A little bit of heaven every day.

Wow!  It has been a great summer...so many things have been happening it's hard to decide where to start! 

It's fair week!

Sterling and momma are super excited to get going on fair.  This week will be filled with running back and forth from the fairgrounds to deliver projects and chickens, after fluffing, primping, preening, washing, drying, waxing, doing their toenails and whatever else Sharon deems necessary and then to show!  Sterling and Sharon will both be showing animals!  The birds are ready to have their day! The roosters seem to know, and are strutting their struts in preparation for the big day! 

Sheep are stupid

Thats right.  They are.  Stupidest animal ever.  We went to our farm friends house, who we work-trade with sometimes, and we had to put their sheep in a new pen...

First of all never say, "We should be able to figure it out..." when it comes to livestock.  Second make sure you plan more than a "quick visit" when it comes to said livestock.  You would think Sheepherding is pretty self explanatory, right?  Wrong. These bastards ran in all different directions.  We even went slow, tried to anticipate them.  Its insane, you think they will logically go away from you, but they don't. They run in all different directions, 100 miles per hour straight into electric netting, apparently.  After running around a five acre field like complete lunatics, recently released from the funny farm, trying to herd the animals, trying to untangle the fools from the netting(by the way when they do this, they flip and flop like a fish out of water compounding the problem) trying to stop the utter chaos...we caught them.  As Sharon and I swore to the gods, yes all of them, and maybe AT a few...we decided that we wouldn't be getting sheep...ever.  But tackling livestock is kind of fun.  

Views from the clam-beds.

When you stand on the edge of the country, looking out across the straits, the sun is smiling down, your family is playing and working for the food your going to eat that night, it is easy to realize that we live a piece of heaven everyday.  These moments that I experience up here are heaven. Watching the boys, fields and animals thrive, strengthening our relationships, working the gardens, clam-beds, oceans, and forests for the food that sits on our table,  all of these things truly are that heaven for me.  It has been a struggle to move and have no social or family circles really.  Uncle Dana is here and that's awesome, but we miss our families and friends all the time...

I am so glad we came, if for nothing else, for the boys.  It didn't seem like Portland had what we needed to raise the boys in the way we want to.  SO for that, it is worth it.  Every smile and excitement about whatever new thing has their curiosity, every "I love summer", every wrestle and fun filled country day...IS worth it!

Sometimes I feel like I have so much more to say, and then I get all wisdomy on stuff and I feel like I should just leave it there...so with that, I depart with the non-word, wisdomy.

Enjoy!

Rhythms

Finding our rhythm once I am back always takes a little time especially when I leave and we have ten chickens and I come home to an entire poultry farm!  But now after a few weeks back we are dancing to the same beat again!

Being on the road for 5 months doesn't really help anything on the farm...Luckily I was able to come home in between a few times and get some of the stuff taken care of at the exact critical times...Irrigation being one of those things.

It's like Sharon said, I have learned more about irrigation then I ever thought...line pressure, pump horsepower, buying used hoses...I suppose if we grew up farmers than that would all be second nature, but we learned all our irrigation on high pressure city water and tiny lot irrigation, so the curve was steep, but I think we are on it now.

Irrigation is frustrating!  We have 3 different pumps that run at different times and they are all different horsepower!   This leads to lots of valves and line changes and what not because i can't have all my drip on at once one day then the next I can. 

That said we have had a little bit of a slow start to our gardens.  The cut flowers are slow coming up and the shear size of a one acre garden is daunting to put it mildly. 

The weeding is insane.  Even with the irrigation problems the weeds are growing like gangbusters!   I rototill, once a week in between the rows and I have 3 chicken tractors that I pull down between the rows as well.  I think if I build another 3 chicken tractors,  I could weed all the rows and stay in front of the weeds.  But this year is the experiment, anyway.  I'm not sure how the nitrogen content of chicken the poop is going to affect the rows, it seems like it's far enough away that it's not a direct burn to the plants, but time will tell. 

We have a new addition to the farm, he's a fluffy boingy, bitey little monster named Radar.  He is a chew monster, but he is also really smart!  He already knows how to herd the ducks, and we are thinking we may put him into herding class!  He is Sterling best buddy and Laird' s too!

Sharon has been hard at work trying to manage the farm, 4H, the boys and having a farm stand at the market every saturday! She's a trooper, and I am so proud of her!  A little relief from the grind for her, and good news is that Nash's, the organic grocery store down the road, is buying all of our eggs now!  It is so exciting to see progress on the farm!  Now the quails and chickens are paying for themselves with a little bonus.  I am hoping we can figure out to do with all the cut flowers now, since we won't be at the market anymore, maybe we will just have a ton of beautiful bouquets around! HA!

On the hunting and gathering side, we are now gathering herbs and plants from the woods using  a few different book resources, and we all have our fishing licenses, so now we have been clamming a few times and today was our first crabbing adventure.  Sterling got a huge horse clam, and we got 2 rock crabs that were keeper's.  

The woods are getting cleared a bit and I have been helping log with my Uncles workers and learning a lot about land management.  The property is in a constant state of change, we are either mining, logging , farming, or dealing with wildlife and habitat stuff like the pond and creek.  It is really rewarding and I am learning a ton. Our vision of the retreat and recreational space is a long way off , but I have a lot to learn in the time being and everything I learn is going toward that vision, so I must keep on even though it feels like things are going slow sometimes.

It's been an awesome July and I am so happy to be home and getting to show Sterling how much there is to do around here!  He has been a great help and he loves going on adventures on the acreage with me!  Laird is a character and turns 2 tomorrow!  I can't even believe it....

I keep on keeping on, and I hope you do too! 

Much love and wishes of happiness!
The Rowlands

Spring!

Well another two weeks at home showed even more that if I am going to go on these raids,like a good viking, I should be doing it in the winter months.  There is too much farming to do in the spring and summer.  But, like a good viking, I will be an opportunist and take the treasure when its in front of me!

The farm is coming along nicely.  We work hard everyday and hope that it's all going to come together for the farmers market season.  The start to the market was a success with us selling out of eggs.  We look at it as our learning season.  We plan on sorting out what's working and what people want and hopefully have fun and learn a lot along the way!  

There's so much to do and figure out, it's exciting! My first lesson is don't let your brain plan more than your back can do!

It's been a little rough start to the planting season, for two reasons.  We lost our beloved mouser, and then a damned rat came and ate all of our flower and some vegetable starts!  

Thunder was a great family kitty and was becoming a good mouser.  I think an owl or coyote got him, we knew the risks of it on the farm, but we believe in having our cats as indoor/outdoor.  RIP Thunder We will miss you.

Well the fields are prepped, Uncle Dana disced it and dragged it flat for us, and then we hand plowed it.

Plowing is interesting with 2 children.  But as with everything on the farm, the more they are involved the more they "help".  Sterling and I hoed the ground by hand at first and then as Laird became more restless, Sterling and I invented the Plow Baby.  

This is where Dad is the draft horse and the boys are the weight and the Plow runner.  First you take the wheel off the jogging stroller then you get the boys on and start dragging them down the field rows!  Entertainment for the boys and a workout for me!  In the end the plow baby was fun, but not very efficient, so the last thing I used was the old cultivator.  It's like a mini plow that you push by hand. Seems that all the old tools around here were built to last and I'm sure that plow will be used a bunch more!

The fields turned out really beautiful and momma planted behind us as we got the fields ready.   We planted all of the cut flowers, beans, corn, rutabaga,  beets, tomatoes, squash, melons, lettuces, spinach, carrots and a whole bunch of other stuff.  

I built 3 mini chicken tractors that fit between the rows, They are for our little Bantams so they can weed for us!  So far it seems to be working out!

The onions and garlic wintered over nicely and we will have them to eat soon!  We are leary of deer getting in, but We put up a large fencing around the whole field and are hoping that and the flashing tape will keep them back.   

I'm looking forward to seeing and smelling the countryside again,  Watching the farm grow and nourishing our family.   It's going to be an amazing summer this year and I hope some of you can get a chance to come and visit us!

Love,
The Rowlands

Blackbird on Cat Tail

Sterling And Libby Adventuring together.

Time for a cold one!

Names

I finally made it home for awhile.  I got to see what Sharon and the boys had been up to while I was on the road in North Carolina, quite an amazing site!

I counted chickens, and then I recounted chickens,...and then recounted, as a matter of fact I am not even sure how many times I tried to count them but there are a ton!  We have the standard big girl number, that is 12.  Easy to remember because we had 9 when we moved from Portland, (Merdle, Buns, Bianca, She-no, Judy, Cocoa, Tutti-Frutti, Jenny Penny, and Mohawk) then added a rooster and 2 hens(Boss, Phyliis Diller, and Tumbleweed).  They have the luxury area.  The coop has much to be desired, but they have an old, big, dog run that is fenced in, with lots of trees and shade and a crick that runs through it.






Then there is the teenage pen, (Snowy, Willard, Rusty, Uncle Jesse, Sparkle, Black Yeti, Beardo, Little Beard, and other un-named Layers)  a little less luxurious with no trees and no creek, but then they have a really nice extra large coop. It is a little bigger run and yard area that runs along one of our sheds.  We made it to hold all of the laying girls, eventually.

Next is the big Barn, we are growing about 30 tweenie's in there.  This is where Bo, Bingo Wings, Hi-Hellen, Andre, Fezig and the rest of the unnamed layers live as well as 15 meat chickens; kung pao, general tso, nuggets(1-10), and Poco Pollo.  Its a nice big open space and they are all trying to fly and jump around and are generally silly.  They all huddle together at night on the floor in one pig pile o' chicken.













Finally, the Quail Library.  This is also the holding area for the show birds, which aren't named yet, but i imagine names like fluffy and princess and maybe even Hunny Boo Boo will be in there.  They are show girls after all!  Maybe we will have a naming contest on here in a future blog!  That will be fun!








As for me, back at it.  Gone for a short run again soon. But for my relaxation before; I chopped a weeks worth of wood, fixed stuff, planted stuff, hammered stuff, screwed stuff, cleaned cages, petted the girls, put fences up, sat by the creek, drank a few Beers, drank a few whiskeys, had a bunch of laughs, campfire, weenies and smores, taught my oldest how to ride his bike and now he is "Rippin It", and a whole bunch of other stuff that one can only cram into a week on a farm.  

As for the work part on the farm, I was told by a friend there is no relaxing at the farm in the summer... I told her that laying in the field in the middle of a weeding session to look at the clouds is good relaxation.  It didn't take long to get back to the Thoureau-esque life.  I miss every second of it when I am gone.  My life is blessed.  I have a beautiful wife and children, and I get to pursue happiness every day.  I have a dream job for many, but then there is the being gone thing...But how can we deny our experiences?  I know when I get to see my life flash before my eyes its going to be exciting!  I will see the mammoth tooth with Bering sea waves washing against it, Dog teams gliding by with frozen breath billowing into the cold arctic air, Polar bear eyes turning to look into mine, mountains in sunrise from the tops of coastal timberlands, I will re-experience the feeling of flight, and nearly crashing, the experience of the sea, and nearly drowning, I will see young athletes live their dreams...

I will laugh.  I will laugh and laugh and laugh.

There will be so many friends and faces and funny things....It's gonna be funny.  I will pull both of my sons from their mother. I will let go of their bikes and watch them ride away. I will look into her eyes again and say I do. A frog will look at me in the llama pen and we will grin at each other, I will feel the cold pacific as I slide across her sand, 100's of dragonflies will look into my soul again as they land on me in the middle of Japanese rice fields.  I will smell the amsterdam coffee shops, witness the alps go by on a train, swim in the Mediterranean.....so many things...Life is indeed Beautiful.

In the meantime, I will love this life and my friends and family.  I will try and make the world a better place and I will keep laughing, and keep experiencing because whether here or there, there you are...Right Mr. Pooh?

Love and Hope from the Rowland Family Farm to you!

Yaks, Chickens and Floods

Ok, to set the record straight, we did not get a yak. However this yak does live just down the road from us at the Olympic Game Farm, where the famous bear Ben, from Grizzly Adams, was trained. I could go on and on about Grizzly Adams but I will have to save that for another time.

Danny has been on a work assignment since February 21st. We are so blessed to have wonderful family to help me out. My folks, my Mother in law and Father in law have all come up. It has really been fun having them all visit and get some quality time. Being so close to Uncle Dana is a security as well. I don't ask for a lot of help from him but know if things really get sketchy I can count on him. One of those times I was so thankful to have my Mother in law, Robin, visiting. We had been out playing and working and had just switched off baby boy duties. We had noticed that the creek had been rising a bit but then within a few minutes it was flooding the chicken run. Robin ran baby boy in and said she had to get the dam door up. I put baby boy in the back pack and started helping. We realized we needed to start grabbing chickens and running them to the barn. Thankfully most of our ladies are hand raised and were fairly cooperative. We started to shove chickens into the dog kennel to get them to the barn. I wish we had a picture of that! We had a dog kennel full of chickens and each of us had chickens in our arms and several by the legs. It was quite the sight. Poor Robin got pretty soaked. I was worried she was going to get hypothermia. I told her to go in and get warmed up and I'd finish up. I'm learning a lot of farm girl skills from Robin. It is so much fun to hear her childhood stories.

I have figured out that a month with Danny gone really is my breaking point. I nearly had my first break down yesterday when our feed order was delivered. They arrived early but did not knock on the door. They ended up leaving the feed outside the barn door. Such a small thing but this nearly sent me over the edge. Mind you this was about 1/2 a ton of feed. So no little task to move it all by hand. Deep breaths, deep breaths. Ok it was not raining or windy. Thankfully we live in a gravel pit with lots of equipment. Here was one of those times I was so thankful for Uncle Dana. He had someone quickly put the feed in the barn with a fork lift. There is always a silver lining.

With Danny being gone for so long I decided to sell the llamas. I found them a great home with a family that will take them on lots of hikes. They take kids out into the wilderness to hike that may otherwise never get into nature. The buyer sent me a picture of his kids riding them. In truth the llamas were never as friendly as I had secretly hoped. I do not regret the time they were here. They taught me a lot about larger livestock. I have spent plenty of time with horses. They are NOT horses.

We, well I, did add a few more chicks to the menagerie. I'm not really counting at this point. Although I am sure Danny would like an exact number. Poultry will ebb and flow in and out of our little farm here. After selling the llamas I have been able to spend much more time with our poultry. I am finding that I love the chickens even more. I would be perfectly happy being a poultry farmer with a horse. I have been selling fertilized hatching quail eggs on eBay and have found it to be quite a little market. I am pleased with the way this little poultry biz has taken off. I sold my first dozen chicken eggs of the season and look forward to selling lots more at the Sequim Farmers Market. We have been hatching lots of quail eggs and each hatch I learn a little more. We have poultry at all different stages and ages. Preschool brooder, 1st grade brooder, teenage chickens, old chickens and quails of all ages. Oh my!

The boys are growing fast. Sterling is enjoying school and 4H. We are very excited to be taking a trip to Georgia for spring break to see Sterling's best friend and our dear friends from our old neighborhood. We will meet up with Danny and spend some much needed time with him before he goes back to work.

There have been challenges being here but nothing worth doing is ever easy. I feel at home here. When I see the smile on my children's faces it is all worth it. Hug your loved ones and be thankful for any silver linings. Peace and blessings, The Rowlands

New Coops, Old Coops

The quails are all full grown and poppin out eggs already!  Crazy that they can turnaround in 6 weeks!  I think by the end of summer we will have an endless supply of meat from them.  A few more breeding groups and a few more hatches and we are really gonna be cookin!  We decided to move the quails and baby chicks out of the garage and into the old shop.  Actually it was an old milking parlour and then it became the old chicken coop, that became an old shop that then became the parts warehouse, that is now the new Quail coop!  Ha! checkout the before and after pictures.

I built the New Coop where the old, old coop used to be apparently.  Mom came up and said "Oh!  your building where the old coop, that was old when I was a kid, was!" Now Sharon is moving the 20 teenagers into the new Chicken house.  They'll be laying in the 60 year old nest box from the old chicken coop/parlour/warehouse/shop/quail coop thats now in the new coop!

I did a bunch of burning around the edges of the cut flower field.  We made a big pile of slash and burnt it, then proceeded down the ditch line to burn the grass away. It seemed a little dangerous when the wind whipped up and made it travel down the ditch, but just like Ole Uncle D said, it didn't go anywhere and just cleaned the ditch.  That was kind of exciting!

Sharon has her poultry collections now. The old girls, the teenagers, the new girls and the quails.  We are at 50 chickens, 24 quail. We have another 10+ chickens on the way and 6 heritage turkeys.  I never really ask for the actual number anymore because when they show up theres always more!  I feel like maybe I should add a chicken ticker to the blog so we can update as we grow!!

One last thing we changed the old pumphouse into the egg washing station and refrigerator.  We will probably have a little money box and eggs in the fridge for whoever wants fresh eggs!

Enjoy the pics.  This is my last post for awhile since I am on a job for a while, but Sharon is going to keep us all up to date as she gets closer to market time.  That girl is my hero with the 2 boys and a boomin chicken house she has got her hands full!!!

Peace and love to all of you's out there!  I hope we get to travel thru time together soon!

Love,
The Rowland's