#small farm
Weeds of Boise: Ahavath Beth Israel Synagogue Garden
Anyone who has maintained a garden or small farm knows that with all the work it takes to keep up on the garden itself, outlying areas can quickly become overtaken by weeds. Low on the list of priorities, areas outside of our garden borders are ideal locations for wild urban vegetation to thrive. Pulling all the weeds within the garden is a big enough task as it is; thus, weeds out of our reach…
Despite the frigid mornings & frozen fingers, I find myself missing this recent farm season unlike any before. The friendships I built, the language I learned, and the growth I underwent have left me astonished by the beauty of this world.
I miss harvesting turnips, bunching herbs, hoeing lettuce in the high tunnels and singing songs en español. I miss the sweet smiles of my hardworking compañeras when they greeted me at the beginning of another work day. I miss Monday night mead after work, and building the bus on our days off. I miss all our friends, and our endless inside jokes, and our long talks about life, in the mist of Oregon fog.
I miss it all so much it hurts, but we will return soon. We are on to new adventures (but change takes so much time & discomfort). Oregon was comfortable, cozy, and homey. We always push ourselves into new situations just as we finally settle into a place. We hit the road right after we found real community… and I’ll be honest: sometimes I question why.
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Scenes on the farm: most of the goats, a buckeye chicken with an overgrown beak before I clipped it, and Papa’s hair getting long! c:
July 25, 2017
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The barn, nice and clean stall side but not-quite-there-yet left… Eventually the other side will get stalls too, as well as along the back.
The herd eating, Cream’s face in the second one cracks me up. The hay is sunbleached and not very pretty, which only changes palatability and carotene content but they like it. Hopefully it wasn’t cut late? I’ve been dragging out the hay on a utility sled (for towing behind snowmobiles) and making them reach through the fence for it to prevent waste. Otherwise they like to throw it everywhere and walk/poop all over it.
July, 2017
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Inside the goat pen and puppy shenanigans.
Luci stole a pair of Jr.’s underwear while he was swimming an brought them over to sheep try and engage them in a game of tug-of-war. They weren’t terribly interested. =P
Luci pals around with the lamb and they actually do play together. For whatever reason the goats ignore him so he latched onto the puppy. I’ve also seen the lamb chasing roosters around the yard and grabbing their tailfeathers in his mouth! It’s a real sight to gaze out the window while doing dishes and see him crest the septic mound pasture in hot pursuit.
July 21, 2017
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Life on the farm. Happy kid, happy animals. Black currents and other things in the garden…
The first photo is the recreational area I put in the garden, behind the cedar with a sandbox in a tractor tire. It’s the burned sod I got for free and nursed back to health, contrast that with the next picture and you can see how sad our pasture is. It’s been over-grazed so the herd spends much of their time in the pen but we bring them out to play, walk in the woods and eat brush, etc. They are eating mostly hay this year, but I toss them garden weeds and leafy/piney branches when we cut wood.
In the garden shots are herbs in raised beds (tires) and I’m using baling twine from our big hay bales to train my climbing rose (‘Wiliam Baffin’, the hardiest climber I could find) to wrap around the cedar. The new pup is getting big and her and the older livestock dog spend all day together, playing and patroling.
July 20, 2017
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