Our friend, Mark Read, has revamped the Burns Best Farm website by moving us onto Moveable Type and incorporating my blog into the website proper. I love the new look and having the blog right there makes keeping up to date handy.
Which means that I'm blogging pretty exclusively right there on the farm website. I'll try to check back in here, as having the Blogger account allows me to comment as a member of "the club" at Testosterhome, The Common Room, Entdraughts and other Blogger blogs I like to read.
And you know how I like to comment!
Between the garden and the blog, the summer is flying by. I hope yours is full of fun and relaxation, too. Check our farm website to see our latest adventure.
Showing posts with label new beginnings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new beginnings. Show all posts
Monday, July 16, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Chicken Feathering
We have chickens in our basement. I've lost count on exactly how many. I think it's 59 total. They came in the mail as day old chicks and we've had them now for ten days.
I cannot adequately express in words how much I love watching these little chickens. They are completely instinctual at this point in their young lives and if the urge hits them to scratch or peck or stretch or fly, they follow the urge. Immediately. Sometimes they try to do two or more of these urges simultaneously, and that makes me laugh out loud. Which sets off another round of silliness in the brooder box.
When they came in the mail and I lifted off the box top, they were so cute and downy and small. Ten days later, they've lost the down on their wings and tails and their feathers have replaced the cute fuzz. When they stretch, they will move their wings to the side and back of their bodies and you can get an idea of how big the wings already are, even though their bodies are still small by comparison. The chicks have doubled in size, at the very least. But their wings look like they are four times as big.
And the feathers! Marvelous, beautiful colors and markings. The breeds are easy to spot but the markings on same-breed birds are ever so slightly different from chick to chick. Darker, lighter, more blond here or more brown there. It's just so amazing to watch their bodies grow and change day to day.
I think that's what I'm liking about farm life right off the bat. Being able to take the time each day to observe exactly what's happening at the moment, and pointing those things out to the kids so they can stop and appreciate the moment, too.
Did I mention I love those chickens?
I cannot adequately express in words how much I love watching these little chickens. They are completely instinctual at this point in their young lives and if the urge hits them to scratch or peck or stretch or fly, they follow the urge. Immediately. Sometimes they try to do two or more of these urges simultaneously, and that makes me laugh out loud. Which sets off another round of silliness in the brooder box.
When they came in the mail and I lifted off the box top, they were so cute and downy and small. Ten days later, they've lost the down on their wings and tails and their feathers have replaced the cute fuzz. When they stretch, they will move their wings to the side and back of their bodies and you can get an idea of how big the wings already are, even though their bodies are still small by comparison. The chicks have doubled in size, at the very least. But their wings look like they are four times as big.
And the feathers! Marvelous, beautiful colors and markings. The breeds are easy to spot but the markings on same-breed birds are ever so slightly different from chick to chick. Darker, lighter, more blond here or more brown there. It's just so amazing to watch their bodies grow and change day to day.
I think that's what I'm liking about farm life right off the bat. Being able to take the time each day to observe exactly what's happening at the moment, and pointing those things out to the kids so they can stop and appreciate the moment, too.
Did I mention I love those chickens?
Names
I originally named this blog "Long Distance Farming" because at the time, we were living in the suburbs of Atlanta during the week and driving to the farm on the weekends. Not even every weekend, at least during the colder months. But most weekends of the year, we made a 90 mile trip here and then a 90 mile trip back to the city.
Now that we have made the move to the farm permanent, I think I'll keep the blog named as it is, even though there is no geographical distance separating us from the land that we love. There remains a "long distance" between what I know right now to farm successfully and what I need to know to make a successful farm a reality. That distance shrinks a little bit each month that goes by, but it's still a sizeable gulf to bridge.
Thankfully, we're here to see it all every day and learn to watch and listen. For me, that's where the learning begins, observing. Then reading. Lots and lots of reading. And then, the doing helps, too.
Now that we have made the move to the farm permanent, I think I'll keep the blog named as it is, even though there is no geographical distance separating us from the land that we love. There remains a "long distance" between what I know right now to farm successfully and what I need to know to make a successful farm a reality. That distance shrinks a little bit each month that goes by, but it's still a sizeable gulf to bridge.
Thankfully, we're here to see it all every day and learn to watch and listen. For me, that's where the learning begins, observing. Then reading. Lots and lots of reading. And then, the doing helps, too.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The Beginning of Something New
Welcome to my new posting spot on the World Wide Web. I have another home at Homestead Blogger where I enjoy trading secrets and techniques on gardening, raising small livestock and making home a pleasant place to live. You can check out my archives here.
In an effort to raise visibility and correspond with other like-minded agrarians, I have opened this blog. I hope to see you here occasionally as I recount the adventures and encounters of a citified family going country.
If you are living the farm life, brushing up on your homemaking skills, preserving a harvest of food, or raising chickens or pigs, leave me a comment and a link to your blog. I'd love to visit with you.
Labels: random thoughts, new beginnings
In an effort to raise visibility and correspond with other like-minded agrarians, I have opened this blog. I hope to see you here occasionally as I recount the adventures and encounters of a citified family going country.
If you are living the farm life, brushing up on your homemaking skills, preserving a harvest of food, or raising chickens or pigs, leave me a comment and a link to your blog. I'd love to visit with you.
Labels: random thoughts, new beginnings
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