Excellent suggestions to keep in mind next time you visit the farmer’s market.
When I lived in New York, my Saturday morning routine went like this: wake up, go for a run, grab coffee, go to the farmers’ market. The run and the coffee were negotiable depending on the weather, my mood and a variety of other factors, but skipping the farmers’ market was never an option. It was the highlight of my week. It still is, only these days I’m selling more than buying.
View original post 830 more words
Posted in Uncategorized
There are a couple of opportunistic drakes who have decided it’s worth being chased by piglets if it means they might score a stray grain or two from the hogs’ breakfast…
November 1, 2013 in Ducks, Pigs, Uncategorized
Tagged animals, Dark Creek Farm, ducks, farm, homestead, Large black hogs, Pigs
We’re going to replace the small wheels with larger ones to make the house easier to move.
We’ve been playing around with chicken house designs for a while now. The first version was low-slung with two wheels at one end and two handles at the other. It can be moved easily by one person as long as the terrain is reasonably un-bumpy.
The whole roof is hinged and inside there’s a single perch and four nesting boxes.
The whole roof lifts open for ease of egg-collecting and cleaning.
We found it was the perfect size for bantams, though we have also used it when we needed to segregate a few Light Brahma hens with Bill during breeding season. This solid house has a locking door for security at night. That door opened into a wire chute, which led to one of our hoop-house design wire runs. The whole thing (house plus attached portable run) is easily moved and, for a few bantams, provides lots of protection from birds of prey (we have trouble with eagles, ravens, and hawks). They get fresh grass and safe outdoor living while being protected. But, it was really too small for full-sized chickens on a long-term basis.
So, we built a bigger chicken house and a larger attached run-out, which will be the subject of a future post.
Pippi standing beside the chicken house for scale – not that this helps if you don’t know how tall she is! If you haven’t met her in person, she is just a bit taller than my knees. If you haven’t met me, that’s not particularly tall. So maybe putting the dog in there wasn’t very useful at all!
Posted in Blog, Chickens, Uncategorized
Tagged chicken coop, chickens, chooks, coop design, Dark Creek Farm, farm, hens, homestead
And this, alas, is one of those. It was time to say goodbye to my old broodmare, Bonny. The vet came out and it was all over in a few minutes. The fact the end was peaceful for the old girl did nothing to make it easier for her human companions. Nope, our animals simply do not live long enough.
What made everything extra bizarre was right as I was waiting for the vet to arrive I received an email from my brother saying he and his family were stuck aboard their plane on the tarmac at LAX. The airport was in lockdown mode and he wanted to let us know they were all fine.
Family members evacuating from LAX on foot… Everyone is fine, though they had to spend a while aboard their plane on the tarmac.
The two events together really underscored the fact that the line between being here – and not – is a fine one, indeed. And, anything can happen – just like that your life can be turned upside-down. I am sure feeling appreciative of my lovely family today (thanks for being there during a trying time today, guys), and relieved that those who are travelling are ok. What a strange mix of emotions… I think I need to go and hug a dog or kiss a chicken, or something.
Posted in Blog, Horses, Uncategorized
Tagged broodmare, Dark Creek Farm, family, LAX, old horse, welsh cob, welsh pony
And a bit of a slow heat, at that…
A little while back I thought I’d ask what animals you’d like to see in future DCF videos, but the votes come in and then promptly cancel each other out! As I write this post, there’s a dead heat for ducks, turkeys, hogs, and goats! So, here’s the poll again so we can get some tie-breaking happening:
While we are all waiting for the results to sort themselves out and provide some clear direction, here’s a short (very) video featuring an animal not on the list:
Posted in Blog, Uncategorized
darkcreekfarmdotcom 