Winter Sights on the Farm

Eggs Benedict a la Maggie's

Greetings Loyal Readers,

The farm is closed for the winter holidays.  We'll open back up in the new year.  Here are some photos from our last few days of program.  I miss my fellow Stu-fas and hope they are enjoying their time with family and friends.

Morning Shadows of maple trees on the snow

Pear Trees

Happy Ewe in the barn for the winter

Basketweaving

Carlen, soaking the materials

Today our mini-group spent the day with Carlen making woven splint baskets.  She introduced the different materials and several books explaining different techniques.  Then we jumped into the woven splint baskets.  Very fun.

Weave the base

Sides turned up

Sides are woven

Completed basket

Justin, Linnea and Sophia work on their baskets

Fiber and Pigs

Caitlin's fiber collection

This morning, we had an introduction to Fiber arts.  Our instructor, Jill Horton-Lyons from Winterberry farms brought us samples of different wools and let us feel, compare and collect fleece samples from many different sheep.  There are fine fleece like Merino and Rambouillet.  There are Medium fleece like Fin, Cheviot and Corriedale.  There are coarse fleece such as Romney and Border Leicester.  There are also double-coated fleece such as the Scottish blackface and the Icelandic.

Jill's introduction

Jill helping Brian to spin his wool into yarn.

Our second task was to learn to hand-spin wool into yarn.  We were each given a hook made from a coat-hanger and a large handful of beautiful, carded golden wool.  With a little practice, each of us spun a beautiful length of yarn, varying in length and width (the lumpier it was, the more "designer" it is considered...).  I cannot imagine spinning enough yarn to make a scarf by this method.  I think we were taught this method to see exactly what happens to the wool as it is worked and meant to teach us to appreciate any other form of spinning.

In preparation for other classes with Jill, we "skirted" a fleece from one of Maggie's Farm's Border Leicester sheep.  This process in involves taking the wool from a sheared sheep and spreading it out on a  table.  One removes "dung tags", bits of straw and hay and any other impurities.  Then different qualities of fleece can be sorted, picking out the best sections, putting aside the second best and composting the rest.

Washing fleece

Finally, Jill demonstrated how to wash the fleece.  It can be done big lump at a time or it can be scrubbed in little locks.  We use a soap I recognize from quilt-making, plenty of warm water and lots of patience.  We are getting out dirt but more importantly, the lanolin must come out.  It is the waxy substance that sheep exude that keeps them water-proof.




In our afternoon session we had a "pig pow-wow" where we discussed our pig enterprise.

Intro to Welding

Today our group drove down the road to meet Ron Mott, fabricator extraordinaire.  We were there to begin our welding lessons but before we could weld, we had to learn how to cut metal.  I guess I always thought a "blow torch" was blowing a flame, but this isn't exactly the situation.  The hot flame melts the metal and then the compressed oxygen blows the dripping metal away.  We learned about the basic kinds of welding--stick welding, MIG and TIG.   I will explain these an the differences when we work with the techniques.

Sophia starting up her flame

Me, Lee, in the midst of a cut

Nora, cutting metal

Emma contemplating a cut

Brian helping Ron set up our metal

Nora, enjoying the flame

Sophia, starting up a flame

Brian, lighting up...

Ron, coaching Kiyoshki

In the afternoon, we had about 30 layer hens to cull.  I've shown photos of "processing the chickens" so I will just post this artsy picture of the inside of the plucking machine.  After processing our chickens, Christina gave us a lesson on making chicken stock and that is how we spent the remainder of the afternoon.

The rubber fingers of a plucking machine

Heating gear ring to remove it

Stu-Fas pondering the situation

In the evening, our tractor group return to Warren's workshop to continue working on our Ford tractor. The new parts had arrived and our goal was to reassemble our tractor with the new pieces.  Things didn't go as we planned. It was very difficult to remove the gear ring from the fly wheel.  It took pounding and torches to heat the metal to make it expand and slip off.  

Brian, taking a turn

Kiyoshi takes a turn

At last, it is removed!

Finally, Warren SAWS it

And the new ring gear doesn't fit...

Sing until the cows come home

Today our Friday group brought the cows in from the far pasture.  Unfortunately, my camera was too cold too work.  Fortunately, my camera was too cold to work as it is an intensive thing to bring in the cows.  I'll try to paint the picture for you.

(stay tuned)

In the afternoon, the whole Learn to Farm program had an intro to winter chores.  We have a blow-torch to heat the water spigot when it freezes.  We have set up the cows back in Maggie's Field and the triangle, with heated water, a shelter and two mangers.  The horses now have a heated water trough, too.   The chicken watering system is now frost-resistant and includes a very large funnel to minimize splashing when adding water.  The sheep will be moved into the barn next week and we will get an update on their care when the set up is established.

In the afternoon, our Friday group rolled and boxed the salted lambskins.  We drove them to the post office and taped the boxes shut in the lobby of the post office.  We were the source of entertainment to many a customer.  After taping and affixing postage, the clerk asked what was going to happen with the pelts.  "They will be tanned," replied Justin.  "To make gloves?" asked the clerk.  "No, " replied Olivier, "they will be for lounging."  Sophia couldn't stop giggling.

Timber frame--cutting the pages

Today our group spent time on the timberframe project.Photos and description of the work still to come!

Wood wood wood

Our morning was spent with Olivier.  I couldn't believe he had three hours of information regarding cord wood--wood that is used for heating--but he did and probably could have talked for more.  We reviewed the differences between soft and hard woods, then he proceeded to go through more than 20 species of wood describing the ease with which is it split, how how it burns, how long it burns and other random information.  Sprinkled in were anecdotes of heating with the particular wood.  Once the basic information was delivered, he discussed stacking options and safety issues.  Three hours passed quickly and my brain is full.  Sorry no photos!

Our afternoon was also about wood--bucking, splitting and stacking--as well as skidding in new logs for cordwood.  Emma and I were assigned to the sawmill--helping Josh take down the old timber frame as well as moving the timber left-overs--the slices of tree that are removed to make the posts and beam--over to the sugar shack for our syrup season in March.  Sorry, I kept my camera in my coat so I have no photo for this afternoon either.

We are expecting some bitter cold tonight, so we brought Pride into the barn for the evening.  Trying to stay warm works best when there is a lot of work to be done!

Soil Science and Veterinary Science

Our day involved taking in a lot of information--some from the printed page and some from the bodies of animals.

Nate's morning session was on the soils of Maggie's Farm.  He helped clarify the distinction between amendments--materials that are added to the soil to make up for mineral or organic deficiencies--and fertilizers--materials added to aid the growth of the plants.  Of course, everything added to the soil helps the plants to grow.  We talked about the soil tests we had submitted earlier with Carlen and how the less-than-optimal levels of phosphorus and potassium are dealt with over time, gradually by adding the minerals.  Nitrogen, in Nate's words, is more of an "annual" in that it is checked regularly and dealt with each season.   We also discussed the cation exchange ratio at length.  After I finish my readings, I'll try to explain it here in the future.  Understanding how soils interact with plants to create food is very important.

Equally important is understanding how animals can take grass and turn it into food!  We had the sad opportunity to look in a sheep's stomach today as our lamb Rudy passed away last night.  His little body had no fat on it as he had always been sickly and had been infested with worm.  Our vet Dr. Ledoux told us how this time of year --when the first hard frosts hit--is typical for the sickly ruminants to die.

Ruminant animals (cows, goats, sheep, deer, moose) have one stomach that has four different parts.  The first part of the stomach is the reticulum--a pouch where the food first goes to.  It can be pulled right back up into the animal's mouth so he can chew it further--chewing the cud.  The rumen is the "fermentation vat" of the stomach where well-chewed cud stews with small organisms--bacteria and protozoa--breaking down the grasses even further.  The cud can come from here, too.  The omasum is the third section of the stomach and aids in the absorption of water.  Wikipedia tells me that this multi-folded section can shoot undigested chunks back into the rumen for more fermentation and break-down.  The last section of the stomach is called the abomasum and this is similar to our simple human stomach where the contents are further broken down by enzymes and acids.  

After looking at the lamb's stomach, we went to look at our cow, Pride.  First, we listened to her digestion process and our vet showed us what to look for if she had distress in her rumen.  Cows, and other ruminants, are not built to eat grain---especially corn--as their digestive tract.  If you eat beef from the typical American sources, you are eating meat from an animal who lived in pain from constant stomachs-ache and who needed regular antibiotics to fight the infections caused by a mis-used digestive system.  I was trying not to get preachy but I can't hold back:  these animals evolved to do a wonderful thing, eating grass and turning it into delicious milk and meat.  When they are fed things besides grass, their bodies aren't healthy and therefore cannot be healthy for us to eat.   If we are going to eat meat, let's eat meat from animals who were raised on practices that respect their bodies.

Enough of that.

Stomach pump

We also had the opporutnity to watch a pill get delivered to Pride via a pretty funky contraption.  Also how to start an IV and how to collect fluids from the rumen.  We went inside and had the opportunity to inspect the rumen protozoa under a microscope and watch a slideshow of the work of the vet.

Brian, delivering a pill

An IV into the jugular...

Cross-section of a cow hoof

RIP Rudy

On the death of a Lamb

life is short

yet time enough to offer what we can

what have we offer to the rest of life?

some offer great leadership

some offer necessary inventions

some offer abundant energy for accomplishment

still others offer a sweet, persistent need

giving the rest of us

the opportunity to enact
our greatest human accomplishment

the ability to love

Rest in peace, dear Rudy

Geting cold and the work continues

My ideal farm situation would be that I would work hard during every warm and mild day and save indoor activities--research, sharpening tools, etc for the cold days like today.  It was bright, but not sunny and it hovered in the upper 20's all day today.  There was lots of work to be done, so this is what we did.

Olivier charged up over batteries!

We started off by reviewing the battery situation.  I still get amps, watts, voltage mixed up.   Stay tuned for clarification (if you have a great way of explaining it, please share!) This discussion gave details on how to recharge a battery to maintain it.

Brian to Rudy's rescue

Our next task was to move the sheep.  As previously mentioned, it was cold.  We came out to the field and little Rudy was standing in the corner with his head down.  Olivier decided right away that Rudy needed to come in to the barn.  Brian leaped the electrical netting and brought the little fellow in.  The rest of us gathered the excess fencing and took it to the pasture beyond the pig enclosure.  Once that beautiful enclosure was made, we led the sheep down to it, locked them in and then picked up panels from the pig enclosure to make the winter paddock at the barn for the sheep.  A busy morning!

T-post pounding

Set the corner

Nora, tying on the wires

In the afternoon, we had the chance to learn the harnessing of the Sentinel Elm horses--Prince and King.  Some people practiced driving them while others of us split cordwood and/or worked with the oxen--Dean and Sal.

Caitlin learning to drive the steer

Caitlin, bucking a log

Warren, setting the pulley chain

In the evening, half of us went over to Warren's shop to learn about engine mechanics.  We are tasked with the responsibility of getting Maggie's old Ford tractor running again as well as getting the IH running for Nate to take to his new farm.    First we removed the cover of the engine, then undid the electrical connections and finally, separated the back part of the tractor from the engine block.  Our goal this evening was to get into the fly wheel.  We also discovered the clutch plate and it was decided that since it took us 2 hours to get into this place, we ought to fix this item as well.  Below is a video of the separation.  Thank goodness for Warren and his well-stocked tool supply.

Bread oven 101

On December 3, our  new mini-group worked on the bread oven all day long.  We are making a lot of progess and I feel fortunate to have worked on several different aspects of this project--from laying horizontal bricks, setting up a "soldier course", applying the "springer course" and now helping to install the vault frame.

A bread oven is a brick structure where a fire is built and then dragged out once the bricks have absorbed the heat.  The plan for the Farm School is to put this oven into full-time production mode--ok, not full-time but be able to make the bread needed (kneaded?) for all the programs.  It is just outside the kitchen door at Sentinel Elm farm and close to the sugar shack and across the farm yard from the dairy barn.  Hmm, can you imagine warm bread topping with melting butter and a dab of maple syrup?  It'll be all lined up soon.

The vault form, practice version

Ok, back to the building.  We arrived to see the beginnings of the vault form but it needed more supports or ribs.  So we pulled it out and Justin cut and installed the new ribs while Sophia and her friend Linnea ground down the "springer course" to get the proper angle for the curve.  The springer course are angled-bricks--see below.

Sophia, in the oven...

Justin adding more ribs

As the ribs were set into place and then installed in the oven, Rebekah and I  worked on a couple different projects.  First, we smoothed out an insulated tarp and "quilted" it so the foam sheets inside wouldn't slip around.  Then we measured the threaded rods for the steel girdle and cut them with an angle grinder.  It was startling to have sparks flying at us but we got the work done.

Rebekah, checking the threaded rod

Here is the steel rail that Sophia and Linnea cut.
 Our threaded rod runs through it.

Rebekah and I also made the supports for this girdle which will counteract the downward and outward push of the bricks in the vault.

Feet with Shim...

Once the vault frame was in place and the girdle around the outside, it was time to start installing the vault of the oven.  The next group will continue with the vault as well as begin work on the chimney and the door.

Sophia starting the first course

Our progress by the end of the day