Autumn Has Arrived

Last Friday was the official first day of fall. Ah, the double edge sword of autumn. Personally, fall is my favorite season. The leaves start changing, the days become crisp and refreshing, pumpkins are ready for harvest, and the pace of the farm slows down quite considerably. We're very excited to be able to focus much more time to our construction projects. As most of you know we have a second yurt, upper garage, and turn-of-the-century log house to build. Keep looking for updates here on our blog as well as a call for volunteers for anyone who is wanting to get their hands dirty and pitch in to the farm.

Autumn is gorgeous on the mountain and I plan to include you all in the splendor!

HAPPY FALL TO COME!

Sauerkraut

We've made our own sauerkraut! Martha seasoned up a huge amount of cabbage with the appropriate ingredients used to make sauerkraut and I got the pleasure of mixing it all together in a large clay pot.







After the cabbage mixture has all been blended together, it goes into the basement to ferment and become incredible! We made this mixture back in July and it has been marinating ever since. We are getting ready to can the kraut very soon! Stay tuned for a post about the finished product!

Bear Vs. Gator

A new tradition has begun. As Oskar grows older, we needed to figure out another way of warding off bears aside from making poor Oskar run at full speed all over the farm.

Solution found:

Step 1: Grab large pot.

Step 2: Grab large spoon

Step 3: Put on bathing suit (optional)

Step 4: Get in John Deere Gator

Step 5: Drive Gator as fast as possible shouting ridiculousness while
passenger bangs on pot with spoon (passenger also shouting)

Works every time.

Turkeys Are Not Chickens, Right?

We have a hilariously confused turkey hen on our hands. She's taken to roosting with our Americana chickens! The birds on both sides of specie don't seem to mind. The turkey hen takes care of sitting on the eggs (yes, ALL of the eggs chicken and turkey alike) and the chicken even cuddle up underneath the turkey for warmth. It's great to see them snuggling in the tractor during the day. What a great example of a symbiotic relationship! Good work birds! Keep working together!

If you look closely, you can see the chicken's backside sticking out from
underneath the turkey's right wing.

Market Baking

The Greene Co. Farmer's Market was a blast this year! I'm sure you all saw Martha's updates on Facebook about what was being sold. The farmer's market season has ended in Greene with the school's opening up, so in order to get a hold of our delicious baked goods, you'll have to contact us directly for the time being. Remember, as always these items are available when you stay at our bnb! We do have some prospects for having local markets sell limited quantities of our breads and baked goods, but at this time it is very tentative. I will keep you up to date as more info is available. In the meantime, anybody want a muffin?

Goose Update!

The geese are growing up strong! It's fun to see the difference between the little gray fuzz balls and the plumage they end up having. Turns out a lot of our chics are the same type of goose as Mary! (Mary is one of our original geese that is a lot less obnoxious than the others.) We've moved them back into the barnyard so they are now able to socialize with the other animals.

Remember to think of Cair Paravel for you Christmas Goose this holiday season!

Bobcats

Unfortunately we've lost some of our turkeys to the wild. The bird's propensity to refuse being contained within the safety of the electro-net barrier finally caught up to them. Every night during lock up I would find six to eight turkeys running in circles around the turkey enclosure incredibly confused as to how exactly they managed to escape, while simultaneously being desperate to get back in with the other turkeys. I would chase all of the birds back into the surround only to find the same birds loose the next morning.

We came up with a solution to this mess, however the day Whitt and I went down to correct the issue the middle pasture was covered in turkey feathers and turkey parts. It was horrible. I found one complete turkey, one turkey without a head, one head (only), and one right wing. Due to the manner in which the birds were killed and the fact that most of the victims were dragged off of the property seems to point towards bobcats, but of course we are unsure.

Unfortunately it's hard to say I didn't see this coming. We've taken a huge blow to our turkey supply, however it's a great learning process about how to raise free range birds for meat rather than easy prey for predators.

For Rent!

The greenhouse apartment is FOR RENT!
Want to come live at the farm? Need to live somewhere with an incredible view? Want to be excited to come home after work? Then come see the apartment! Please direct any inquiries to cparavel@gmail.com.

Click on the link in the tool bar to the right of your screen to take a picture tour! Also, see our ad on Craigslist here!