Homegrown Potatoes

I LOVE getting my hands dirty. So digging up our potatoes, was like being a kid again! Earlier this year we (me and my friend Britney) planted our shared veggie garden. It was so much fun and we dreamed of the meals we would make with the crops. A few weeks ago, our garden got ravished by grasshoppers. (oh I really don't like those little things anymore!) We were stuck, we knew we couldn't "exterminate" the garden with chemicals, so we lost almost everything!

One thing that we didn't lose, because they grow underground, were the potatoes. The grasshoppers did manage to eat all of the plant above (basically killing it), so we had to dig up the potatoes so they didn't spoil. Even though it was a huge bummer, we had fun anyways - we dug up the Red Potatoes, the Yukon Gold Potatoes, and some of the Purple Fingerling Potatoes.

I know this looks really gross, but I found it fascinating.

The Substitute Farmer Chick - Days 4, 5 & 6

Well the last few days have been quite uneventful. Which is GOOD! No snakes...YAY! Although the bugs are coming-out-of-the-woodwork. But that, I can handle :) So, I know this is no surprise to you, but the rebels were out again today. Caught them red handed in the grain building.

 

Naughty, naughty! I went to take a pic of the other rebel, and realized that it was a very "bad" picture (well if you are a chicken)

 

So I didn't tell her, or show her the picture :)

This week has been one that I will not soon forget. The beauty of the land, the flowers, the animals. All God's creations...even the bugs and snakes. Just beautiful and awe inspiring. So before I get more mushy, I will leave you with this thought...Hug a farmer today! For they are the ones that take care of this land, take care of our growing our food, feed the animals, and honor what God has entrusted us with.

Substitute Farmer Chick - Day 3

Tonight went great! Didn't see any snakes, all animals were accounted for, nobody was doing anything they weren't supposed to be doing...well except for the rebels, they were out again.

 

So I figured once we were done with the chores, we would enjoy God's beauty on the farm! So here you go...

Substitute Farmer Chick - Day 2

Today was quite an adventure! As we arrived at the farm, we were, again, greeted by Buddy! He always look so happy :).

We broke out the list and got started. First we gathered eggs, and had to move 2 chickens, this time, out of the way to get there eggs. There was a lot of pecking going on. I don't know why I get startled, I should expect it. We only collected 10 eggs today - I think the girls are slowing down cause of the heat (I know I would). As I was walking back from taking the eggs into the house, I stepped on something weird, and then it moved...It was a SNAKE! I screamed (which is weird for me since I love snakes). I instantly looked for a rattle...no rattle! YAY!

 I quickly went over to the chicken area to tell my Studly Ranch Hand, where he was dealing with his own dilemma. He assured me that the snake was either a Bull Snake or a King Snake. Then we took a look at his dilemma. There was a Rooster sitting IN the water of the water tank. He was still on the ramp when I got there, but the, proceeded to flap his wings and ended up for a swim.

We watched for a bit, not knowing until later that chickens can't swim. He must have been a duck hybrid, because that boy could swim! But what he couldn't do was get himself out of the water. So I got to follow him around and get him over to the edge and pulled him out. He was very calm about the whole thing, but some how I still got really wet.

We were then on a mission. Our friends son, who is 6) asked if I could take a picture of Sophie so he could make sure she was doing good. Sophie is his chicken. So I found Sophie and clicked some pics. She is a cutie, I love her curly feathers.

Next we moved on to watering the herbs, lettuce, flowers on the porch and then the rows of veggies we planted in the garden. By now I was a little freaked out about the ground cover - it was so easy for a snake to hide in it. So we proceeded to water - the potatoes, onions, Swiss chard, beans, and the rest.

I saw something move out of the corner of my eye...yep another Snake! Luckily I saw the long yellow stripe it had down its back so I told myself it was another Bull or King Snake, but not before shrieking like a little girl. This time my hubby came running and stood guard while I finished watering.

What an eventful day! And I thought today was going to be boring! heehee. Before we left, we made sure to check on the ducks, the cats and the kittens. All doing good! Hoping tomorrow is way less eventful! :)

Substitute Farmer Chick - Day 1

While the real farmers are on a family vacation, the Substitute Farmer Chick (that's me) and my Studly Ranchhand (my hubby) are Farm Sitting. :) So here is our chance to make our friends proud!

We got a long list with very detailed information for how to take care of things while they are gone. So I printed out our list, grabbed our water bottles, and made sure to wear my boots (cause there has been rattlesnakes spotted on their land).

Buddy (their dog) greeted us when we drove up. He was very excited to see us! First I went over to check out the gardens that we planted a few months ago. Boy they are growing quite a bit! Here is one of the little critters I saw in the strawberry field.

 Then I noticed the green onions we planted. Oh my goodness, they are getting big and they look so yummy! I can't wait to try them.

 Now onto getting eggs and feeding the chickens. In the notes my friend gave us, she mentioned that if we didn't close the gate to the chicken area then they would escape. Then we noticed that a couple already had, without us even going near the gated area. One was a little white curly looking chicken that could get through the slats in the fence. Another one, we decided, there was NO way she could have gotten through those slats and she was a runner! But after I chased her for a while, I caught her! I was so excited.

 She was pretty fast...until she ran into a corner. :) Once I caught her, I thought I was going to have a hard time holding on to her, but she was really sweet and gentle, she didn't even peck me. I put her back in with the other chickens and proceeded to the next part of our list.

We went into the chicken coop to gather eggs. I was warned that one of the hens would be sitting on her eggs and that I would have to move her out of the way to get the eggs from underneath her. I thought, this should be easy! I might even get out of there without getting pecked. :) I gathered all the eggs from the other nests first and then went towards the hen that was sitting on hers.

I was able to get a few of the eggs out from under her without incedent, and then she decided she didn't want me to get the rest, so that's when the pecking started. I was shocked at first, but then had to laugh. It wasn't even hard, kinda tickled. Well she was a lady and let me get the rest of the eggs, but not before she gave me that dirty look.

We collected over a dozen eggs and made sure all of the chickens had fresh food and water. Now onto checking on the new litter of kittens to make sure they had enough food and water. And to play with them, of course!

After everyone was fed, watered and played with, we finished our first day by watering the herbs and flowers on the porch. Our reward... Fresh cut chives for our homemade pizza tonight! Looking forward to Day 2 - and hoping that no more chickens escape while we are out.