Don't cluck over $4 a dozen...

"You need chickens on your farm. 

 It will be so much fun and think of all the free fresh eggs!"

This is me having a argument conversation with myself.

...after I had already decided that paying $4.00 a dozen for
organic free range eggs was a deal.

Too bad I didn't take my own advice.

I'm learning it will cost me an arm, a drumstick,
and then some,
to literally start from scratch.

Chicken scratch.

According to my calculations, I will break even sometime in the year of 2042.

(My mortgage doesn't have that longevity, and I may not, either.)

Our six chicks are ready to call Le Farm their "maison de retraite" this week.
They can't be any bigger than a large frog, but in order to raise them organically
and adequately protected from varmints, it will cost you.

We started with chicks so they would be brought up sweet,
and used to every two or four-legged creature.
(Visions of Tippi Hedren with her eyes plucked out gives me nightmares.)

And, they already have French names;
Genevieve, Margueritte, Bridgette, Juliette, Claudette and Yevette.

Will it all be worth it?
Maybe not,
but now Le Farm will seem incomplete without
our six French hens,
an antique egg basket,
a fleur-de-lis weathervane on top of the chicken coop,
and a partridge in my pear tree.


Ce la vie!

The first cut...

Some time ago, I wrote a emotional post on pruning.
And, it started like this:

"Pruning is a necessary evil if you have a green thumb.  No one likes to mention it since it is a lot of work and makes your plants look like crap, but it is necessary for growth..."
See: http://lefarmcountryfrenchproduce.blogspot.com/
2013/03/make-overs-on-farm.html

Back then, I was a nymph and I hated pruning; 
or at least the thought of it and the massive destruction and devastation 
it left in its wake.
My blueberry and blackberry bushes were at the peak of production.  
I worked too hard to make those little money makers grow!

Now, years later, I have grown up,
 and completely changed my mind on the subject.

Completely. Utterly. Changed.

As a matter of fact, 
I now believe, pruning is one of the very best acts of kindness you can do.
"The first cut is the deepest hardest"...

(For the record, Rod Stewart's version is by far the best.)

It is consistent with the principles of sustainability.
It's right up there in importance with being a good steward of the land.
It is "The Regulator of all Regulators" on a farm.
It is an art form.
Bravo!

I'm just gonna say it....
"It is f*cking AWESOME!"

Everything that is pruned (if done properly and at the right time), 
grows back healthier, stronger, and better equipped to fight disease.

I am still amazed, time and time again, at the results.
It is as if I can't believe my own eyes.

Ok, 
Back to the important stuff...

In fact, without pruning, a fruit-bearing plant will eventually stop producing all together.  
It may take years to do this, but ultimately spindly, 
weak branches replace the healthy growth, leaving it more susceptible to disease, 
and production will diminish, or even cease.

If you don't know what you are doing but know you need to start pruning,

 YouTube has a wealth of knowledge to share 
and seeing it done is extremely helpful.

Take this expertly done video on blueberry pruning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm6ZfpGy5oQ

What a fine example of when and how to prune.

I have mastered the art of  "reading" my bushes after all these years, 

knowing when and how much to cut back.  

You learn.

Speaking of that, right up the road from Le Farm, in Bishopville, SC.,

lives a famous modern day "pruner".  
His beautiful handiwork is displayed for all to enjoy.  
Tucked away down an unsuspecting residential street, 
you'll stumble upon his collection of
whimsical  maddness mastery.
And, you can see a glimpse of it scattered throughout the tiny town.

If you don't know about him, you need to check out the

utter fabulousness of Pearl Fryar right here;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcYaZCOCMBg

I bet if I asked Pearl he'd agree with me 100%.

Pruning, is where it's at.

Don't be afraid to try it.
And,
you may even earn f*cking yard of the month.

The new normal...

 "Beauty, is only skin deep."

I heard that a lot as a preteen, when permanent teeth, bugged eyes and a pouty lower lip were way too big for my head and my lanky, skinny self weighed all of 68# in seventh grade.
(Twiggy was full-figured compared to me.)
 
 Yep, that beautiful exterior is a trap.
We all fall into it from time to time.
It's only human.

I eventually outgrew that awkward stage that lasted way too long, but a few days ago
I found myself drooling over something that looked so damn pretty I wanted it.

I really wanted it,
and my brain never skipped a beat as it exclaimed, "Doesn't that look good!"

"That" was a quart basket of super sized , sweet, juicy, deep red strawberries.
They were fresh off the farm in a world class southern plantation farm store.
(I even bent down to catch a quick whiff,
and they smelled just as good as they looked.)

It took everything in my all organic farming being to, "Just say, NO!"
 I knew better...
 I know better...
Reprogramming "the new normal" is tough.

Those gorgeous strawberries were a fake Fendi. 

Residual analysis has tallied 54 different chemicals on those beauties, consisting of
known carcinogens, hormone disrupters, neurotoxins,
development and reproductive disrupters and honeybee toxins.
http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/strawberries-contain-large-amounts-chemicals-and-pesticides

Strawberries are one of the fresh or frozen fruits to avoid, UNLESS you can buy organic.

Now, you know better, too.

Boycot the new normal,
because it is anything but normal.

Been waiting a lifetime...

As far back as I can remember, I have dreamed about being a farmer; glamorized the thought, actually.  The intoxicating scent of dirt in my hands, a wind-blown healthy glow on my face, and fresh country air in my lungs...this was my passion of passions. 

Had I had enough money or the smarts to land a scholarship, I'd have chosen Cornell University, hands down, back in 1975 and majored in agriculture.  I was lucky to walk the Cornell campus in awe, once.  Those beautiful ivy covered buildings stood as a holy temple of all things good and wholesome, releasing class after graduating class of savvy farmers who not only held the knowledge to feed the world but executed it with Ivy League style.  

...I was inspired there. 

...I felt whole there.  

...I could be completely me there.  

YES!

Umm,...No.

It never happened.  No money and even less brains squashed any hope.  I settled on SUNY @Buffalo and graduated with a B.S. In Laboratory Science. (Don't ask me why, for I have no clue myself how I got talked into taking my big sister's advice on a career choice,  "just because I liked science.")

Thirty-three years later after getting sidetracked, I pulled my dream together and finally bought a small farm.  I gardened for all those years, but it was nothing more than a glimpse of real life on the farm.  Boy oh boy, have I gotten an education. They call it, " The School of Hard Knocks".

Because I bought a place with hundreds and hundreds of blueberry bushes, I instantly became a blueberry farmer.  Since then, I've learned a few things about blueberries...and a lot about myself.

The journey has not been glamorous, in the least, but my desire is more alive than ever.

...I am inspired here.

...I feel whole here.

...I am completely me here.

YES!

2016 is my year to be a farmer full time, as I plan my retirement from my career in laboratory science.  I still want it as much as I did all those years ago. Maybe even more.

The intoxicating scent of dirt in my hands, a wind blown healthy glow on my face and fresh country air in my lungs are real, and no longer just a dream.

It is my passion of passions. 

Bonne Annee!

Happy New Year!