Good and Bad...

Farm life is always a mix of good and bad.  This summer is flying...we have the plastic off the hoophouse, repairing and replacing the 6 mil plastic that will enable us to grow food and protect tender plants all winter.  We are on our 3rd hatching of chicks that we bred ourselves, using our best hens and our great Roo.  This 3rd group will be meat birds, only living around 10-12 weeks before harvesting for meat.  Our first two hatchings will be our new layers and we will keep one Rooster for breeding.  The disappointments this season have been our vegetable gardens...we planted late due to all the rain in May, then it went from cold to hot.  Just not our year for great veggies.  The weeds are thriving though!  Another disappointment is our honey harvest.  Two years ago we got 150 pounds, last year only 30, this year-none.  Nothing has changed except the bees.  They seem weaker.  I know some bee keepers who are still having some luck, but not us.  As we lose hives at off site locations, we will presently not replace them.  We will still keep hives at the farm, but can't afford to keep spending monies with no return of "honey money".  We will not give up, we still have 8 hives...hopefully things will get better.  All we can do it our best! A world without honey bees would be a sad place.  Something I am excited about is the direction we are going with our little mini-farm.  We will continue to explore growing and selling, culinary and medicinal herbs in 2017.  We want to have rows of herbs to cut and sell to local restaurants, as well as inviting customers to our farm next year.  We are still trying to figure all this out...looking forward to having time this winter to do so!  For now...out to do some weeding and grass mowing...wow! it is hot!