Well, Spring... We Meet Again.

Here at Three Oaks Farm we are all glad that winter is finally over. For us, it's been a very freezing and rainy winter. The lower field turned into wetlands with crawdads and everything. And since the farm covers a hill and valley, we had a ton of runoff. But the worst was the mud. The soil here is very heavy clay and holds water like you wouldn't believe. Once I was in my truck and trying to get out of the driveway and ended up sliding down the hill sideways. The truck also got stuck in the mud at one point and we just had to leave it there for a day or two till the ground dried up. There was a bad couple of days in February where I was worried we'd loose a few guineas to the the cold, but they all soldiered through it and are fine now. The worst days, when we had icy snow, the ducks just flat out refused to leave their coop. But lucky for us, we only had a few of these really tough days and they were nothing like what people further north had to deal with.

Now that it's spring, all the birds on the farm are happy and filling up on new grasses, weeds and bugs. It's also the first spring for all of them (except for the few guineas and one chicken who are the ones we inheriated from the previous owners) and now they are all adults and ready to mate. Except the chickens. They have no rooster and don't seem to care in the least. Which is good, because I am NOT getting a rooster. I've got enough male aggression from the drakes. I don't need one more little dude running around giving everyone a hard time.

The guineas compete for mates by chasing and racing each other. It's fun to watch and you'd be surprised how fast they can go. They do pair up as friends and mates and that lasts most of their lives. Some are a pair and then there are a few small groups that hang out together. It's been fascinating to watch them develop over the year that I've had them.

The ducks... well, the problem with the ducks is that I have three drakes and one lerpy duck, Penelope. She's bigger than the boys and would not pass muster if I put her in best of breed county fair competition. But she holds her own against the guys and they don't all gang up on her at once. Usually the smallest drake- Kevin- will try to mate with her and then while he's trying to do that, Peter will try jumping on him and then Sasha will occasionally join in which will make Kevin stop and then it just turns into a lot of quacking and nipping and chasing. I don't think they actually accomplish anything. If I fill the wading pool up, it becomes a very disturbing and violent duck orgy. And because I am a weirdo, here's a video: (the sound in the background is one of the chickens making some sort of complaint)

The new version aquaponics greenhouse is almost fully complete. Aaron worked very hard on it and I think it looks great. We will have two different growing methods. The first is the same as we had before- floats with the plants growing in baskets. The second is what I keep referring to as 'clay balls'. It's a lightweight medium that is great for growing bigger things like tomatoes and eggplants. I can't wait to start putting seedlings in the system. But before I can, we need to test the system, get the fish, test the system again and THEN I can put plants in it. Here are a few photos:

The clay balls arrived on a pallet.

Aaron unwrapping the clay ball bags.

Each bag of clay balls had to be rinsed. Which led to me making a lot of off-color jokes about Aaron spending the day washing his balls. Hehe, it still amuses me... Anyway, he devised a quick and easy system to do this. He drilled a ton of small holes in a 5 gallon bucket, poured the balls in, hosed them off and dumped them in the lined grow bed that he had constructed. 

Here is Aaron putting the liner in grow bed for the clay balls. 

Just for the record, I did actually ask if I could help but he said he was fine.

The grow bed with all the clay balls in it. At the far end you can see a white thing sticking up out of the medium. That's the bell siphon. Aaron is super proud of that. 

This is the grow bed that will be filled with water and have floats on it. You can see the floats stacked up on the other grow bed in the background. 

I was actually helping with this liner installation. I just wanted to get a photo for the blog.

This is the fish shed. Aaron gutted it and constructed a whole new tank for the fish and created two digesters, which are these gray trash cans that he has tricked out with pipes and stuff.

A top view of the fish tank.

A cool moth on the side of the greenhouse. 

The tomato seedlings are started! Thanks to our cousin Renee of Renee's Garden for generously sending us a great selection of seeds.

So that's the news for the greenhouse and the birds. The last news is that I have a refurbished studio! It took about two months, but I have actual insulation now and a real bathroom and doors to my bedroom and bathroom too! It's very exciting. When I used to tell people that I lived in a glorified cabin, I should have really said barn. Because that's what this place is- an extension of the barn. But now, with these improvements, I won't have to deal with mice in my kitchen or rats in the walls. Actually, the workers found a few snake skins, some dead squirrels, lots and lots of mice and rats too- IN MY WALLS. The horror!

And, as usual, I'll end with a few photos from around the farm:

Wiley and Atticus keeping me company while I paint my new bathroom.

I wasn't joking about the mud.

The ladies now roam free and are so happy about it.

They still like a good dust bath back in the coop though.

The bulbs I forgot about and had to plant late in pots and stick in the fridge. They are growing and in just a few days they are even bigger than what you see in this photo.

Lucy giving me a lick.

The Himalayan came out of hibernation.... still without a name...

Aaron pondering things.

The tree outside Aaron's place has started to flower.

On one of the first warm days, the dogs had a race from the back barn to my place. Happy and tired!

Greenhouse update

Hello friends and family! This is just a quick update on the greenhouse. Aaron has been hard at work to re-design and build the new grow beds in the greenhouse. He is doing a fantastic job, in my humble opinion, and I wanted to share some of the progress photos.

Getting things set up.

Atticus supervising.

Here is the beginning of the first new grow bed. You can see the old one is drained and full of some dead plants in pots.

Here is the grow bed getting some cross-beam supports.

All the cross beam supports are in! Next Aaron put insulation in between the supports.

The basic structure of the first grow bed is complete. The finishing touches still need to be done, but the second grow bed needs to be constructed first.

Aaron digging the holes for the posts in the second grow bed location. 

The beginning of the base of the second grow bed.

The second grow bed is just about complete in this photo. 

So there you have it. I'll post a few more update photos soon. 

Mid-Winter Meh.

It's a new year and a lot has happened on the farm since last January. The Chicklets are all laying now and by the spring I am expecting some to start laying more than once a day. The eggs are beautiful- beige, green, brown, light blue and the variety of sizes is very cool too.

Still no eggs from our sole female duck- Penelope. As I'm still learning about ducks and their weird ways, I have discovered that it's quite normal for a female who is in a predominately male flock to stop egg production. I can't say I blame her. She's decided to be one of the guys and though I've not seen any physical changes, she could become a transexual duck. I'm still not sure what to do about the unbalanced nature of the flock. If this weren't my first flock, and I didn't consider them pets, I would probably sell or slaughter two of the drakes. But they ARE my pets and I don't see them as anything else- unlike the chickens. So things will have to stay as they are for a bit until Aaron and I can expand the duck habitat on the farm and make it big enough for a few more. And when the time comes, I'll take any adult female ducks! Well, at least 3 but I think 5 would be better. Those drakes are better off when they are outnumbered. And the ducks are better off when there are extra ladies for the guys to "give the business to"; if you know what I mean. Drakes are total kinky swingers. They have been documented in partaking of gay, necrophilic rape.... so... yeah.... They look so cute and silly but beneath that adorable exterior; they are megalomanic assholes with a mildly evil streak to them.

Most of the newest news on the farm is that Aaron is re-building the greenhouse and aquaponic shed. He's really excited about it and almost done getting all the equipment and supplies he'll need to proceed uninterrupted. I have volunteered to stain and paint the wood he'll be using, so I'm glad I can be helpful in this stage.

Other than that, I've just been doing a lot of painting and drawing and writing. I've learned how to make terrariums (so easy) and now I'm having to stop myself from filling my house and Aaron's with all sizes of glass containers filled with tiny plants. Last winter I learned how to bind books. I wonder what I'll learn next winter?

The painting I've been doing has been a mix of just whatever strikes my fancy- whimsical trees, rainbow feathers, birds... always birds for me; and illustrating some of the funny stories and events that have happened here on the farm with my animals. I am writing down whatever I can think of and then illustrating it later. Hopefully I'll be able to create an illustrated book about Three Oaks Farm and the creatures that live here. I don't see it as a children's book, though some of it could be. I just see it as some sort of illustrated guidebook for friends and family to look at.

A few days ago Wiley had surgery to remove a lump in the crook of his arm. It wasn't cancer or anything, but it was in a location that could not be easily ignored and it was getting bigger. So out it came. He's recovering really well, but I can't let him run around the farm off leash till he's more healed and so now he's super bored. He's got his pain meds and his antibiotics, but it's still hard to stay indoors on a sunny day when your big doofus of a best friend (Atticus) is running around having a blast and you can only watch from the sidelines.

As always, here are a few recent photos: (remember, if you click on the photos, you'll get a bigger view)

Peter addressing his minions from my porch.

At my Parent's house: Callie waiting for the big boys to finish having a drink of water so playtime can continue.

Barely visible Atticus resting his head on Wiley during a napping session on Aaron's couch.

In my Mom's sewing room: Finishing up the baby quilt for my dear friends, Jessica and Russ Krokoff who are expecting their first baby- a girl!

Sunrise from my Parent's back deck.

Callie visiting Wiley and me at the studio. 

Callie having a sleepover with Wiley and me.

I am all bundled up for walking the dogs.

Atticus looking unusually intense while sitting in Aaron's lap.

A frosty morning in the back fields.

And now for some art updates:

A silk painting I did recently. It's not for any person or particular reason. I just wanted to play with silk painting because it's been such a long time.

The following series of photos shows the progression of a poster I created for Three Oaks Farm New Year's card.

Not quite finished rainbow feather pattern. I think this would be a cool fabric to quilt with.

Just started tree painting.

sketch of Carl.

Sketch of The Himalayan.

Sketch of Chairman Meow.

I had a lot more of these sketches and a few other paintings, but they won't upload to the side. They're probably too big, so I'll fix them and include them in the next post.