While all the action is happening on pasture, there are also the vegetable fields to consider. I got these pictures from Andrew, the vegetable production manager. As you can see, there is a sign now letting you know exactly where you are.

Awesome sign. Thank you Lindsay!

Our friend the praying mantis was back in action in the hoop house up across the tracks.

Hopefully, he’s eating all the bugs that want to eat our tender greens!

And there are pigs and cattle grazing and rooting in the fields adjacent to the veggies. They love the shade they can find in the trees along the brook.

Do these guys look like they’re ready ready to move onto the famous greener pastures?

Speaking of veggies and of livestock, if you have nothing to do tonight, please come to the D&R Greenway’s 4th Annual Earth Ball at Eastbrook Farm in Princeton. The party starts at 6:30pm and tickets are $125 a person. More info is here. Our farm donated all the meats for the dinner and several bushels of fresh spring veggies.

There are great auction items, like ‘Farmer for a Day’ at none other than Double Brook Farm! Tickets can be purchased at the door and parking is at Princeton Day School, with a shuttle to take you to the festivities.

Best of all, dress code is ‘Country Chic’, so cowboy boots are welcome!

It’s finally acting like a NJ spring. Rain, sun, rain, sun.  And the plants and animals are responding. I had a friend visit and we took a little tour of the goings on around the farm and the upcoming restaurant site. I can tell you that I am MOST excited about this development…

I found these near the restaurant, along with about 10 other bushes. Cannot wait for them to ripen. Blueberry crisp in my future!

Speaking of the restaurant, here is a view of the work in progress. The original flower garden is not in the picture, but is blooming furiously. Can you see the concrete palate where the kitchen will be constructed? As Jon likes to say, ‘this is where the magic happens’.

Back to the pastures. The pigs have been moved to a wooded area where they lounge under the trees all day long. Literally. I’m over thinking they’re dead as they do move every once in a while.

It’s a hard life, but someone’s got to live it.

Over by the brood sows, we spotted this mom-to-be, looking like she’s into extra innings on her gestation period. She is so done. I can fully empathize.

In about 3 days to a week, she’ll be doing this…

The turkeys are also getting into the action. Here is a hen sitting on some eggs (we finally got them to sit IN the pen, so they wont get eaten on our front doorstep by the fox). The turkey-to-egg ratio is a little overdone, but she’s giving it her all. And check out the proud Tom.

Such a show off!

Last, the cows are calving and the greens are sprouting in the greenhouse. Everything is growing so fast!

These are almost ready to go out into the field. More on the vegetable garden in the next post.  Go out and plant – the soil is perfect!

Today was a big day on the farm. Bea (pronounced ‘BAY-ah’, as if you were saying ‘Bear’ with your most ferocious Maine accent) arrived on the farm Monday. We had her tethered to the chicken wagon so that she could bond with her charges. Today was the day she was let off the leash to guard the chicken wagon untethered. Would she bond? Would she ‘play’ with the chickens given the freedom?

Ron is our poultry man and he is also one of the point people for Bea. So the plan was to walk her around the perimeter of the pasture and then let her off the leash and see what happens. (I always like those ‘see what happens’ plans with unpredictable animals…)

Now for the leash to come off.

I think she likes it!

And she is fast. The fox better look out. Does she not look like an enormous polar bear?

She came running back to Ron for some TLC.

And over to me for a little scratch.

You’ll notice that she is NOT chasing the chickens all over creation with a wide open mouth and teeth bared like some other canines that live on the farm. Not to mention any names…

The chickens don’t even seem to really notice her.

They are busy eating grasses and bugs. I hope they get a bellyful of ticks as Jon and I both had Lyme’s last year.

They seem pretty happy to be on the fresh grass and have been making a TON of noise as a result. But not nearly as much noise as when I picked up this hen!! I had to put her down immediately so that Bea wouldn’t think it was in distress. What drama queens these chickens are!

Just love seeing these birds out in the open and knowing that they are safe!

So we were looking out the window at the pasture where the pigs have just been moved. We couldn’t see single animal! This was the first day that the pigs had been out of their pen and onto fresh grass. We suspected that they may have broken through the electric fence and were well on their way to Rt. 518 and we were going to have some explaining to do. Something along the lines of “gee, I’m sorry these pigs rooted up the town of Hopewell, Lieutenant Maloney, but they outsmarted the electric fence in every sense of the word.”

Upon closer inspection we could just make out some shapes…

What happened? What were they doing? Were they ok? As we got closer it looked a little dicey…

They were sleeping like a group of drunken sailors on the Saturday of a Friday night leave! Finally they started to rouse and move about.

I guess it’s just so exhausting roaming on the field. Or maybe it’s just so awesome being on the fresh, soft grass at the end of the day.

Jon decided to give it a try.

Very pleasant indeed.

We just got our Maremma dog to guard the chickens. Her name is Bea and she is gorgeous! Pictures of chickens on pasture and Bea the dog to follow…after a bit of training.

Before the rain came, we were able to get a few lengths of fence in by the Martin Tract. Our dear neighbor, JK, sent me these beautiful pictures of the fencing crew working to put everything up. Thank you!

It’s quite a process, but it moves quickly. As Jon likes to say – the fence is more to keep people out than keep the animals in. But really, it’s to keep the animals in and prevent them from fertilizing our neighbors backyards, ‘pruning’ their gardens and playing in the traffic. Plus, we can rotate them easily within the fencing with simple electric tape – from acre to acre – as they eat up the grass.

The crew approximates where the posts will stand and lay them out.

Then the lines are set and measured. They better be straight!

Then it’s time to drill the post holes and set the posts in.

Finally, a nice, straight fence. Once the wire fencing is on – we will be ready to graze the cows. Look at all that fresh grass in the enclosure!

Speaking of grass, we do consider ourselves grass farmers to a large degree. We use a mixture of grasses that grow at different times of the year, to different heights and in different weather conditions.

The mixture includes Alfalfa, Clovers, Fescues, Oats, Rye and Timothy (among others). That’s quite a blend – and it’s all legal!

Above, some gorgeous Rye.

Our favorite publication on the matter of grass feeding is The Stockman Grass Farmer. I wouldn’t bring it to the beach, but it’s a good read and has plenty of anecdotes from grass farms this country over!

Stephanie sent me a few clutch photos to describe what’s happening over in Veggieland.

First, there are potatoes to be planted. I never knew before this whole adventure that the way to plants potatoes…is by planting actual cut-up or whole potatoes.

Check it out:

Here is the crew hard at work getting them in the ground.

Can’t wait for these tubers to be ready. Another thing I didn’t know until last year’s harvest was that you have to cure potatoes for a couple of weeks for them best to keep and be stored in the cellar.  The new potatoes wont keep and must be eaten right away. But the cured potatoes will keep for a long, long time. The smell in your potato-and-onion drawer will let you know exactly how long. Believe me, I’ve tested the limits.

Also being planted is broccoli. This contraption, which looks like an animal watering contraption, is actually used in this case to transplant broccoli.

Above is Justin giving the thumbs-up on the process.

We’ve been waiting for this soaking rain for a long time now. Finally, we can make preparations to get our cows moved over to new grass and start the whole routine of spring and summer grazing.

I love how the Vinca comes alive right away with the new rain…

And the daffodils (this was after the last good drenching a several weeks ago).

And, even though it’s gone to seed, things are popping up in the garden, like this green onion.

The fox has been back and picking on the turkeys that are trying to sit on their eggs. At least we think it’s the fox. Feathers everywhere, but somehow the turkeys have been able to fly away. Sarge also has quite the track record when it comes to unattended fowl…do you think he looks guilty?

Once again, we need to set the motion-activated night camera out and see what’s happening.

We had a wonderful visit by the American Boychoir School yesterday. Their 7th graders are learning about sustainability and got the full tour. But they also gave something back!

They serenaded the pigs (which initially just ran away!).

Then they sang for the cows and sheep…

Check out the cow in the back, just listening! She didn’t move until we walked away. The cattle and the sheep, as you can hear, are simply clamoring for more.

In other news, we have some egg-laying activity going on. The turkeys have found the PERFECT place to stay hidden and protected while they nest. It’s a fabulous place, really. Out of the way, not much activity to disturb the hens sitting on the eggs and the birds are virtually undetectable to the human eye. Except, oh wait, the nest is NEXT TO OUR DOOR!

I like how they think they are so hidden.

Look, I can barely see her!!

They are producing lots of eggs and we now have them in the incubator. We’ll keep you posted!

Our good friend, Dean Carlson, owner of Wyebrook Farm in Honey Brook, PA, had to go to extremes to care for one of his cows with a pinched nerve after calving. He said that after about 15 minutes, she was asking for iced pineapple slices, extra towels and a cold beverage.

In all seriousness, having a pinched nerve for an animal so big, right after giving birth, is not a good thing – especially a ruminant. As Martha Stewart would say, the hot tub is ‘A Good Thing’. Bovine tubs, like the Aqua Cow System, allow support for the cow to attempt standing, without pressure on the body.

Dean reports that the cow is not totally out of the woods yet, but she’s doing much better.

Dean’s farm is definitely worth a visit. His farm store has its grand opening April 28, if you’re looking to take a relaxing drive out in to the rolling hills of Pennsylvania (check the link above). He sells grass-fed beef from 100% Devon cattle, pastured pork and chickens.

Good luck with that cow, Dean!

Last night at 3am, we heard the screeching of panicked chickens. This is normal for, say, 5:00am, when the world is almost awake, but not earlier.

Jon and I rushed outside with flashlights (and torches and pitchforks…the usual) and approached the chicken pen. Suddenly quiet, the carnage was not apparent at first. Upon closer inspection, a hole had been dug right next to the opening of the coop and there was one chicken with exactly NO tail feathers left on its wounded posterior. And at least one chicken had been pulled out and away.

The culprit:

We are going to be putting in a motion-sensitive camera around the pen to see what exactly is going on in the wee hours of the night. How this will help us, I’m not really sure, but it feels good to be doing something.

One thing is for certain, the fox has new kits and will be back looking for food. Maybe it’s time to get that Maremma.