Health Buzz: Processed Foods Recalled Over Salmonella Contamination – US News and World Report.
Health Buzz: Processed Foods Recalled Over Salmonella Contamination – US News and World Report
March 6th, 2010Sure Signs of Spring
March 5th, 2010Baby goats hopping all over, bees flying around the bee yard (apiary), cow and dairy goats in milk.
The list goes on, but these are the first signs of life after a long winter.
About 2 weeks ago, on a Sunday, my bees were flying all over trying to find food. I fed the hives and thought how wonderful spring will be… If the hives take off, we’ll have lots of honey. Of course, I have o do my fair share… I have to feed pollen patties and sugar water now, if I want that queen laying lots of eggs. And I want that queen laying lots of eggs NOW! In 2 months the honey flow will most likely be on, so I want a bunch of field bees out there collecting nectar for honey.
We had twins from a goat that weekend, and last week, we had 3 goats kid. So, we are up to 6 baby goats jumping and running all over the place. We have 2 more due in April, so that will bring us up to anywhere from 8 to 10 kids!
Monsanto pulls GM corn
February 13th, 2010Although it is good news that Monsanto pulled this variant of GM (genetically Modified) corn, it is disturbing that it was done in secrecy.
All documentation was pulled by Monsanto, and there was no press release by wither the regulators or the “applicant” (Monsanto) and all evidence of testing has been pulled as well. No paper trail of any kind left behind.
Also, you won’t find this on in the news bytes from any of the major US media moguls.
It seems that there is a “kiss and don’t tell” attitude where high-powered, mega-rich corporations are adored and catered to by the press (advertising revenue) at the sake of the safety and well being of the general public. We truly live in a nation that now bows to the idols of fame, fortune and power at the expense of the rest of society.
You may read the entire article here:
http://www.gmfreecymru.org/news/Press_Notice9Nov2009.htm
A Stressful Day
February 4th, 2010Around 11:30 AM today, I asked Marilyn come out and check the cow because she had stuff “hanging out”.
I thought she was in the throws of calving, but a thorough inspection proved that she had already had her calf – and we found it frozen on the ground.
We spent the better part of 3 hours trying to warm her up and get her little heart going, but were unsuccessful.
We lost the little calf.
Fern, our cow seemed to be doing fine, but we’ll continue to watch her for the next couple of days.
We milked her out this afternoon and will start the milking regime in the morning.
We were taken by surprise, since we bought her in October and did not know for certain when she was due to calve, since she was already bred when we purchased her. The man we bought her from told us that the vet said she was due in February or March.
We always watch the breeding of our goats, so we know when they are due.
So, instead of a beautiful, bouncing little calf to play with, I dug a small grave and buried her.
We were all sad today, but hope springs eternal, with the anticipation of baby goats within the next 2 weeks. And as long as Fern is healthy, we will breed her for a fine calf next year.
–Pat
Planning and Planting
February 2nd, 2010We have been planting seeds for our CSA. We are trying to do several sets of plantings this year. (Last year we lost a bunch of plants due to chickens and didn’t have any to replace them with). We will be doing a lot of our beds in back like square foot gardening beds and will start assembling them next weekend (after the 12th). We will also be collecting all of our compost beds and materials to fill the beds with. Although we’ve been working on the soil in the garden for over 4 years, we have to stop the take over from the Johnson grass. We have to do it naturally and organically and NOT try to dig/sift it out ever again. We will be using the smother technique to a new level. We are adding a lot of beds out front to attract attention – can you imagine what people will say when they see 30 pound pumpkins growing on special trellis panels??? I can’t wait to get pictures!
We are getting the buck paddock ready for the rotovator. We will clean up anything that might be in the pen and spread the composting hay everywhere. Then Galen will come and rotovate it all. We will make mounds and put the 3 sisters garden out there. Corn/green beans/squash – just like was done by our ancestors to save space and to create the perfect growing environment.
We will be working on the garden beds, compost, paddocks, barn, bee hives and more! We’ll be out there pretty much every weekend through April.
We would enjoy having your company for any of our projects if you’d like to come help – and who knows? If you time it right – you might get to see the miracles of birth that happen this time of year!!! (Feb. 13th is when Star is due and the cow is due to calve in Feb/March, Beauty is due on Apr 2nd, Mia is due on Apr-29th and Whisper is due in mid-May). Call us or email us if you want to come help and learn how to survive away from the grocery store!
Bee Friendly, Everybody!!
February 2nd, 2010My bees have had a hard time putting up enough honey to get through the winter, let alone excess honey for us.
We’ve only been able to get honey from 2 – 3 hives out of 4 – 6 hives and even then, I would have to feed them like crazy in October just to see them through winter. The only time we had a huge crop of honey, was 2 years ago when the black locust were blooming hot and heavy.
But we can’t rely on black locust bloom every year.
Here in Verona, KY there once were lots of big farms – mostly tobacco, but there were gardens, etc.,.
Now we are slowly turning into suburbia, and those that have large lots, or acreage, only have manicured lawns. Some do hay with their huge parcels of grass, but there really isn’t much for my bees to forage on.
As a result, we are planting about 1/2 acre of white sweet, yellow sweet and dutch clover this year. We are also going to plant lots of Anise Hyssop along one side of the driveway.
From what we have read, the sweet lover is a great nectar source for the bees, but even better is…
The Anise Hyssop!
According to what I have read, 1 acre of hyssop will support 100 beehives, each producing about 100 pounds of surplus honey. I could use that shot in the arm!
We also intend to grow a lot of bee-friendly flowers by the hives, plant some bee-friendly trees (tulip poplar, sourwood) and we planted black locust trees over the past couple of years.
We really got a surplus of honey 2 years ago, when the black locust bloomed. But we can’t rely on a strong yearly bloom and honey yield from the black locust.
So we’re betting the bees on the Hyssop.
Hope it turns out well…
CSA update – Late January, 2010 –
January 26th, 2010We have started onions from seed and are planning our new raised beds for this spring. We have already outlined and reviewed all seed-starting, transplanting, succession planting and harvesting schedules for this year.
We are making additional areas available for gardening by moving some of the goat paddocks around, using raised beds on the long hill in the front and some additional growing areas in the orchard and greenhouse areas.
We will be planning a work day in the next few weeks, weather permitting. We will be building raised beds.
Hope you can all join us!
Never an Idle Moment
January 25th, 2010Our little “hobby farm” can generate a lot of busy work.
Since the weather cooperated this past week, and warmed the soil to the point of thawing out, I was able to dig post holes and cement some fence posts in the ground for a much needed fenced “alley” from the cow pasture to the barn.
I still have to hammer in some metal posts, and buy 3 gates, but once I do, I can finish up that little project rather quickly.
The reason I need to get that done before the barn addition is because our “expectant mother” cow needs to learn the routine of going to the barn for milking – and to learn that there are treats for those that perform their duties when requested to do so.
But, since she is not used to walking on a lead rope, we need to coax her into the routine, and set a gentle rhythm that she can be happy to follow. But, since she is not halter or lead rope trained, we need a fenced walkway to keep her from bolting off down the hill, which could potentially render harm to her, her baby, or to one of us.
Once I finish that project, I still need to mount her stanchion where her stall in the barn will be, mount the hay rack for her, build the stall with 2 gates, put the roof on the barn addition, put the siding on it, and then, of course, build the other stalls for the rest of the goats.
I say “the rest of the goats” because I just built a new stall for our 2 goats that are ready to kid in the next 2 – 4 weeks. The cow is due to calve in late February – early March, there are 2 more goats due in April and 1 due in May.
Add to that the blueberries that need to be cleared of late-summer weeds and rows/blueberry plants mulched, along with raised garden beds made, a goat paddock finished for the buck and wether (male and fixed male), housing moved from their current paddock to the new one, the ground for the entire goat paddock where the buck was to be rotovated (rototilled) and amenities added to the soil, more compost bins made, front garden beds made, fruit trees to be pruned, sprayed with dormant oil (for bug protection) and fertilized, asparagus fertilized, movable chicken houses made for our hens, the greenhouse soil to be turned under, more seeds to be planted, tree stumps cut out, the drive going up the hill to be bladed flat and about 3 – 4 tons of gravel put down on it, items planted in the old chicken house (where the turkeys were), beehive equipment to be made, repaired and readied for new bees, feeding of bees still alive and well, and the list goes on, and on, and on….
I am sure I forgot something, but that does seem to cover most of the late winter, early spring items.
After reviewing the list, I think I’ll go to bed – I am now thoroughly exhausted!
–Pat
Unbiased Study of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health
January 13th, 2010It seems that the Genetically altered (GM) corn from Monsanto causes disturbances in kidney function(male rats) and liver functions (female rats).
Monsanto had dismissed the same results in their own testing, due to the age of rats. This non-biased, scientific testing eliminated that, and other possibilities – stating that toxicity was a factor.
The GM corn varieties tested are in the food supply and feed supply of billions of people and animals.
Below is an excerpt showing which 3 GM corns were tested, and what their makeup is. Please note that they are altered to become tolerant to herbicide and insecticides (the herbicide and insecticides can be sprayed liberally on the GM corn without harming the corn itself):
” rats fed three main commercialized genetically modified (GM) maize (NK 603, MON 810, MON 863), which are present in food and feed in the world. NK 603 has been modified to be tolerant to the broad spectrum herbicide Roundup and thus contains residues of this formulation. MON 810 and MON 863 are engineered to synthesize two different Bt toxins used as insecticides.”
You may read (and I suggest you read) the entire study on the website of the International Journal of Biological Sciences below:
A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health.
Winter is here!
December 20th, 2009Well, the first good snowfall of the year has arrived – I see the snow on the ground as I type this. Not a lot, maybe an inch, maybe two – but it’s enough to cause some strategic maneuvering on my part to get animals fed and watered.
You see, no one ever put in a frost-free water faucet (or ranch bib), because they never had animals to water, or a need for a hose up the hill behind the house.
I’ve been wanting to put one in, but I’m not an experienced plumber, and it would cost a pretty penny (or two) to have someone come up here to dig the 2-ft. deep, 150 ft. long trench and install copper pipe in the ground. I did find a possible solution – flex pipe. I understand that I can use it and it is flexible, so it would work great – I think I will finally have to do it thi spring – after the thaw.
Anyway, I digress…
I currently have to fill 5 gallon buckets with water (from the bathtub) and carry them up the hill.
Considering we have turkeys, 2 sets of chickens (totaling about 90 right now) and a cow, that can be a lot of water to haul.
But the farm sure looks pretty in white. I love the way the trees glisten with snow and ice on the branches – and it sure feels nice sipping coffee by the wood burning stove…
-Pat