Author Archives: The Homestead Artisans

What can you say about a hundred year old shed? You can say that it has unassumingly carried out its tasks in all weathers, keeping the contents dry and safe faithfully through the years. You can say that it probably … Continue reading →

We have had an amazing tick season here. Since early spring we have had huge numbers of deer ticks in our fields and woods. We thought that the onset of freezing temperatures might slow them down, but morning after morning … Continue reading →

There are many ways in which our beautiful goats demonstrate their sure-footedness. They make death-defying leaps from four and five feet off the ground when their darling herd-mates shove them off the ramp leading to the milking parlor. They dance … Continue reading →

When the weather is so hot, the goats are up and about with the first light and they use the cool of the morning for their most important pastime — no, not eating, though that is indeed very important to … Continue reading →

We went out to dinner in town last week for the first time in weeks. During the dinner there was a fierce thunderstorm with amazing winds. Several of the farmers at the dinner went out on the porch to watch … Continue reading →

We had a remarkable event in the last few weeks. Over the years we have had occasional broody hens. This means that a hen who has been reliably laying eggs every day suddenly gets sulky and sits still for several … Continue reading →

When you think of the smells of a farm with livestock, you might wrinkle up your nose and wish it smelled better. We think that should be different, so we pay close attention to carrying capacity and avoid situations where … Continue reading →

What a wet spring we are having. I keep a journal and over the last seven years we have had mostly dry springs, where wells go dry and farmers have trouble getting their corn to sprout. Now we are having … Continue reading →

The coming of spring is one of those things that has been described and effused about for so many thousand years that it is hard to say anything new about its newness! The miracle doesn’t get any less miraculous for … Continue reading →

“Why don’t you have more of these gorgeous orange and delicious eggs?” say the customers. “Because 35 hens approach the carrying capacity of our land,” I say. And the same is true of our roasting chickens and our pigs and … Continue reading →