Another Day in the Sun!

It is Sunday and we decided to take a walk around the property and appreciate some of what God has blessed us with. The farm is basically divided into three sections. The fields (or garden) in the front, the woods in the middle and the pasture in the back. The house is in the center of the property where the woods meet the fields shaded by trees on three sides. The pasture was recently cut with the tractor (my butt has recovered since last Saturday) and we took the dogs for a long walk all the way to the back. By the time we got back there they decided that a rest under the Black Walnut trees was a good idea. 

Gayle found a Model Small Farm about an hour Southwest of us in Stanley NC, so Gayle, Ed, Kaitlin and Chris all loaded into the car and went for a visit. The farmers name is Art Duckworth and he calls his place Apple Tree Farm. His claim to fame is that he is working toward being totally self-reliant with solar and wind powered well pumps and organic composting. He grows all of his own vegetables and fruits as well as chickens, pigs and beef cows. Art also has an MBA and a Doctorate as well as a degree in Chemistry. Needless to say Art can save us a lot of time on Wikepedia. We spent two hours talking about compost, water supply, farm finance and seed germination and propogation. The major decision that we came to was that we need to get chickens. Chris also volunteered to come back and work on Art's farm to try to absorb more of the information that is available. Chris has really been working hard to get us up to speed. I think we should name our first rooster after him.

These are some of Chris's beans that just came up. We will cover them with a cold frame at the end of October to extend the season until we harvest. We also are beginning to think about a pond. Water is a critical to any farm and the area suffered through drought conditions for a few seasons recently. We are lucky enough to have good terrain to build a pond and have it fill with ground water as it rains. Kenny, the previous owner put some effort into clearing an area in the woods for a pond but didn't have enough time to finish the project. Hopefully through the winter and into spring we will be able to get the end of the pond closed off and water tight. We will be able to see the pond from the deck behind the house and it will hold water for irrigation and for the animals in the pasture. The patch of weeds in the sun is where the pond will be.

I'm not sure if it will be big enough to water ski, but I don't think Gayle would paddle that fast anyway. Maybe I can use it as an excuse to sit out with a fishing pole, even if there aren't any fish in it. We'll see.