Harrowing times.... and finishing the tractor barn

Our group was led by Olivier today and our task was to finish the ridge cap of the tractor barn and complete the siding on the upper east wall.  We also had the opportunity to harrow Ida's field with the tractor.

View from the tractor seat

I was first up on the tractor.   There are hydrolic arms that hold the bucket loader  and first we had to take the bucket off.  Once that was done, then I had to attach the fork lift.  A bit tricky but not too difficult with Andrew's able coaching.  Then I drove the tractor down the road to Hazel's field where the harrow was last used.  This was the view when arrived at the field.

Carrying the harrow

Next, I had to scoop up the harrow on the fork lift and lift it up high.  It felt very strange and unsteady but I drove it down to Ida's field just the same.  When I got to Ida's field, Andrew coached me on how to lay the harrow down.  It was a fun thing to slowly lower the forklift and reverse the tractor. Once I had laid it down on the ground and detached it from the forks, I pulled the tractor around and back up to it.  The chaining was simple and then I was off.  I took one lap around the field, dragging this wicked chain behind me.  It tore up the grass matting and the cow pies and spread everything everywhere.  It felt gratifying to do such a good thing for the field, spreading the manure and loosening the soil.  This particular field needs a pH adjustment with lime next week, and eventually some seeding of clover and it will be ready for the cows again in the spring.

Before the Harrowing

After the Harrowing

Sophia, Brian and Nora with a ridge cap section

Back at the tractor barn, my fellow students were putting together the ridge cap for the barn.  The barn was the project of previous students and needed the very top of the barn covered as well as the back upper wall.  The ridge cap planks had to be cut at about a 30 degree angle to be able to fit the pitch of the roof as well as overlap so that no rain could leak through.  It was fun to use the circular saw at an angle.


There was a lot to be done at the back of the barn, putting up a flashing board and the applying the siding planks.  I enjoyed climbing up the ladder to see the work but to actually push on a screwdriver and maneuver oneself took a little getting used to!

Emma and Lee installing the flashing

The view from the scaffold

Putting in the first screw

Struggling with an unfortunate angle

Kiyoshi starting the siding in a tight spot.

Here is Kiyoshi starting our siding phase.  It wasn't difficult to figure out the size and shape of the wood, but it was tricky to get the screwdriver in there and drive in the fastener.  Another group will get to continue on with this task and hopefully we can work on it again before it is complete.

Lunch, timberframe and Hanukah!

Happy Hanukah, everyone.  From lunch building to timber frame building to the building of cute Menorahs, to singing the latke song, to eating the latkes (with a great meal), it has been a great day.

Today Nora and I made a taco lunch for everyone.  Now that we've been here two solid months, it is starting to feel comfortable making lunch for 15 people.  Knowing the best bowls, pots and pans for each task, finding spices and herbs quickly and being familiar with the stove and the timing of preparing a large box of chard--it would be easy to forget the little steps it has taken us to get to this level of comfort.

In the afternoon, we continued work on our beams and posts for the timber frame shed.  In the afternoon, we arrived at Sentinel Elm and found a beautiful beam made by our friends in the other group.  It took 7 people to load it onto a truck to transport it to the greenhouse.




We also worked on our various beams and posts.  Here are some shots of that work.

JOsh coaching Nora on a cut

Brian measuring an angle

Emma setting the boring tool

Emily's Acorn and Pine Menorah

Nora's turnip menorah

Betsy's farm school menorah

When we returned to the farm, a dinner was in the midst of preparation.  We had chicken, roast vegetables, latkes with applesauce and sour cream, salad, greens and more.  It was a feast.  Betsy led us in the traditions and songs of Hanukah including the lighting of home-made menorahs.

Thank you everyone who made it a wonderful celebration!

Forestry and Animal Husbandry

Safer in our bright orange

Our morning session had us in the woods with Forester Jody, teaching us the elements of "managing a woodlot."  As he proceeded to coach us in the choosing of saving and of harvesting trees, it seems that the managing of a wood lot is as much an art as it is a science.  Note that we are wearing bright colors as it is the first of two weeks of deer hunting season here in Massachusetts.  Ok, back to the work.  We are managing this woodlot for cordwood, for lumber, for plant diversity, for animal habitat, for recreation and for plain ol' beauty.  A tall order but doable.

Jody pointing out crown features

As we choose trees, we also considered the path through which we would skid the logs with the oxen or the horses with the help of Bradley from Sentinel Elm farm.  Jody talked to us about the different varieties of trees, the signs of tree health and disease, spacing between the crowns of tree and the different uses for trees.  We also had an extensive discussion on the history deforestation of Connecticut and Massachusetts during the late 1700's and 1800's--how coal was made from smoldering piles of trees and mixed with iron and lime to make pig iron.  Between the iron industry and agriculture, New England was nearly treeless.  Ever since then, trees have been growing back and foresters have been learning how trees return to a cleared area and how to maintain a healthy forest.


 We choose trees to save and then looked around to see what had to go.  We blazed the trees with an axe hack on two sides at eye-ball height.  Jody told us how to figure out cordwood.  Ten trees which measure between 6 to 12 inches at breast height ought to make a cord.  He had an amazing "ruler" of sorts that measured width, measured height of the tree and a few other details.  Hopefully one of my classmates can add detail about this

Emma blazing red maple tree

Kiyoski marking an oak tree

Brian marking a black birch

Ash bark

Elm bark

During our class, a turkey flew up into a tree nearby and watched us for a good long while.  Can you imagine a barn-yard gobbler flying up to a branch 30 feet overhead?  Well, this beautiful bird did and we all checked  and revised our stereotype of the bird.  

To wind up our time with Jody, we observed and discussed the trees along the hedgerow.  Allow for shade for the animal pasture, no shade for the crop field, keep black cherry out of the hedgerow (as a half-wilted leaves have a cyanide compound that can kill a cow), and include maple but fence the animals away as they love to chew on the bark and could girdle and kill the tree.  Again, the information was rapid fire and I'm not sure I have it all.  The main idea is that the trees in hedgerows are to be managed as well.  

Sorting meat into CSA bags

Our afternoon was spent with Olivier undertaking two important tasks.  Our first task was to package up the Meat CSA.  "CSA" stands for Community Sponsored Agriculture and it involves people paying upfront for a share of the meat produced on Maggie's Farm.  We promise them 12 pounds of meat a month for six months.  Then at the beginning of each month--from October to March, we deliver grass-fed beef, pork and lamb in frozen packages.  It was fun (and cold) to sort the meat into the bags, trying to make sure each bag received a variety of cuts and trying to come close to (and a tad over) the 12 pound mark.  Once the bags were sorted and weighed, we put them back in the freezer for delivery to the Boston area.  We also put a box of pig hearts, liver and lard in our freezer for fun and interesting recipes to yet be determined.  As we sorted the meat, we grilled Olivier (not literally...) on the thinking and planning that goes into a successful Meat CSA--how to plan, what glitches can happened and more.  Our jaws dropped when we learned that one can insure their animals as well as insure the meat that comes from them.  So much to learn.

Our last task of the day was to move the cows to Janet's pasture.  If you've been looking closely at the photos, you might recognize a shift in group members.  Nora, Brian and I were moved into Group A with Sophia, Kiyoshi and Emma.  We ex-B-teamers were happy to show the A Team how to move cows--Brian parked the truck in the middle of the road, I handed out fence posts and Nora coached them in calling "Come On Girls" across the road.  All transpired without a hitch...  Emma and I brought the manger down into the new field and took turns being "the hamster" inside.  Kiyoshi may have taken a video of it--see their blog:  http://muckinaround.tumblr.com/

We also enjoyed feeding the cows in their new field.  A good day for a new Team A.  And just WHAT is that blurry, color splodge there?  Hmmm, we'll have to ask Linnea...

Back to Work!

Lambs eating last breakfast

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving--I know the history of the holiday has sketchy beginnings but we now have a day to put together a wonderful meal, be grateful for the presence our family and friends and be appreciative of the first settlers of North America.  Now that the temperature has dipped well below freezing up here on the ridge, I appreciate the hardships that those first Europeans.


Our first task today was to help round up six of our lambs for slaughter.  With the trailer backed up to the paddock, we made an extra paddock around the truck and trailer.  The plan was to lure all the sheep into the trailer with molasses-coated alfalfa, and let the ewes out the back door and keep the lambs.  It was a good plan.  Not as easy at it might seem.

Olivier setting up the capture

The gathering

Coming in for the alfalfa pellets

We finally loaded up 5 lambs and Emily walked out and snagged another and carried it in with the help of Olivier.  Sorry I didn't snap the photo--it was too exciting to watch!


















Olivier set us up with the task of gathering the seeds from the hayloft floor and we were busy with that as we thought that Olivier had left.  He stepped into the barn to let us know that we had a ewe in the trailer and needed to return her and gather another lamb.  Justin and Olivier marched out into the paddock and snagged another lamb, letting the ewe free.  Now that six lambs were loaded up, we went back to the barn.

Betsy in the manger

Sheep rope up for the winter

Our main task here was to scoop up all the hay that has fallen out of the bales and sift it through chicken wire letting the seedy bits fall through and the straw remain on top.    As we scooped out the delicious bits for chicken feed, Betsy slithered in to pull more out.  The chickens will eat this as a treat through the winter providing them carotenes to make bright yellowy-orange yolks.  We are learning to make use of all that is on the farm and how one aspect supports another.  .

Artsy shot of sun on the hay

Greenhouse snugging!

In the afternoon, the whole crew went over to Sentinel Elm Farm to work on the greenhouse and look at end-of-season activities there.  The plastic covering needed tightening on the greenhouse, so we popped out these "wiggle wires" that lay in a track in the frame of the green house, snapping the plastic in place.  We took a meander up to the orchard/berries field up at the top of the hill and had a long discussion on the procedures of fruit tree grafting which led the topic of cross-breeding vs genetic engineering.  Pretty deep on the top of the ridge.  Thank you Nate, for keeping us thinking.

Huge puff-ball fungus at Sentinel Elm

Buttoning up the Farm (and bonus "hamster" video)

Today we "buttoned up" the farm for Thanksgiving break.  A list of tasks was presented and we each took on a few to tidy up, fix up, throw out or clean various parts of the farm.  I didn't have my camera with me but I worked on two tasks.  The first task was the "creamery room" which used to hold the milk storage equipment when this farm was a dairy farm.  Now it holds the grain and feed for the animals.  I swept it out, arranged it a bit, put signs over the different feeds and that is about it.  When that task was complete, I took on the workshop.  I began by sorting the materials I could tell were out of place, finding their places.  Then I started in on items that didn't have a place.  Luckily, Justin popped in and helped me to figure out what these things were and he worked on the far side of the shop while I tidied the work bench.  A few others joined us for a bit and then, I found myself absorbed in the hardware drawers and spent the rest of the morning sorting bolts, nuts, brackets and other unnamed items.  I may pop out and take photos of some of these beautiful pieces of hardware.  I'm sure they have a use but I couldn't figure them out.

After lunch, people packed up to leave.  Olivier invited me to come and help him move the cows.  After inspecting the pastures, he decided  to move them to the upper half of Ida's field.  We inspected the fence, re-did the gate, let the cows in and then closed them up.  The cows kept bawling at us for food so it was decided that we needed to feed them.  We moved the round manger up into their field, set up the water and brought out two bales of hay for them.  I couldn't resist taking this video of Olivier moving the manger like a hamster wheel.

I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.  As you enjoy your dinner, thank the farmer(s), either in person or in thought, who grew the vegetables and fruit and nuts and meat and dairy for your meal.

Monday harvest, weeding and bread oven

Lining up for the turnip toss

This morning our group set out to harvest for the upcoming Thanksgiving break.  We packed up boxes of chard, kale, broccoli, lettuce, turnips, daikon radish and black radish. We also had a practice session of "the turnip toss".  It is amazing how much food is still left in the fields.

Scary black raddish

The black radish is a funny little vegetable.  The taste isn't remarkable--I know I've eaten them but couldn't say what they taste like--but they are very attractive.  Until the root splits and someone carves scary eyes into 'em... 

Betsy walking amongst the baby spinach

In the afternoon, we went to work on Sentinel Elm farm.  We weeded in the greenhouse and helped to build the bread oven.  The spinach in the greenhouse didn't need much weeding but it was nice to do it while the weeds were tiny.  There is a green-gunky algae that can form on the soil in a greenhouse and we broke that up between the plants.  Isn't it beautiful?

Our last task of the day was to work a bit on the bread oven.  The arch layer is about ready to start as we placed bricks that had been angled.  These bricks will hold the arched vault of the oven which is just about ready to build.  Our guide on this project, Josh, will be setting up a steel frame of sorts in preparation for setting on the top.  Stay tuned for more photos on this project.

This evening, we were invited to view a documentary in progress entitled "The Greenhorns"  Here is the website if you'd like to have more information:  http://www.thegreenhorns.net/home.html  It was a beautiful movie, speaking to the enthusiasm, needs and approach of young farmers new to the world of farmer.  

Last Day of Chainsaw 101

Lee, leaning on the machine

Bill giving the lesson

Today we began in the greenhouse at Sentinel Elm with a lesson on how to sharpen the teeth of a chainsaw.  With a speed of 70 miles per hour, that little chain (looks like a bicycle chain with canines!) tears through wood and tries to tear through anything else it can touch.  So the blades need regular sharpening--daily, as suggested by Bill!

Note the jig

Betsy, limbing

When we had sharpened the chainsaws, we returned to the woodlot to have Nora fell her second tree and then each of us took a turn at bucking and limbing.  Bucking is chopping the stem of the tree (and large branches) into 26-28 inch long segments.  We had steps to make a plan for this process, too, which can be equally dangerous:  look for overhead dangers, assess the butt of the log (on the stump, near, how far, did it slide), does it have any spring poles and assess the pressure of the log.  (Fellow chainsawyers--I think I'm missing some parts of this plan...).  In addition to chopping up the stem, we need to remove the little limbs that stick off the side, too small to call firewood.  

Our last challenge of the day was to learn the geometry of spring pole cutting

(to be continued)