Goose family enjoying a morning swim We have official names for the goose family, thanks to our egg customer Jeanne. Meet, Louis and his ladies: Nicolle, Tilda and Bianca. Jeanne sent me French inspired names because of the French background of Toulouse geese and even looked up their meanings! That’s dedication. Louis - famous warrior … Continue reading Introducing Louis and his Ladies

My neighbor tells me winter is the time to rest, but all this warm weather has me itching to get out and get my hands in the dirt. We recently got a notice from Duke that they needed to repair a pole on the edge of our property, which would require some brush cutting to … Continue reading Winter Mulching

We’ve had a rough few years here on the farm. With a major health crisis, job and child custody changes, crippling predation in the flock took back burner. We lost all but one duck and dozens of chickens to a hungry family of fox but just didn’t have the bandwidth to address the issue completely. … Continue reading Guarding the Girls

We gave my friend Kate a few ducks in return for her help with harvesting them. She roasted one and shared the recipe, saying it turned out so "rich and good!" The recipe she followed is called Duck de Marietta, from the Omnivore's Cookbook. It calls for stuffing the duck with oranges and lemons then … Continue reading Roasted Duck

We are blessed to have a family getaway up on Lake Manistee, between Grayling and Traverse City, Michigan. Lake life for us means relaxed days and lots of time spent together outside in the sunshine. Here's a glimpse into our first few days this trip. We've been doing a lot of swimming off the boat. … Continue reading Lake life

My husband is a tractor man. As long as I have known him, he's been buying little John Deere tractors, tinkering with them, and then passing them on to new owners in a little better state.  For a long time, there was always an extra one in the garage.  He seems to have moved through … Continue reading A New Tractor Already Making Life a Little Easier

I wrote last week about my budding interest in being a backyard naturalist.  Really, it's a long standing interest, taking a more directed form of late.  Anyway, the other day I was driving the tractor across the yard hauling chicken bedding and I passed a small nest on the ground.  I turned around to take … Continue reading A Tiny Nest

Today is your final chance to come out and see my at the New Richmond Farmer's Market.  Corner of Walnut and Center Streets in New Richmond.  10:30-2:30. I have lots of freshly baked bread: country white, country white with herbs, country white with seeds, honey whole wheat, and caraway rye.  I also brought all my … Continue reading Last Farmer’s Market of the Season