linger which slows the planting season, but we are still busy planning our second year on the new farm. We also have been studying and researching a lot with hopes of providing more exciting “veggies with spirit.”

Most of January was spent repairing the greenhouses that were damaged from hurricane Sandy last Fall, and we even managed to build 3 more which now totals 6 large and 2 small green/hoop houses. Everyone worked very hard pounding the posts through the frozen ground, including my poor son who couldn’t use his hands for a whole week afterwards.

Without the full heat, even the cold hardy plants had to be under extra covers in order to be protected from freezing.

See how they survived under those shrouds and are now thriving? All kinds of greens are as happy as they can be.

“When do you get your little peppers?” is the question most asked by our customers everyday. Well, here they are! In the greenhouse, still suffering a bit from the the cold night temperatures but hanging in there. We can’t wait till they flower and start to bear little tiny peppers that grow into everyone’s favorite, Shishito.

Oh, last but not least, over-wintered broccoli raabs that surpass the sweetness of candy are just starting to shoot out their floret stems. Hopefully, a few more days of nice weather will bring them one step closer to harvest. Yummmm, sauteed broccoli raab, anyone?