A BLUR OF CHICKENS.
About 5 minutes after arriving at Bugtussle Farm, nine-year-old Ira will start begging you to go and see his chickens. He is incredibly proud of his insane, ragtag flock. And during our last visit, Jesse and I became a little bit obsessed with them, too.Ira has a well established duck egg business, and when he was ordering more ducklings last year from the hatchery, he threw in a "Adopt Me" Bargain run of chicks as well. This is basically the leftovers and late-bloomers who don't make it into the regular chick orders. It is a complete grab-bag - you could get anything from Wyandottes to Bantams to Broad-breasted TURKEYS! And so Ira's flock is a beautiful, random, colorful assortment of chickens and roosters. And we love them.So of course, RIGHT AFTER I mentioned that we were going to focus on our house and not on adding more animals to the mix, we ordered more chicks. Armed with our tax returns and the excitement of our upcoming move back to the farm, we bit the bullet and are expecting our own colorful fluff-balls later this spring. Heaven help us.- Hannah.
JUST IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING.... We still have all of our original chickens as well - Ellen and all of the girls are fine! They are staying with our neighbors until we get back.
WHAT WE'RE READING.
//// Links we are loving this week ////
ONE: We always enjoy visiting Whole Larder Love....who recently announced that they will be holding workshops (awesome). We are in love with the "glamping" stables they constructed for attendees. Maybe we could build one of these in our barn for visitors?
THREE: We are obsessed with Jenna Rose - a couple out of California who have a small farm, run an artisan cheese business, and have a passion for handmade and sustainable textiles.FOUR: We have no idea what is actually going on on this blog - our Swedish is not so good - but the photos of farming life and snowy scenery are beautiful and inspiring.FIVE: PLEASE take some time and watch Allan Savory's TED talk above. It is truly fascinating, all about the desertification happening to two thirds of the earth and the ONLY way to stop it: management-intensive grazing (just like at Bugtussle). - Hannah & Jesse.
see more TED talks here.
WENDELL WEDNESDAY.
While living in the city these last few months, we have been lucky enough to have a huge backyard space for Wendell. Still, he requires multiple walks every day. And even though we are more than ready to be back on the farm, where he has acres and acres to roam, it has been fun to get to explore the colorful neighborhoods of East Nashville. Here is what a typical walk with Wendell looks like.
- Hannah.
ANIMAL ENVY.
At Little Seed Farm, they have Highland Cattle, Ossabaw pigs, an assortment of meat and dairy goats, guineas, chickens, and several Great Pyrenees pups. Oh, how we are longing for all of these amazing creatures! Jesse and I have pretty much resigned to the fact that our first year on the farm will mostly be finishing the house and getting everything ready to be farmed. But I have a feeling, especially after our inspiring visit yesterday, that it will be hard to keep a few new critters from joining the family this season.- Hannah.
*I got to feel a little baby goat kicking inside of this mama's tummy!*
