A few days ago we noticed birds displaying some very interesting behavior in our field.

It would fan out its wings revealing a reddish colored back.

And sort of wobble around.

At times it would flatten itself almost completely out on the ground.

It was really quite the act. I had seen these birds in a neighbor’s field last year doing the same act. Actually we are now farming in that same field. I did some research and discoverd it was a killdeer trying to lead predators away from its nest. Earlier this year I noticed the birds again, but assumed they must have their nest in one of the neighboring cover crop fields. I didn’t think that recently the fields had been mowed by our farm manager and the birds were still there doing their act.

Today Proeun was weeding between our broccoli when he discovered the nest.

Of course I wanted to show it to the children but was a little hesitant to say the least. Two is very very interested in animals of all kinds. At times it is like he can’t help but reach out and touch them. So this will be a good learning experience for him. Earlier in the day Two was scolding Avril for abandoning a worm in need of help he said, “we have to help animals, we have to help God take care of animals.” He did save that worm. Now we just have to keep an eye not necessarily on him but the younger children, especially once the baby birds pop out.

My bird book says they nest mid-April through mid-May so these little babies are a little late. The book also says that the babies won’t fly until they are 20-30 days old.

I feel a great deal of responsibility for wild animals that our human policies and behaviors disrupt, even if we mean well as in the case of organic farming. Luckily it seems like Two has a similar idea, now we just have to see how things pan out.

In any case we read in the bird book about the behavior or trying to lure predators away from their eggs but we experienced it.

Plastic Mulch is in. Last year was our first experience with it so we knew what we were prepared for and planned accordingly. Apparently our car and the weather didn’t get the memo. After car trouble and almost a week of straight rain we were finally able to complete it yesterday only about a week late. So now our crazy planting week–which is actually Proeun’s week off from his regular work is almost over. The corn, bush beans, soybeans, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes and peppers are all in. the plastic mulch is complete and waiting for melons and pumpkins. We have some trellising to do and some direct seeding yet to do–really the work is never completely over–but today is the day we stretch our back and rest. Well at least for a little bit.

Soon it will be out to the greenhouse for more seeding, mowing our crazy lawn that has been all but neglected for the last couple of weeks and get caught up on things around the house. But it does feel good to have it done. We went to Rice Palace to build up our strength after all that work and as a special treat for the children. They were real troopers this whole week!.

So I will be back on Monday. Have a great weekend.  

Our busy week of planting plods on. It has finally dried up enough to get the tractor in the field and finish getting our beds set up. So now the next couple of days feature planting in earnest. After a couple appointments yesterday morning we were out in the field as a family planting broccoli. it was much easier to plant then the onions and the children were champs at helping. Actually yesterday is exactly what I always wanted farming with children to be like?

Proeun and Two marking the rows on our bed with the seeder. Our farm manager had already come through with the tractor to make beds.

Then Proeun would go through with a piece of 2 X 2 and punch holes for the broccoli. The little transplants fit so well in it! For awhile we would go through and I would have one child put the little broccoli in the hole while the other came along and filled in the hole. Planting went really fast when that went smoothly. There were also a couple of times when Mavis needed my attention and the older 2 were able to take over without me overseeing their work–not bad for 4 and almost 6! When I came back Avril even told me to find something else to work on since she was handling her job just fine.

Even Mavis was getting her share of planting in, though we had to make sure she didn’t pull them out again after planting. The kids really loved being involved and feeling like their work was valued. We we loved having them work side by side with us.

Today though we are giving them a break. They get to spend some quality time with grandma and Proeun and I will go and try to get caught up on the planting. It will be a couple days before I can check in again, but rest assured we are working.

Our chickens are now in their productive part of the year. Even with only four of them they are keeping us pretty well in eggs. At times we even have extras. Then I hard boil a bunch and keep them in the frig for snacks.

I am trying to be really conscientious of eating enough protein to keep this baby well supplied. Plus Proeun and I have made the switch to meat from carefully raised animals (organic or otherwise). Eggs have now been an important part of filling in our “meat gap.” The only problem is I don’t really like eggs–or meat for that matter. So I am trying to be creative in how I cook and enjoy them. Since I am allergic to dairy products this limits me a little more.

Last night I tried something new. A little bit of my artichoke spaghetti boiled up real quick. While it was boiling I beat an egg and added a little salt, pepper and garlic to it. As soon as I had drained the pasta and put it in a bowl I poured the egg over it and stirred slowly till cooked. I was so excited to try it and honestly when I did it was real bland. So I added some kimchi  I had made from the Farmama recipe. I had been a little nervous to try it but it was really good on my concoction.

So if anyone has any recipes for eggs to share that would be really helpful.

Driving on Upper Afton Road in what is now the suburb of Woodbury is a hold over to the days when all food was local food. Jordan Ranch is about as local as local food can get in the East Metro. The family still runs a thriving business that is a presence at most area Farmer’s Markets. They also run a market in season on site. They are surrounded by upscale suburan homes but have been able to keep their business grounded in a country ethic.

In addition to providing food for local communities they also provide supplies to farmers from all over the state. People come from miles around to purchase from Jordan Seeds, a side business of Jordan Ranch. We had to pick up some plastic mulch for our tomatoes, peppers, melons and squash, some remay (row cover) for greens, t-tape for drip irrigation, harvesting baskets and our CSA boxes just to give you an idea of what they carry in addition to the plethora of seeds.

As Proeun was waiting to load our supplies the kids and I explored the grounds. Here is the old barn complete with large black farm dog that was very friendly.

Here are the great horses I grew up with. My grandmother lives in a neighborhood bordering Jordan Ranch and in the summer we would come visit and go to the park. From the park we could see the pasture. There were more horses then. Now there are only 2 left and no one seems to be able to remember their names.

We brought carrots and apples to share with them. We were told they probably wouldn’t be around but never underestimate the power of a carrot. We had to go back later in the day since Mavis left Avril’s favorite toy horse on the counter and brought back more food for the horses. They saw us coming and came running over right away. The children were so happy to know they had made a couple friends.

Two was so quick with the feeding I couldn’t get a picture of the contact but oh well. Avril was happy to pet the horses but allowed Two to do all the feeding.

The sheep were a different story. They enjoyed tufts of long grass we pulled up.

Proeun tells me to stay away from politics but I do have to say there was one sour note to the day. The pastures are now gone, replaced by this charter school, a bi-product of imminent domain. In neighboring St. Paul we will have no less the 4 schools vacant do to budget cuts. Woodbury is having its own issues. With farm land close to the city at such a premium it is very upsetting to me that it would be taken to build a school. Once taken it can never be returned. Not that schools aren’t important but maybe we should try to fill the ones we have. 40 acres were taken for the school site. Sometimes I can’t help but feel down at that fate of farms close to the city. As we look for ours we have to take into account the proximity of cities that are definitely “sprawling.” We will have to “transition” for several years with Proeun commuting to work. Trying to find an affordable farm close to the city that won’t be taken away in a few years is not so easy. Well hopefully Jordan Ranch will be around for years to come.

A few years ago we went to the Living Green Expo. The first 200 people or something was supposed to get a free Blue Sky Guide. So we got there 15 minutes early and found the line wrapped around the block. No guide for us. But we were just starting our journey to a more sustainable life and having the validation of so many like minded souls was a great thing. Earlier this year we heard that the Living Green Expo was not going to happen due to loss of funding. Then miraculously a new sponsor took it on.

This year we were actually exhibitors at it! I wasn’t really looking forward to a long couple of days but once again the validation is amazing. Especially when you are going out on a limb starting a new farm venture.

A frequent question was “where is crazy boy?” The children were not there the whole weekend (Proeun and I traded off) but when Two was the usual answer was “under the table.”

It was great walking around and seeing some of the other exhibitors. Here’s some of our favorites.

North House Folk School where lots of cool creating was going on. Too bad they aren’t closer to us!

Cushy Toosh a mom owned diaper company making diapers for babies and adults as well as a host of other cloth products. With baby number 4 coming it is time to add some more diapers to the stash so they were my choice to support.

Grazeland Farm (couldn’t find the link) selling all sorts of great wool products, I adore wool!

And we can’t forget our next door neighbor but their booth was always so packed that I was never able to get a picture of them. They are Thousand Hills Cattle Company. They were giving away free samples of hot dogs and salami–sooooo good–from their 100% grass fed beef. They were so good to us to, even giving the kids whole hot dogs while they stared hungrily at the samples. You would think we never fed them or something. With some of the proceeds from this weekend we plan to buy a bulk order from them. So soon it is back to normal life, but so so much fun!

Recently a really nice young man from the local university asked me if he could interview me about my experiences and thoughts on farming. Since I am normally the one doing doing the interviewing I was all for switching roles. I didn’t realize that it was going to be video taped until he got here however but I did my best. Yesterday he sent me the link to the edited interview. I thought he did really good job considering all the fighting and playing in the background and little ones running in and out of the shot. I am looking into getting it on youtube but for right now if you want to view it you will have to download it. On my computer it took about 5 minutes. Anyway I love it. Hope you enjoy.

Interview with Crazy Boy Farm

Here also is the link to the organization we are talking about Homegrown Minneapolis.

After yet another crazy busy weekend it was finally back to the fields yesterday. April and May are the time of year when the planning  and practice of farming come together. I feel that I excel at planning but even with that getting everything in the ground at the right time can be a brain twister. I will have to slow down a bit here I think but will still try to give frequent updates.

The children had a great time playing in the cover crop next to us. There were forts and playgrounds and battlefields and all sorts of stuff. I found a tick on my clothes. Proeun said, “I didn’t worry about ticks when I was little.” I replied, “I’m glad they don’t, I’ll do that.” No ticks on anyone else that evening.

At lunch time Two said, “this is the best day ever, just being outside spending time with family and eating.” It made my heart sing. Later in the day Proeun sent Two and Avril to go get water. It was quite the adventure for them and one we will laugh about for years to come.

We planted our onion transplants and direct seeded carrots. Later this week beets and spinach (probably) will go in the ground. This is such an exciting time of year!

I’m not sure if this was a self protrait or not but the kids were having fun with the camera while we worked the field.

Proeun conserving water for the bunching onions.

The hit of the day. The farm manager where we rent and his wife got 24 chickens they are raising for eggs. The kids really really wanted to ask if we could buy some but unfortunately we are maxed out on our city permit. Guess more chickens will have to wait for the big move. I can’t wait.

Next Monday we are scheduled to start our planting. I am so excited to actually get some things in the ground and get to the real fun of farming–eating. Well not quite yet but soon. So the next couple of mornings will be extra busy with work thinning budding plants in the greenhouse, transplanting some to larger cells and starting new ones.

Here’s Bpa hard at work with his helpers. The morning was cool so at least I was able to keep Mavis’ hands out of the pot. The kids had a great time though.

One of the things I love (and hate) about the farm life is the knowledge that we control very little. Last year we were all set up for a bumper crop of heirloom tomatoes only the typical heat and humidity of a Minnesota summer never materialized. It was great as far as working the fields but the tomatoes suffered.

In our modern age with temperature controlled everything we like to think that we can control all things. Last week’s eruption of Mt. Eyjafjallajökull proved we control nothing. My sister’s in-laws had family visiting from England for a wedding and guess what, they are still here, going on 2 weeks later–this was not intended.

Last night we were watching CNN and the commentator said that the new eruption was causing even more problems. He said that anyone who thinks this will be over soon hasn’t studied history. Apparently the last time this volcano erupted in the 1800s is erupted for get this 2 solid years. Yes years.

My heart goes out to all those stranded around the world. They are getting a harder lesson then most of us that we cannot control everything or maybe even anything.

Another problem is the local farms. The ash will disrupt soil fertility for a long time. Luckily we don’t like in the shadow of a volcano.