Green Eggs and Ham?

Hodgepodge

I am getting between three and five eggs per day! The Ameracaunas are definitely ahead of the curve as they are laying two eggs per day for the last three days! The green eggs are theirs. Floozey (Buttercup) is laying the white egg, a Cuckoo Maran is laying the darker brown one, and I don't have a clue who is laying the lighter brown ones! We have a growing list of regular customers who are waiting for me to start selling them for $2.00 per dozen. I am planning on putting an assortment in each carton. If someone wants a special order, I may have to jack up the price. (Gouge 'em real good!!!)


The Corncrib

This smaller building (Appx 15' x 25') is an old-fashioned corncrib. It has three storage areas. If you look closely at the front, you can see a set of double doors in the center and a door on either side. The double doors open wide and allow storage for larger things, like tractors, or other farm implements. The two side doors open into long rooms that are about 6' wide and run the length of the building. These side "rooms" have open ceilings and slatted sides to allow for good air flow to keep the corn dry throughout the year. These days, farmers who wish to keep corn year-round for feeding livestock generally keep dried corn in weather (and mouse) proof silos.

In the photo below, Ruth and I keep our firewood on this left side of the corncrib. It works really well for drying the wood and also keeping it dry. We have a little blue sled that we keep in there and during the winter months, we load it up and drag it across the snow into the garage. This works pretty well for us and this room can store all the wood we need for the winter! The wood stove has cut our heating bill so much that we had to pay a penalty for not using nearly enough propane. Hmmmm, something wrong with that picture...

The other side of the building is the tool room, where we store all of our yard tools.

This picture shows the room behind the double doors where I store my Farmall B tractor. This tractor deserves a post or three of its own! It was built in 1941 and I am the second owner. I found the sign nailed upside down on the floor of tool room.

I love my tractor.

Life on the Farm

We have a beautiful little five acre farm located in mid-Michigan. We are surrounded by hundreds of acres of wild woods and fields that are carefully tended by a Christmas tree grower for the preservation of wild animals of Michigan. Twelve apple trees of various types, a grape arbor with four varieties of grapes, a few acres of wild blackberries and raspberries and sunflowers that have become self-seeding make up our farm. We have a drive-through corn crib, where I store my 1941 Farmall B tractor, a 11' x 20' chicken coop which I have converted into a studio for my creative wife, a storage shed where I would like to store a 1950's pickup some day, a green hay barn, a pig sty and a little chicken coop that needs some love. We add and improve each year and absolutely love the country life.

I have made a huge commitment by ordering 25 of the Ornamental Layer Collection from McMurray Hatchery. The chicks are due the first week of April. We have a medium sized, 100 year old barn, complete with a 24' x 18' chicken coop in the basement where these layers will spend the night. I intend for them to be as free-range as possible. I ordered a 164' poultry electric fence which will keep them safe during the day from roving coyotes and neighborhood dogs. I will lock them up each night in the coop.

I also am hatching 18 Coturnix Quail in my third grade classroom and the quail will have a cute new home as soon as they are ready to leave the brooder.

My 79 year old father wants me to raise 20 broilers for his freezer, so I will get those from the Family Farm store in the next few weeks. I understand they are ready to butcher in 6-7 weeks. He says he'll "help" me do that. More about him on another post.