Morning Meadows Farm

Spring? You Bet!

2010-04-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

Guinea House Update- The gang of guineas have adapted well to their new home. They like the honeysuckle branch and often play king-0f-the-hill (branch?) on it. Hopefully, they will be producing eggs soon. The incubator awaits. After a week or so to get used to this enclosure, they will be allowed to roam free throughout the day and return here at night as protection from things that like to eat guineas.

We take advantage of the unseasonably warm days to get the early crops in the garden. The first group of onions where planted on March 15th and they are up and doing well. Today we've added 3 more rows of White Ebenezer onions for scallions, Arugula, Spinach, Radishes, and Potatoes. All being faithfully watched over by St. Francis.

White Ebenezer Onion - White Ebenezer' onion is perfect for picking, with a clear, thick skin and solid flesh. This easy-to-grow cultivar is well suited to northern regions as a summer crop. This long-day onion cultivar requires 14 hours of daylight to develop its bulbs, whereas short-day onions require 11?12 hours of daylight and are better suited to southern regions as a winter crop.

Red Pontiac Potato - Thin, red skin, shallow eyes, and sweet white flesh. All-purpose, does well even in heavy soils. Early to midseason. Keeps well.

Arugula - Tender smooth leaves with robust, peppery flavor. Cook mature leaves with other greens. Ready to harvest in 35 days. Zesty accent in salad. GARDEN HINTS: Grows best in cool weather. Can also be grown as a fall crop. Sow early in spring. Protect from heat with shade cloth. Likes fertile soil, ample water. Best when picked minutes before your meal. Thin plants 8" apart.

French Breakfast Radish - Only 23 days to harvest. Oblong roots grow 1-3/4" long and 3/4" wide. Scarlet skin, shades to white at base. White flesh is crisp and mildly pungent when young. Fast and easy to grow, radishes are best in cool weather and planted in a sunny location.

Cherry Belle Radish - 22 days. All-America Winner. Extra-early, retains fine eating quality all season. Round, smooth, scarlet beauties, 3/4" across with crisp, white flesh. Fast and easy to grow, radishes are best in cool weather. Proven tops for performance, flavor and wide adaptability. Sun.

Noble Giant Spinach - Noble Giant is famous for smooth dark green leaves, excellent flavor. Vigorous plants, very slow to bolt, lets you harvest over a longer period. Cooked or raw (in salads), the dark green leaves of spinach are a super source of vitamins, minerals and cancer-fighting compounds.

Flowers are popping out all over! Every day brings new blooms. Here are a couple of photos of the Dr. Merrill Magnolia and a cluster of King Alfred daffodils.

Spring Carol by Robert Louis Stevenson

WHEN loud by landside streamlets gush,
And clear in the greenwood quires the thrush,
With sun on the meadows
And songs in the shadows
Comes again to me
The gift of the tongues of the lea,
The gift of the tongues of meadows.

Straightway my olden heart returns
And dances with the dancing burns;
It sings with the sparrows;
To the rain and the (grimy) barrows
Sings my heart aloud -
To the silver-bellied cloud,
To the silver rainy arrows.

It bears the song of the skylark down,
And it hears the singing of the town;
And youth on the highways
And lovers in byways
Follows and sees:
And hearkens the song of the leas
And sings the songs of the highways.

So when the earth is alive with gods,
And the lusty ploughman breaks the sod,
And the grass sings in the meadows,
And the flowers smile in the shadows,
Sits my heart at ease,
Hearing the song of the leas,
Singing the songs of the meadows.

New gardens, new pens, and bitey chickens.

2010-03-15T19:11:00.000-07:00

I'm not Mark Antony who came "not to praise Caesar, but to bury him". Here on the Ides of March, I've come to both praise and bury. Not Caesars but onions. For the past 20 years, we have started off the outdoor garden season on March 15th by planting onion sets. I realize that in the big picture, this is a meager start, but the psyche relishes the act of faith that it takes to put something into the soil and then expect the earth to provide nourishment. These onions will be ready to harvest as scallions even before the tomatoes and green beans are planted. It's sort of the garden version of instant gratification.

The future outdoor enclosure for the guineas is underway and should be completed by the weekend. The small coop that will be placed inside the chain link kennel is being constructed inside the barn close by and will be moved into position before the chain link is wrapped around the outside of the steel framework. This coop and enclosure will serve as a place for the guineas to come to in the evening so they can get a good nights rest and not worry about predators such as owls, coyotes, or raccoons. This will help them to be clear eyed and alert for their job of eliminating ticks and other nasties and also acting as an alarm system for anything out of the ordinary taking place in the barnyard.

An update on the outlaw chickens shows that they are growing quickly! As it turns out, we have 2 roosters and 1 hen, which is what we expected. One of the roos is starting to get his 'big boy voice'. Whenever our Golden Campine rooster, Carmine, crows in the morning, he tries to answer. He really does try, but the best he can manage is something that sounds more like a door creaking! The other rooster has developed this habit of riding on my arm and biting my hand, even after warnings that I might bite back. I'm not sure he believes me... we'll see. The pullet is a real sweetie! She'll make a great addition to the layer flock as she matures.

Spring isn't cheep, but sometimes it is.

2010-03-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

2 day old chicks

week old Black Copper Marans chick

Spring is a time for rebirth and birds chirping. That is especially true of our bathroom! Our bathroom is currently the home of a tub turned brooder complete with a complement of baby chicks. We have recently acquired a good start on our replacement hens as well as some that we are raising to market as started pullets. We have a good mix of varieties which include Brown Leghorns (large white egg layers), Ameraucanas (blue and green egg layers), Speckled Sussex (showy brown egg layers), and one little Black Copper Marans.

The little Marans chick, even though only 2 weeks old, is obviously a little rooster. He stands tall and proud and isn't afraid of anything! He will probably take his place among our mixed flock as a beau for the many hens of the main house. Currently our golden campine, Carmine, is the only rooster in the mixed flock and he could use some help! We do have a couple of young Buff Plymouth Rocks that will be up to the task in just a few more weeks but there will be plenty of young hens to go around for the addition of a little Marans roo with swagger!

First sign of spring

2010-02-13T11:16:00.001-08:00

We have a few new additions to the flock! Even though there is a foot of snow on the ground outside, it's like spring indoors, as the incubator starts to produce chicks. Here's our first little peep. An ameraucana chick that was born with a case of spraddle leg, which is a condition that causes it to hold it's leg a bit too far to the side to be able to properly balance. The condition is easy to remedy if caught early. It consists of wearing a brace for a day or so until the bones start to harden and the muscles get a bit stronger. It's already reacting well to treatment, so things should be good for it's future.

We also have a black copper marans chick running around. We're sure he is probably a rooster as he's a lot more aggressive and active than his brooder mate. He appears to be in good health and is running around, eating, and peeping like crazy!

We'll give the incubator a couple of more days to see if any other chicks hatch and then on to a new batch. Hopefully, we'll be producing a batch a month for the first few months of the spring. But these batches won't always be chickens, as we've already made arrangements for some fertile turkey and guinea eggs for hatching as well!

The Point of Snow Return

2010-02-06T16:13:00.000-08:00

Photo by Dan Taylor

Ok, we knew that winter wasn't over. Not by a long shot, but still, the bit of nicer weather last week had us really pining for spring. We were able to get some cleanup projects finished outside and clear some area for a new series of coops. Just when we were really getting into the swing of outdoor projects, along comes a fairly major snow. The temps were still in the upper 20's so the snow was really heavy and sticky. While this makes for great photos, it also makes for no fun shoveling.

Photo by Carrie Taylor

There were plenty of cardinals around our feeder since most of their other food sources were covered by snow. The showy red of the male makes it a favorite subject to photograph but the subtle shades and variations of the female are also visually interesting and make for a great photo against the backdrop of the fresh snow.

Photo by Carrie Taylor

After the shoveling was done, the sun came out for a bit. It brought a great sparkle to the snow clinging to the trees. We treated it as a visual reward for the hard work of cleaning up the walks and driveway.

Photo by Dan Taylor

After a day of working outside in the snow. It's wonderful to come inside to a steamy bowl of black bean soup. Carrie's black bean soup has a warm spanish flair that adds a touch of exotic color to a drab winter day.

Black Bean Soup

16 oz Black Beans dried
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Medium onion fine chopped
4 Green Onions
1 Cilantro med. bunch
Sour Cream

Pre-soak the beans overnight. Drain and add to stock pot with 6 cups water, the medium onion, garlic, pinch of salt. Bring to boil and then back off to simmer until beans are tender (1.5 to 2 hrs). Season with salt and pepper to taste, top with dollop of sour cream and diced green onions and cilantro. Just a splash of cayenne pepper sauce to add that extra bit of heat.

Another bride... another groom...

2010-02-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

A face only a turkey could love...

Awkward beginnings.

The Turkeys get their groove back.

Ok, I'm not sure turkeys even have a groove, or even what that means, but our two young Royal Palm hens have been joined by a fine strapping young tom. After an awkward bit at the introduction, everyone started to warm up over the cracked corn bar. Pretty soon everyone was talking amiably in the corner and seemed to strike up some genuine friendships. This seems to be working out fairly well at this point, so maybe we can chalk up a 'success' for internet dating as our ladies found their prospective mate on craigslist. He came from the frozen north but has a bit of hot Spanish blood that's sure to inspire many steamy evenings in the turkey coop. Hopefully, we will be blessed by the sound of little feet scampering about the run by spring.

For the birds...

2010-02-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

Pearl Guineas

Nosy Chickens

Bird at feeder

Royal Palm Turkeys 'standoff'

It seems like everywhere you look around Morning Meadows Farm you see birds! Between the turkeys, chickens, and guineas in the outdoor pens, the crowd that gathers around the feeders and suet blocks in the back yard, the chicks in the brooder (in the bathroom), and 2 cockatiels in the dining room, there is always something avian happening. And this could just be the beginning

We are currently incubating a batch of 30 chicken eggs which include the varieties Ameraucana, which lay the blue / green eggs, Cuckoo Marans, which lay the dark brown eggs, and Black Copper Marans, which also lay a dark brown egg. The Black Copper Marans will be used primarily to provide eggs to sell to others for hatching as chicks. They are a reletively rare breed and the genetics we are raising is directly from the Wade Jeane / Beverly Davis line of French Black Copper Marans, which are highly regarded as the top lines of genetics in the United States. So we are very hopeful that they do well.

One of our goals here, is to help preserve some of the rare breeds of livestock that are quickly fading from existence. A couple of our other animals on the endangered list are the Royal Palm Turkey , a relatively small heritage breed bird that is very limited in number, and the Golden Campine chicken. If you would like to learn more about preserving heritage livestock check out American Livestock Breeds Conservancy and also The Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities .

That's not to say that there aren't plenty of run-of-the-mill varieties as well! We also have plenty of the more common breeds including a few hybrids such as our golden comets, which are egg-laying machines! Don't think, though, that just because they are more common or less showy that they aren't highly thought of. All of the birds here have their role to play and are considered partners in our agricultural endeavors. The guineas are voracious feeders of ticks, flys, mosquitoes and will even take on a small snake if one is handy. The chickens provide plenty of eggs and compost for the garden. The turkeys also are good with the compost and make great recyclers of garden weeds. So between weed control, pest control, compost production, food production, and just plain entertainment value, it truly is 'for the birds' around here.

Outlaw Chickens!

2010-02-02T06:06:00.000-08:00

So, here's how we became a halfway house for these feathered fugitives... I was scanning through a few things on the local craigslist site when, in the 'free' column, something caught my eye. The heading was "Free Roosters". Well, normally we have no interest in acquiring additional roosters as we have too much problem getting rid of our extras (freezer camp may become an option at some point). But, I instinctively clicked on the link and to my amazement found not a group of world hardened roos but instead a plea for someone to take the trio of 3 fuzzy chicks! Well, now I was hooked! So, after calling flock supervisor Carrie on her cell at work, and after having received the 'ok' I made the phone call to get these. Well, here's where it gets a bit weird... the guy didn't want to meet me at his home and insisted that he either bring them to me or meet somewhere convenient for both. So, to summarize to this point, I have a guy wanting to give away free chicks and he's willing to deliver. Weird. Now, I'm getting a bit gunshy as I don't want to introduce any possible disease or problems to our flock, but I meet with him anyway.

We meet in the parking lot at the local Lowe's home improvement store. Parked in the outer perimeter and wary of passersby like some illicit transfer was about to transpire. As it turns out, the Buff Plymouth Rock chicks where gorgeous and healthy. It seems that the guy who was raising them lives in a part of the city (an apartment I suspect) where pets aren't allowed. He needed to keep the transfer anonymous as he had no idea whether I worked for a law enforcement agency (hah!). He is keeping what are, to his eye, obviously hens but needed to git rid of any roosters long before they started crowing! Of the 3 he gave us, 2 are very definitely roos. One, however, has much less of a comb and seems to be less apt to play thier game of chest bump, so I think we may also have a hen!

It's been a week now, and the chicks are doing great in the brooder and growing quickly. Hopefully one of the roosters will grow up to be a great flock roo to replace our Marans, Lenny, that recently died. With luck, we'll have one hen from the group to add to the flock of layers, and the fate of the remaining fellow has yet to be determined (*cue sinister music).

Yesterday, we made a great pot of beef stew. This pot was mostly store bought veggies this time but soon enough, meals like this will be coming directly from the garden! I can't think of too many meals I like better during the winter than a hearty stew. It's easy to prep, takes about 10 minutes. I like to let mine simmer for hours so that the flavors really marry. Here's the basic recipe I use, but often modify based on what's on hand:

Beef Stew

3 tbs AP flour
1-2 lb. Beef Stew meat cut into 1 in. chunks.
2 tbs Cooking oil
1 cup Onion (coarsely chopped)
1 tsp Rubbed thyme
1 tbs Dried rosemary leaves (crush right before adding)
2 Cloves garlic (finely minced)
3 cups Vegetable Juice cocktail (like V-8, or tomato juice works in a pinch)
2 cubes Beef Bouillon
3 Large potatoes, peeled and cubed (3/4 to 1 in.)
1.5 cup Celery (coarsely chopped)
2 cups Carrot (coarsely chopped)
2 cup (optional)Turnip, peeled and cubed (1/2 in. dice)

In plastic bag, combine flour and dash of salt. Pat meat cubes dry with paper towel and then add to bag being sure to coat evenly. Brown meat in hot oil using a pot large enough to accommodate all the veggies to come. When meat is browned, add in all remaining ingredients plus 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 1.5 hours or until meat is tender and starch from potatoes has started to thicken the broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a touch of hot sauce if you like it spicy. Serve with a crusty bread! mmmm...

Coop De Ville?

2010-02-01T12:33:00.000-08:00

Why do chicken coops always have 2 doors? Because if they had 4 doors they would be chicken sedans. Ok... now that that's out of the way, our early winter project was to construct a small coop for a couple of turkeys and possibly a few guineas.

One of the parameters that we set for this project was to use as many recycled and repurposed materials as possible and to keep the expense as low as possible. We used reclaimed concrete blocks and landscape timbers for the base pillars and runner. On top of this is a large oak packing skid from a local tractor dealership. Plywood was scavenged from a local shopping center in the process of demo-ing some old back room shelving and the steel for the roof was reclaimed from a previous barn repair. Most of the 2x4's were already on hand. A few had to be purchased. The window was also a reclaimed item from a french door. The outer run area is constructed of pressure treated 2 x 4's that were removed from a landscape project I worked on in the fall (the owner was gracious in his support of this project). To finish the run and to provide a more mud-free environment, we installed sod that was left over from another landscape project. Basically, the only thing we needed to purchase for this project was hardware, some fencing for the run, and paint! We're looking forward to spring to be able to finish the painting, which will be a typical barn red. Total cost was less than $100 in expenses but almost 40 hours in labor.

Even though it's not quite finished, 2 inhabitants have made a comfortable home inside. It's currently occupied by a pair of Royal Palm turkey hens. These ladies are about 7 months old and will be joined by a suitor in the spring. If all goes well, we should be producing turkey eggs this summer. We are looking forward to having turkey eggs for hatching to produce poults for sale. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy has listed this variety of turkey on their watch list of possibly endangered livestock breeds, so we feel that our efforts to help propagate these animals is worthwhile even on our small scale.

Carrie's Shooting Spree!

2009-10-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

It started as a normal early autumn day on the farm. Sunny but chilly with a slight breeze. In the background, you could hear the goats asking to be fed and the chickens singing their egg songs as their morning production commenced. Then a flash pierces the still subdued light of the morning! "Got it!" she exclaimed. "You've got to see this one!" she insisted as I ran(walked fast) to see the victim. Yes, Carrie has taken to her camera and nothing escapes the careful aim of her shutter. Here are a few of the great images she captured around the farm:

Burning Bush ( Euonymus alata "Compactus") in fall color. A beautiful non native invasive that is being allowed to grow wild along our fence line by the road.

A small toad waiting for something smaller to eat. It is difficult to tell from the photo exactly how tiny this little guy is, but he would fit easily on a nickel!

Duke, looking smart upon his soapbox sporting his Maynard G Krebbs goatee.

The scarecrow stands watch over part of the harvest.

Homeland Security is headed up by the rather stern looking Ms. Sheba (aka- "stretchie kitty"). She can often be found sleeping during the days in the henhouse where she protects the feed from any small furry would-be grain theives.

Sheba's able young deputy, Tigger (aka- "Steenky") is at the ready to back her up as needed. In this photo, he is on field duty investigating a tip about a possible terrorist threat involving a small red-tailed hawk.

Piggy Goats

2009-10-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Photo by Carrie Taylor

Once again, we have expanded the herd! Isabel is the latest addition to our barnyard family. An 8 week old pygmy goat with a beautiful snow white coat and big gold green eyes. But don't let this dainty little lady fool you... she has no problem holding her own against the much larger Duke and Clementine! In the photo below, you can see how they are doing some individual expanding of their own. Sometimes they seem more like piggys than pygmys. The older goats took to the new little girl right away. Well, almost right away, after a bit of barnyard instruction on the rules of the herd and other important things for a new young goat to know. But, quickly enough, they were all getting along well. In fact, the first night they were all cuddled together against the early fall chill.

Photo by Carrie Taylor

Back to our Roots

2009-10-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

Photo by Dan W. Taylor

We've been blessed with a bounty of root veggies this year! Including our Ebenezer white onions, Danvers Half Long carrots, and Kennebec potatoes pictured above. When I see these together, they remind me that potato soup is one of my favorite fall comfort foods. Here's one of my favorite recipes courtesy of Paula Deen:

Ingredients

1/2 stick butter
1 small onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced about the same size as the onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups milk, whole, reduced fat (2 percent) or low fat (1 percent)
2 chicken bouillon cubes, dissolved in 1/2 cup hot milk
1 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups salted water
Crumbled bacon bits, for garnish
Grated sharp Cheddar, for garnish
Dill sprigs, optional garnish

Directions

In a 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter and saute the onion and carrots until both are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the potatoes, milk, and dissolved bouillon cubes. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft and some of them have begun to dissolve into mush. Add the half-and-half, salt, and pepper.

Serve soup sprinkled with bacon bits and grated cheese. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

Can't be beet!

2009-07-22T06:34:00.001-07:00

Detroit Dark Red Beets

Well, root crops are turning out to be a big part of our harvest this year! For the first time, we've tried growing beets. We just put out three rows as a tryout. We used transplants and floating row covers with lots of good home grown compost as a soil amendment. Well, this attention plus the cooler than normal temps have yielded a great return! We were able to can 12 pints of fresh beets plus have extras for fresh eating! That averages out to more than a pint per foot of row! So needless to say, we will be growing more of this vegetable. Perhaps even trying a late summer / fall crop along with the turnips.

Here's one of our favorite recipes from a great local restaurant, Meadowlark Restaurant

Beets with Horseradish, Goat Cheese and Pecans

3-4 whole fresh beets; tops removed
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup mirin; (sweet cooking sake)
1 cup pure olive oil
1/2 cup jar horseradish
salt and pepper
crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese
chopped, toasted pecans

Roast the Beets:
Set the oven to 400 degrees. Lay a piece of foil in a small baking dish and
put the beets on the foil. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Gather foil
around beets and crimp to seal. Roast for about 45 minutes, or until beets
pierce easily with a paring knife.

Make the Dressing:
Place orange juice, mirin, olive oil and horseradish in a bowl and slowly
whisk in the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Or, put it all in a jar
together and shake like mad!

allow beets to cool, then gently peel and trim them. Cut them into
bite-size dice, about 3/4" square.

Arrange beets in one layer on a platter or individual plates or bowls.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon horseradish dressing liberally over
beets. Sprinkle well with crumbled cheese and pecans. Yum!

Jars of beets

Has it been THAT long!?!?

2009-06-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

Has it really been over 2 months since the last post.... Wow, how time goes by... So let's start to catch up:

First, the garden is doing very well with all of the sunshine and timely rains lately. The first crop of onions is drying for harvest. The beets are ready, as is the Swiss Chard and Eight-Ball Zucchini. Beans will be ready soon, both the Contender green beans and the Royal Burgundy purple pod beans. Other crops this year include: Sweet corn, Pumpkins (Hercules), Watermelon (sugar baby), Cantaloupe (Ambrosia), Acorn Squash (Table Ace), Cucumbers (Spacemaster, Little Dillicious), Potatoes (Pontiac), Tomatoes (Roma, Better Bush, Lemon Boy, Celebrity, Brandywine), Broccoli (Packman), Sugar Snap Peas (Oregon Sugar Pod), Peppers (Cayenne, Jalapeno, California Wonder, Sheeps Nose, Oriole), Arugula, Horseradish, Basil, Lime Basil, Sage, Chives, Rosemary, Italian Parsley, Oregano (Greek and Italian), Lemon Balm, Chamomile (German), Cilantro, Dill, and a few others I'll think of later.

Bright Lights Swiss Chard

Improved Detroit Dark Red Beets

The hens have been very productive these days. We've added a couple of Araucanas to the flock. This variety of chicken is known for it's unusual colored eggs... Blue and Green! Gathering eggs each day is like Easter morning. Eggs in blue, white, green, brown, tan, pink can all be found in the nest boxes and odd corners. The Cochin ladies will be laying in the next month or so and the new group of 15 Golden Comets (read as "egg laying machines") will be in production within a few weeks after that.

Colored Eggs

Duke and Clementine waiting for a treat

The invasion of pygmys continue. Little lady Clementine has joined the fray along with her beau, Duke. Duke likes when Carrie holds him but Clementine becomes a bit jealous and standoffish not wanting to share her boy. They will be the start of the breeding stock (but not too soon!).

Clementine, ready for her closeup Mr. Demille.

Well, I'm sure that there is much more but I'll leave that for the next post which will be MUCH sooner! Promise....

Bloomin' Daisy

2009-04-11T17:49:00.001-07:00

Daisy in the Yard Photo by Dan Taylor

Ok, here's the latest revelation. We've been beset by a cloven hoofed beast and her name is Daisy. Well, yeah, I suppose that's a bit melodramatic as she is a sweet little baby pygmy goat. She currently resides in a dog cage in our bathroom complete with stuffed animal and heart shaped pillow to sleep on. Well, that's when she's not watching tv or chewing on my boot laces. Black and silver hair with white patches makes here a classic agouti colored pygmy. Her grown weight will be between 35 and 45 pounds but right now she's about 5 pounds , or about half the size of the cat that babysits her. She's just a bottle baby right now but she is full of energy and bounces everywhere she goes. Carrie practically has her potty trained. We will be getting her a playmate in the next week or so. A little boy to chase and flirt with.

Marans TRADED!

2009-03-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

In an unexpected move today, Morning Meadows management has traded young sensation Carl "Cuckoo" Marans. The talented Marans is now assigned to the Medway team where we're sure he will be productive. The move to trade came as a surprise as Marans was just coming into his own. "This kid can really crow", commented veteran manager Carrie Taylor. Marans was traded for 10 young prospects. "This trade was necessary for the future of the club" said Taylor, "They're a fine group of feather footed Cochins". Hopefully, this will be a great start to what appears to be a few more lineup changes here early in the season. In fact, rumor has it that the Morning Meadows team may just be in the process of starting a minor league franchise. Time will tell.

Paparazzi photo of the 10 new players celebrating the trade.

That time again! ...finally...

2009-03-16T18:05:00.000-07:00

Photo by Carrie Taylor

Just when it seemed like it would never arrive, it's finally the Ides of March! Always a highly anticipated time here on the farm as it's the day that the garden is awakened from it's winter slumber to prepare for the growing season ahead. Always on the 15th of March, we have planted our early green onions. We have planted them through rain and snow and even by flashlight a few times. In 1993, just a few days after knee surgery, I was out in the garden on a crutch planting onions. This year, however, the weather was almost perfect! The temperature was a warm 60 degrees and mostly sunny. The soil was warming and loose. With a bit of rain expected in the next few days, these bulbs should be active by next week!

In addition to onions, this year we are also trying a few other early crops. We have started a small area of rocket arugula. A very quick growing, cold hardy salad green with a very peppery flavor. We usually wait until April to sow this one, but after seeing it come through some harsh weather last year, we think it'll be tough enough to get an early start.

Well, the spring season has officially begun here on the farm, even if not on the calendar. More and more activity to come every week now.

Misty morning

2009-02-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

photo by Dan Taylor

Just another beautiful pre-spring morning on the farm. The fog has turned to hoar frost and covers the trees and ground in a sparkling blanket. Soon, these crisp mornings will give way to the warmth of the early spring sun and daffodils, crocus, and dandelions will follow.

The Monster Egg!

2009-01-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

Double yolked? At least!

Recently, little miss Cinnamon decided the time was right for her to take the final step towards hendom and start laying eggs. She started right off with beautiful large white eggs which were a great contrast to the medium brown of the Rhode Island Reds and the dark browns of the Cuckoo Marans. Pretty eggs, yes, but nothing out of the ordinary. Well, she went about 3 days with no egg, which is common during the winter months, and then IT happened. I went unsuspecting to the nest boxes just like every morning, gathering a few eggs here and there when my hand brushed a foreign object. Now this is always scary in the darkened corner where the nest boxes are. You never know what your hand is going to find! But what I pulled out was amazing! It was the largest chicken egg I have ever seen! it is fully 3 times the size of a normal egg! It looks like a goose egg. Poor girl! The photo above shows for comparison, a medium egg from our Golden Campine and a jumbo egg from our Rhode Island Red. That's not a dime on top, it's a quarter! The young lady took it all in stride, though. She was scratching around outside as though it was no big deal. Well, she got an extra bit of cabbage and banana that day.

Eggs A Plenty!

2009-01-13T11:44:00.000-08:00

Dan's hat full of eggs.

Well, the ladies are starting to increase their output! It's almost like Christmas morning with every trip out to check the nest boxes. About 6 of the hens are laying regularly now, with eggs ranging from bright white to off white to light brown all the way to dark chocolate brown from one of the cuckoo marans hens. I hope that this is an indication of how productive the flock will be when warmer weather approaches.

The gardens are in the planning stages right now. Only about 8 short weeks until onions sets go in the ground. Currently, asparagus, raspberries and blackberries are being transplanted to areas with better soil management. We still have the cold frame to build that we were hoping would be finished by now. Plants need to be started indoors soon! Whew, but we love this time of year!

Winter Birding

2008-12-02T07:28:00.001-08:00

Woodpecker photo by Carrie Taylor 2008

Chickens aren't the only birds enjoying a home at Morning Meadows. This woodpecker is having a breakfast of suet and sunflower seeds just outside the kitchen window. In addition to the suet blocks, several bird feeders are kept throughout the lawn and barnyard to encourage birds to become a part of our eco-system. The insect control that they provide from spring through freeze earns them a treat in the winter time. Throughout the winter we will be visited by a variety of finches, sparrows, chickadees, cardinals, bluejays and more.

2008-11-13T19:28:00.000-08:00

Moonshine photo by Carrie Taylor 2008

The full moon over the farm gives the coyotes ample light to go about their business. The chickens are well protected from any that would feel up to trying for a meal. The ladies come in to the coop to roost every night and we lock the door behind them. They are usually waiting in line for the door to open early the next morning. Watching as 15 birds try to exit a 1 x 2 ft door
as one mass is a very entertaining way to start the day.

Woohoo!

2008-10-26T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well, this was a pretty eventful week in the old chicken coop. Carmella, the golden campine hen, has layed her first egg! Golden Campine eggs are listed as being white or light tinted. Hers have the slightest hint of a buff color. They are small but pretty. She has produced about 4 so far this week in trying to keep up with the Rhode Island Red (Rhoda) but I don't think she stands a chance as the big RIR chook gives us a huge light brown egg almost every day! I'm taking this as a sign that the other ladies will soon be laying eggs everywhere.

Autumn Morning

2008-10-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

The morning as it breaks over the soybeans. The beans are now harvested, well, what few were left by the remnants of hurricane Ike. The garden will soon be cleaned out and put to rest and it's on to transplanting raspberries (latham red), blackberries (arapahoe thornless) and wild asparagus. This winter's list includes pruning apple trees in the hopes of actually harvesting larger crops of apples, and the construction of a rotational grazing area for some spring steers as well as additional pasture areas for the chooks and a pen for some goats that Carrie wants. So, we're staying occupied for the moment!

The lowly poo bucket

2008-10-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick word on sanitation where our birds are concerned. Cleanliness is way important when it comes to keeping our ladies healthy, pretty and sweet smelling. So, every day the rounds are made with the poo bucket to clean up the surroundings. Plus indoor (nighttime) accomodations receive completely new bedding once a month.

Our flock continues to grow.

2008-10-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

So, today we purchase five 3 month old cuckoo marans. Four pullets and a cockerel. These little sweeties will lay dark chocolate brown eggs. They are a relatively rare breed that is becoming more and more popular thanks to domestic diva, Martha Stewart. The Marans eggs are the only kind she will use and with Carrie's love of all things Martha, they were a natural addition to our 'herd'. They should be up to full production laying by next spring and promise to be a great addition. By keeping this group isolated from the other birds (with their own range area, of course) we will also be able to provide hatching eggs next season. We'll get some photos up in the next few days.

Welcome to Morning Meadows Farm

2008-09-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

Morning Meadows Farm is located in New Lebanon, Ohio at 1833 Guntle Rd. We produce free range eggs and poultry as well as fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs (in season) please contact us for our current availability. Our email is morningmeadowsfarm@gmail.com