NEW TO THE FLOCK.
In yet another case of bartering being the best, we received some new chickens from one of our dear CSA families (who have the sweetest blog) a couple weeks ago: two Black Australorps and a Rhode Island Red. Although the Red was the recipient of a surely traumatizing hawk attack on her first day here (welcome to the farm!), everyone is doing fine and getting along with the gang.
GOAT'S MILK AND GUINEAS.
We were oh-so-happy to spend last Sunday with our friends at Little Seed Farm. As before, we loved playing with all of the animals...but this time, we arrived early enough to help out with the milking!
But the real reason we were there: another bartering session! Our tick problem is completely OUT OF CONTROl - and we have been desperate for guineas, which are notorious for their pest controlling abilities. Lucky for us, Little Seed's guineas hatched out some keets last week! So we brought them honey and mushrooms and took home seven guinea keets and a few pullets as well. It is definitely cuteness overload at the farmstead right now.
- Hannah.
THE BARTER SYSTEM.
One of the best things about being a part of the small-farmer community? The barter system is alive and well. It seems that folks who are in the business of food and labor and livestock and hay are more than happy to use those things as their currency. And we LOVE this philosophy. We love trading bottles of homemade wine for Great Pyrenees puppies, heirloom tomatoes for raw milk, spinning lessons for a new logo design. It make so much sense.And on that note: we had the pleasure of spending this morning with Little Seed Farm. These new friends are running a lovely small farm in Tennessee, working towards many of the same things we aspire to. We had a blast running around with their menagerie of dogs, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, and guineas (more about that tomorrow). Before we left, we had a good old-fashioned swap of wares. Jesse and I came home with some amazing goodies - fresh eggs, homemade cheeses, and some items from the Little Seed Farm Store: Farmstead Milk Soaps (made from their goat's milk) and Herbal Lip Salve, plus some beautiful hand-drawn notecards!So not only did we walk away with a bag full of delicious cheese (which we could barely keep ourselves from devouring in the car on the way home) and Cocoa Stout Soap (made with a locally brewed beer!), we also walked away with our hearts and minds full of inspiration. It is always rejuvenating for us to meet other young people, working hard, leaving behind comfort and convention to try a better way. *So thanks, guys, for a wonderful day and a lot of fun! Good luck with the kidding season!*- Hannah.