May Day Celebration

Going around the May Pole

We were fortunate to have gorgeous, sunny weather on Saturday for our May Day celebration!  At noon, all of the kiddos grabbed streamers on the May Pole and walked around it while Farmer David sang "Old MacDonald" and other classic farm tunes while he strummed a guitar.  The kids always have so much fun wrapping the May Pole in these colorful streamers!  

Visitors got to enjoy hay rides around the farm

Before and after the May Pole celebration, Farmer David took groups on hay-wagon tours of the farm.  We also had seed-planting set up - kiddos could plant bean seeds and take them home!  Our scavenger hunt was also popular this year, and we find that it's a great way for children to get familiarized with the various plants & animals on the farm.

Happy May Day!

Farmer Micah was super excited to go outside in the morning and find that colorful streamers had sprung up from the May Pole. :)  It's such a fun tradition.

All in all, it was a fantastic and joyful day, and we're truly thankful that we had so many wonderful friends of the farm here to celebrate the coming of spring with us.  

CSA: Late Spring Session (Week 1); animal update; tomatoes

Kohlrabi starts

Our Late Spring Session began on Wednesday, May 1st.  If you're interested in joining for the remainder of the season, you can receive a prorated share cost!  Also, if you'd like to come out to visit the farm, our May Day celebration on Saturday, May 4th would be a great opportunity.

Dandelion greens are nutritious and super yummy, though they tend to be rather bitter, especially for kiddos.  I've found that putting the greens in mashed potatoes or even scrambled eggs helps Micah to eat them, since their bitter flavor is balanced out a bit.

Late Spring Session, Week 1: Box Contents

Eggs
Beets
Garlic
Apples
Chard
Braising Mix
Spinach
Asparagus and Dandelion greens for Regular shares only
Bok choi for Three Quarter shares only 

Turkey chicks!

We brought home five peeping turkey chicks today!  They're currently staying warm under a heat lamp in the duck shed but will be out and about in no time.

The ducklings have continued to grow like crazy and are already outside...

Ducklings in their movable pen

They weren't huddling together for warmth in this picture - they're still awfully shy whenever someone steps into their pen, so they all cluster together in a corner.  All of the ducklings are doing well, and they have a small pool to practice swimming in.

Tomatoes in a greenhouse

 Several of our greenhouses are full of growing tomato plants.  I'm particularly excited about Green Zebras - these are my absolute favorite tomatoes, and I found myself eating them like apples last summer.

CSA: Early Spring Session (Week 6); Late Spring sign-ups; May Day

Sorry for posting the box contents a bit late this week! :)

Wednesday, April 24 was the sixth and final week of our Early Spring Session this year.  Thanks so much to all of you who joined us!

The Late Spring Session will begin this coming Wednesday, May 1st!  If you'd like to join us for this session, please submit your application before Tuesday, April 30.

May Pole

Also, we will be having our annual May Day celebration on Saturday, May 4!  Hay rides start at 11 am, and the May Pole will begin at noon.  More information is posted on our blog.  Please come join us as we celebrate the warmth of spring!

Early Spring Session, Week 6: Box Contents
Radishes
Broccoli
Carrots
Yellow Onions
Bunched Arugula
Kale
Apples (Fujis and Granny Smiths)
Braising Mix

The calves are outside!

The calves left their winter abode and headed out to pasture today.

Throughout the rainy winter months, the cows stay sheltered in the barn and the loafing shed, where they eat haylage; the ground is simply too wet for them to be outside during the winter, and the cool weather keeps the grass from growing fast enough to provide sufficient nutrition for them (flooding is also a winter problem, of course).  During this past winter season, the calves (born last summer) were moved into the loafing shed behind the big white barn in order to separate them from the rest of the herd.

Spring has brought a series of warmer, drier days (despite that out-of-the-blue snowstorm), so we were able to move the calves out into the grass today - as you can imagine, they were super excited to taste some fresh grass!

Munching on green grass...

The grass is still quite short, so they'll need to be moved to new pasture once or twice a day for awhile.  The rest of the herd will be heading outside soon.

Piglets with their mama

Arabia's piglets are growing quickly and are becoming more adventurous - they've been leaving their elevated "nursery" area and have been scampering around the rest of the pen, rooting, oinking, and chasing each other.

I know that a lot of folks are excited to see the piglets and lambs in person...we'll be having our annual May Day gathering on Saturday, May 4th this year - hopefully you can come join in the May Pole celebration, greet the animals, and help us to usher in the spring season!  More details will be posted soon, so keep an eye on the blog and be sure to sign up for our newsletter.