Need a taste of summer to get you through? Come on down to the Enfield Community Center from 10-1 Saturday the 11th and pick up a frozen bird or two raised the last time the sun was shining and the grass was green.
Homestead
Pasture Raised Chicken now available!
Hello all,
We now have whole, frozen fresh pasture raised chicken available.
These birds are beautiful this year, what a hearty bunch!
We currently have about 100 available and this will be our only batch this year. So don’t delay! These birds are shrink wrapped (think butterball turkey) and will last a very long time in your freezer. They average 4.5 to 5.5 pounds.
2016 Prices
1-4 birds, $4.50/lb
5 or more: $4.25/lb
10 or more: $3.95/lb
If you would like to know more about us, how we raise our chickens or would like to reserve some birds for your freezer click here.
If you have questions or would like to speak with us directly you may email us as well: RustyAcornFarm@gmail.com
Our very best to you!
Deb
Chicks Dig Pasture
Haha! I know I do.
Today we put our 4 week old baby laying hens in their outside tractor. We’re trying something new this time by putting these little foragers to work creating compost while keeping our grain costs down.
We were inspired by Geoff Lawton’s video, “Chicken Run on Steroids“. If you haven’t seen it already, watch it…. perhaps it will inspire you to do something similar? We have 16 laying hens so we will do a pared down version of Lawton’s method during our warm summer and into fall. We plan to start collecting leftover vegetable matter from a local boarding school and will keep adding 5 gallon buckets of kitchen scraps over the week.
Then, in a week or two (these little ladies are still pretty small) we’ll move the pen, keeping the already scratched pile within their electrified area so they can keep working it while creating a new pile on top of the poop-rich area under the roosting bars. Each week (or so) the pen and net will move creating several already turned piles. We may use this to enhance the soil in place (looking to reclaim this area as garden) or use it as compost in our existing beds.
I’m so impressed with these birds, they really are magic, somehow they are born knowing how to forage and scratch. We provide them with fresh food they LOVE as well as fresh pasture and they work for us breaking down, pooping and aerated the compost. Win win!
They’ll be making a dustbath of that dirt patch on the right in no time. We’ll hook up a small nipple waterer and a hanging food bucket tomorrow.
They look a little awestruck now but tomorrow they will have combed through the whole area.
Yours,
Deb
Shibori on the Clothesline
Today I was motivated to do some shibori dying. I just adore seeing a full clothesline too.
I’m just so in love with this process, it involves folding/wrapping/clamping/tying as a way of creating a resist, then when dipped in indigo dye the results are magic. There really is no wrong way to do this. Opening each piece is so exciting!
I dyed 12 cloth napkins and 12 dishtowels along with two linen dresses that have been hanging around unworn, because who wears white? I know I don’t.
The dish towels are made of thin flour sack cotton fabric, perfect for around the kitchen but I have plans to sew them together into a beach cover up. (I’ll post pics of that later)
Each one of these pieces is unique and could never be ‘exactly’ repeatable, that’s exactly what I love about shibori…it’s wabi-sabi. The perfect in the imperfect.
I’ll be hosting a dying workshop at the farm on July 2nd at 10am-2pm if you would like to learn how to dye in this traditional Japanese way. We will focus on flat cloth (napkins/towels etc) in this workshop as dying clothing be somewhat complex.
Let me know if you’re interested!
Yours,
Deb
This Week in Pictures (June 1, 2016)
Late spring is my favorite, I’m just trying to keep up!
This week we had some rich compost delivered. Shoveling that sh*t was hard work but a dunk in Goose Pond made it all worth it. I reclaimed some lawn outside the garden borders to allow for some rambling squash plants too, hopefully we have a chaotic patch of pumpkins and hubbard squash and zucchini soon.
The perennial gardens are blooming and filling in as well. The early morning dew, fog and light made for some beautiful photos, many of these were taken by Opal.
Morning fog, Hunky toads, dewdrops and campfires….life is good.
Yours,
Deb
blueberry dew
lilac dew
Early morning bus through the fog
Early morning fog on the crabapple tree
Opal found a buddy!
A storage trailer for acorns gets moved into place
Crabapples in the early morning
cabbage dew
dew on a dandelion
Newt spotted in the garden
Squash plants in reclaimed yard
the perfect marshmallow
Geraniums by the door
Bumble bee on Honeysuckle
Soloman’s seal
Columbine
Roasted marshmallows make for a pleasant evening
The robin’s are growing fast!
Baby Chicks are here!
We’ve received freshly hatched baby chicks.
11 little layers: Buff Orpingtons and Silver Laced Wyandottes.
I hope the oxytocin transfers from this computer to you.
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- I have the whole world in my hands (and lap).
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- Wiley the Silky terrier watching his new flock.
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- Hopefully these chickens will be raised to be very social. The girls love having them around.
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- Love.
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- 2 day old Silver Laced Wyandotte.
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- 2 day old Buff Orpington
Yours, Deb
This Week in Pictures
Female Hummingbird resting on the feeder
Mama Bear visited the feeders this week.
A newly hatched Robin in our tool shed
Spring flowers
Spring Flowers
Blueberry Blooms
Dad’s Willow is getting some love
The growing bud of an Oak Tree.
The strawberries took over this bed. I don’t mind!
This week it seems that Spring has officially sprung. The trees have leaves overnight and the world is greening-up and growing.
Who am I to get in it’s way?
Yours,
Deb
This Week In Pictures
This week was full of back-to-school excitement and the slanting light of late summer. Soon there will be a chill in the air and I’ll be able to wear a sweater and socks. My favorite time of year.
Yours,
Deb
An all local dinner (veggies from our garden), beef from up the hill. Yum!
Baby new potatoes with lots of butter, herbs and parmesan cheese. Also yum!
The smallest frog, an expert at camouflage.
Keeping cool in the summer heat. Maybe sometime I’ll try resting my belly on the cool tiles.
I couldn’t help myself, I dyed some scarves.
Mysterious pancakes emblazoned with Oak Trees.
Ended the week with a visit from a dear friend and a sun ray.
This Week in Pictures
Summer bliss, a darn good week all in all.
My cast comes off tomorrow, so next week is looking up too!
Yours,
Deb
I love my peg leg but not as much as my actual foot. Goodbye cast, you’ve been swell!
The lace of Queen Anne and Susan’s brown eyes.
Fresh picked blueberries and vanilla ice cream for breakfast. Don’t mind if I do.
Twilight Gin and Tonic. Is there anything better in the summer? The blueberry addition was relish, next time I’ll muddle them a bit.
Birthday kebobs at the fire pit. Made with local beef, zucchini and tomatoes from the garden. Maybe next year I’ll grow the mushrooms and peppers too.
Peas bursting from their pods. So juicy and sweet.
Happy Birthday! Homemade chocolate raspberry cake with raspberries from Darling’s farm. Next time I’ll eat two pieces. 🙂
Friends and family enjoying the evening twilight. Bliss.
I got a new lens for my camera just in time to capture the beautiful Full Blue Moon.
The hummers go through about 6 cups of nectar every 4 days. The air is literally a-buzz.
Baby bunnies, it doesn’t get much cuter!
I’m Dying Over Here!
I’m literally, dying.
I get a little obsessed with things.
Every year when we go to Maine for our family vacation, we all do a craft project together, it sort of happens organically the desire to have a momento of time well spent, drinks well drunk, cards well played and waves well surfed. The last few years it’s been tie-dyes. We dye nightgowns then play cards all night like grown up giggling twins, the kids dye t-shirts…heck we all dye t-shirts…when there’s dye left over we dye our underwear and socks…it’s goofy and superfun. Then, just to prove we’re related we take a group shot, sealing up the memory like a time capsule. A glorious little funny to be opened with a smile later.
This year, I’m going prepared. And by prepared, I mean pinning dying ideas to my pinterest board like a maniac! (See my pin board here) While gathering all the pins, I was reminded of the magic of shibori. It’s like tie-dye plus geometry and maybe a little math thrown in. I like the planning and forethought that’s needed. I like the varying techniques and endless results.
Shibori is a japanese dying technique, here is a link if you’d like to know more: Shibori Wiki
The techniques I tried are Arashi Shibori (pole wrapping) and Itajime Shibori (shape resist).
From left to right: blue nightgown (itajime polkadots, blue stick wedgie (not sure of the technique but it’s folded accordion style then lashed between two sticks with string and rubber bands, hooded linen shirt (Arashi), white long sleeve linen shirt (Itajime squares), orange tank top (itajime star).
Once the items are in the dye bath it’s like waiting for your parents to eat a leisurely and torturous breakfast while waiting to open your Christmas presents……time slows down. One hour feels like days when all you can think about WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE inside those crazy strings and rubber bands!!! Thus, I’m dying. I think I might have died with all the waiting.
For my first attempt at this I think it worked pretty darn well! I especially love the vertically striped shirt. One sleeve is darker than the other because the pole was too tall to fit in the dye bucket so i kept pouring dye over the top. I think the action of the dye running down the tube infiltrate the strings. What a happy accident!
I’m so obsessed that I might spend all day tomorrow dying handerchiefs and kitchen towels and pillow cases and yoga pants and bedspreads and dresses and underwear and….socks….and…
🙂
Have you tried shibori?
Who wants to come over and dye with me?
Yours,
Deb
Clockwise from top left: Blue double stick wedgie beach cover up, square itajime, blue polka dot nightgown, orange star tank top, Arashi linen shirt.
Rusty Acorn Farm 