keep seeding

We grow and nurture a variety of living things on our farm. Beef, pork, chicken, Thanksgiving turkey, vegetables, berries, fruit, dogs...us.

One thing we have learned. We grow almost everything from seed. Trees and shrubs are live plants, asparagus arrives as roots: but most of what we grow starts as a seed.

I got some lily bulbs to grow for flower bouquets. Then planted them in tubs with flower seeds all around. It's a simple spray watering system around them.

Results are mixed. Same treatment, different flowers, but we have learned to hold some seeds back and try again. Here's why.

Lily up, and 3 seedlings

Barely a lily, and tons of seedlings.

Just the lily.

Nothing.

Replanting today!

L

every year

It's a dogs life here at Sunnyside Farm. We have 5 of them, and they do a good job discouraging critters that eat vegetables, chicken, eggs and turkeys from our place. The dogs are an important part of us staying in business, ensuring we have vegetables, eggs, chicken and turkeys to bring to our customers.

The dogs rarely leave the farm. Vet visits for shots once a year. An occasional trip to the creek down the hill to cool off on hot summer afternoons. But mostly they are here, regularly launching into a full blown chase of something not wanted on the farm.

Every dog had two tags on their collar earlier this year. One with their name and our contact information. One that shows they are registered with York County.

Of the 5 dogs, only one still has both tags. Luna lost hers within a week of attaching them to her collar. The others took a little longer to lose, but gone they are.

Luna, everything gone.

Chaz, both tags.

Swazey, no tags

Jasmine, just the ez clip.

I couldn't get Blitzen to sit still for a photo.

Time to order new tags. And to weld those tags onto the collars!

walkabout

These are full days on the farm. We are full up with livestock, vegetables and the small amount of fruit we grow.

Yesterday we did all the chores, weeded and watered, then set out to see what berries could be picked.

Pin cherries, mulberries, black raspberries and blueberries are all in. We pick the ripe one in each bunch, and in a day or two get the next one and keep picking until the season is over. Strawberries are already done!

While walking around we found a few more things.

Ferns in the woods.

Roses?!

A tiny flower stem.

Sweet yellow flowers.

A teeny magenta/purple flower.

We can't identify a single one. So much to learn.