In keeping with a “no luck” week that started with a double dose of skunk sprayed dog, and a shoulder injury, my shoulder MRI showed I had a complete tear of the main muscle in my rotator cuff, needing surgical repair. I am now status post surgery followed by 6 weeks of right arm immobilization …
Category Archives: Farm stories
Foolish hawk vs fierce hen
Looking back to find my old post about the Cooper’s hawk attacking chickens in the chicken yard, it is hard to believe that it has been 3 1/2 years since I last had issues with a hawk. It seems so much more recent! You might remember that after that hawk incident, I hung shiny tape …
No luck
I don’t think it has been my lucky week. Don’t get me wrong, I am pretty darn lucky overall. I have much to be thankful for. For one, I am lucky to have two great dogs whom I adore, and who adore me and also each other (most of the time). It is comical to …
Wasting time by ‘saving time’
I always seem to be behind getting the garden ready for planting in the spring, this year more than usual. Year by year my parent’s old work horse Honda tiller has gotten harder for me to keep running. Last fall, when I wanted to till the garden and lay down the large pieces of cardboard …
Playing possum
OR How Michigan playing for the NCAA national championship saved a possum’s life When the dogs go out for bathroom breaks in the evening their usual routine is to leap off the porch and race to the bottom of the back yard, ever hopeful of catching one of the rabbits who regularly visit after dark. …
Tick, Tick, Tick
Tick, tick, tick…. That seems to reflect my outdoor life lately, and I am not talking about a clock or a bomb. Ticks have always been a challenge on the farm and finding a tick or two on myself after spending a day in the field working the bees was not unusual, especially in the …
Quilting weather
As I sit at my computer, this is the view out the window, with the temperature at a balmy 13 degrees Fahrenheit, after a bone chilling low of -16 earlier this week. If you are looking at similar weather, you might be wondering ‘What do beekeepers do in the winter (other than worry about their …
Who knew chickens were so good at telling time?
Over the years all my egg customers have learned that our chickens don’t lay much in the winter. We all miss the eggs! Although you might think reduced laying is their response to the cold weather, the primary reason egg laying slows down during the winter is the shorter length of the day. Chickens apparently …
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Snow, snow everywhere but not enough to ski
We welcomed 2026 with temperatures in the single digits and snow blanketing everything with a deep, airy layer of flakes, that hinted at the possibility of fabulous cross-country skiing. But by morning the “inches of snow” showed themselves to have been an illusion, brought about by huge fluffy flakes falling while temperatures were so cold …
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Weed wars
Life at Green Acres is filled with many simple pleasures: things like living next door to my best friend; long walks with the dogs; tapioca made with goat milk and duck eggs; evening strolls with the goats; ducks who boldly join the goat walk as we pass the pond, delighted to return to the security …