peeper update

The chick that Blackie hatched back in July is almost 3 months old now - a beautiful barred rock hen.  She is a friendly chicken, running to greet me when I feed them in the morning, and usually the last one in, preferring to hang out into the evening in the hen yard with the rabbits.

sky study #118

sunrise September 24, 2014

my beautiful farm mates

Things like this that are easily my most favorite part about living at my farm with these beautiful creatures.  Scenes like this are all around all of us, every day, if you just stop to notice them

little fellow making his way along the driveway 

every afternoon - Timothy doesn't know whether he's coming or going

yeah Maine

My old friends & teachers in Maine, John & Mary Belding at their cheese stand at this year's Common Ground Fair in Maine

you're invited

Rudy and the changing colors

Rudy's photo has also been uploaded to the hilarious

http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/

sky study #117

Corner of Bowerman & Summit City Roads, Kingsley

September 20, 2014

salad mix

Chickens & bunnies dining on a selection of fine weeds

arrrrggghh, matey

Young man at the farmer's market Saturday walking around dressed head to toe as a pirate, complete with hook.  Just when I think I live in a style wasteland...my faith is restored!

waking up with Max & Cozy

Max's strategy:

a. wipe the muzzle

b. backdatazzup, directly onto Cozy's head

blessed are the baby cows

Many of the calves born at Moomers have heart shapes on their heads

This little girl was just a day old in this picture.  Whaddya think, I was born yesterday?

baked ricotta

Ricotta cheese mixed with eggs and spices, baked into a savory pate - delizioso

you, and your pussycat.......

...nose!

Cute Boss Mouse staffer Caitlin rocks her cat nose finger tattoo

meanwhile, in double turkey leg news

Timothy kicks it

orange and green and orange

ratatouille

salsa verde

carrot salsa

the glory of tomatoes and the glory of love

basket of heirloom tomatoes from the garden

Crazy monstrous tomato, and Mom & Cozy

a token of her love

Rudy killed a finch, brought it in the house and placed it on the kitchen rug.

Traverse City microfashion

Photographed these siblings at the Farmer's Market.  Please note Doc Marten 1914s, fluorescent orange knit caps and a riding hat, just to name a few details.  

cuddle bunnies

Timothy & Licky love

peach pie palooza

Box of gorgeous Holman Farm white peaches

4 and twenty peaches baked in a pie

peach skins to the chickens

pakora majora

Indian mixed vegetable pakora fritters

rhubarb jamming

beautiful September harvest of rhubarb from the orchard

jam x8

purple food

garden harvest of all purple vegetables

fruit update

The orchard didn't do that well this year, due to a cool Spring and Summer.  What my honeycrisp tree lacked in quantity, it made up for in quality - behold the SINGLE apple she produced!

Gnarly looking pears - they will taste OK, but suffered Japanese beetle damage earlier in the year.

Three McIntosh apples

Maggie

A sweet, lost dog named Maggie showed up at the farm last week.  She was wearing Detroit tags with an expired phone number, and was wet and exhausted.  I gave her some food, and she was fine with Max and Cozy, but I wasn't sure what to do next.

I called the Traverse City Humane Society, who couldn't have been less helpful.  They somewhat said I was on my own, so my plan was to do my best to find her owners myself, and as a last resort take her to a shelter where her owners may have been looking for her.

I drove her around and talked to some neighbors, and after an hour or so I actually tracked down where she belonged.  She was visiting from the Detroit area and staying with a family about 2 miles from my farm.  The owners said she had chased a deer and didn't know her way back, and they were frantic trying to find her.  One of them was driving around on a 4-wheeler looking for her, which is how I found them.  A very happy ending.

bunnies eating stuff

with cauliflower leaves

Timothy with carrot - look at those ears!

Carrot eating action - turn your volume up

Blackie with carrot

Licky with flowering broccoli

Pinky with everything

deflector

Last winter, the snow that fell off of the big barn roof was so heavy, it blocked the doorways with snow and ice packed piles that became impossible to manage and impermeable. I had to climb in through the tops of the Dutch doors to get into the barn.  So we are trying to design awnings to redirect the unavoidable avalanche.  Drawing by genius architect George Emmert.  

The first design was too much, and much too expensive an option, so George made a simpler version, which we will build this Fall.  Mini shelter design for the well head, too.

arachnid

Enormous spider in my basement - he was gently relocated outside

double fantasy

home made bread 2-fer

sky study #116

Scary sky study taken at 10:00AM Monday, August 25th - crazy weather system rolling in over the West pasture - half an hour of torrential rain, thunder and lightning!

sky study #115

beautiful Labor Day skies this morning

Happy Labor Day!