One Year In

The last post on the blog was back on July 4^th.  Already it is Thanksgiving.  Where did the time go?!  Well, the weeks and months in between have been the proverbial hive of activity.  As a result, much has changed on the farm. 

From a livestock perspective, two litters of guinea hog piglets have expanded the porcine population.  Trudy had another litter and Bitsy had her first where she farrowed 9 piglets with 8 of them surviving.  Thing 1 and Thing 2 were taken to the butchers in September.  Collectively they weighed 620 lbs and produced over 450 lbs of pork.  This necessitated purchasing another freezer!  Despite the many hours invested in building the guinea fowl a big coop the guinea flock quickly began roosting in the trees and have never looked back since.  Despite living wild, only two or three birds were lost to predators.

Guinea fowl up in the trees.

This morning three piglets were delivered to their new owners.

New additions to the farm include a pair of Blue American Geese (a medium-large heritage variety) and some American/Sebastopol crosses.  The geese were brought in as plan C to keep the grass and weeds under control in the orchard following the lack of success experienced with the chickens (plan A) and goats (plan B).  The chicken flock has grown significantly and the Orpingtons on the top field have been integrated into the poop coop for efficiency purposes.

American Geese

White Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks were brought in as chicks earlier in the year.

The orchard was finally completely fenced with 4x2 wire using wooden posts and T-posts with a number of gates including a farm gate (I finally got the “hang” of the fencing thing).  The fence has helped tremendously.  The ducks and chickens now have two fences separating them from predators.  The fence also means the geese can roam across the orchard (and no further) and the goats can roam outside their pen without eating all the fruit trees.

Fencing seems to be never ending.  Hanging hog panel with number 2 son today.

The garden has undergone the most radical transformation.  The current garden is only 1/6 the size of the original.  Keeping a large garden is definitely labor intensive.  The new smaller area is making use of raised beds and mulch to keep the weeds under control.  Goats, pigs and chickens are occupying the rest of the area that used to be the garden.

In the midst of all the activity going on the one year anniversary in September slipped by without really noticing it.  So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, now is a good time to look back on the whole Hereward Farm venture.  Clearly there is much to be grateful for; the opportunity to live a long standing dream for one.  A little over a year in and the farm is up and running.  So far it has proved to be an interesting roller coaster ride.  On the cost side, countless hours of physical and mental labor have been invested and the learning curve was (and still is!) steep.  Significant financial capital has also been invested.  On the benefit side, witnessing first hand the natural cycle of life with the land and the animals is a priceless experience.  The early mornings and hard physical labor are actually quite fulfilling ("fun" would be pushing it a bit).  Most of all, however, the knowledge, skills and experiences gained so far are considered important assets for an uncertain future.