It has been a month since my last post - wow time flies!
So the struggles of 2013 were addressed, hashed about and lived through. But, as most folks do at the end of the year, lets recap the good:
So the struggles of 2013 were addressed, hashed about and lived through. But, as most folks do at the end of the year, lets recap the good:
Goats: Received 2 goats at the end of 2012, both had single kids in Feb/March, I learned a ton about goat care and raising, learned how to milk goats (a first for them too), learned how to make cheese and generally loved on my girls. Sold one kid for a flock of hens and had to put down the other due to an injury, but through that learned that I could process a goat all on my own - we also discovered that goat meat is yummy. October 2013 took my two girls to be bred again & brought home more goats! Now have 4 adult does (all hopefully expecting) and a buckling!
Pigs: Started 2013 with 3 pigs at the house, quickly moved them out to the other property. Learned about raising, feeding and containing pigs and by March I had decided that pig farming was not what I wanted to do! Don't get me wrong, I love pigs, they are cute and intelligent sweet creatures. They are also escape artists extraordinaire! After multiple times getting calls of 'your pigs are out again' and re-working the fence repeatedly I decided I would prefer the pigs in the freezer. So a group of friends got together and had a butcher weekend. Worked through the process from field to freezer, even tried our hands at prosciutto and bacon making.
Chickens: Started 2013 with 4 hens here at the house and a 15 at my friends place. Added 3 here and another 15 to the property including a gorgeous Australorp Rooster, and 2 Buckeye roosters. Was going to raise some meat birds here at the house and even let our broody hen hatch out some chicks, soon decided that our property is not well suited to small birds! After they escaped the property multiple times I decided that they were not doable here and sold them. Raccoons got into the hutch and killed our favorite hen, but otherwise they have all been very well. Had a very small egg CSA (6 folks that got eggs every week) that went very smoothly through the spring and summer.
Rabbits: Had more rabbits born, raised, sold and processed than ever before. Overall quite a bit of interest in rabbit meat on an ongoing basis - even had 2 folks test run a CSR (Community Supported Rabbit - pre-purchased a 6 month supply of rabbit). The Slow Food group I am a part of hosted 2 different events this year show casing rabbit and we are in the planning phase for other events this upcoming year. We are starting 2014 with 23 rabbits - 5 bucks and 18 does, we will be running American Chinchillas, Silver Foxes, New Zealands, and mixes.
Check out all the information for the 2014 Rabbit CSR on the 'Support Crosstown - Store' page!
Check out all the information for the 2014 Rabbit CSR on the 'Support Crosstown - Store' page!
Produce: Not my best year ever, but almost made my goal for the CSA. Learned alot and had lots of help and encouragement from other farmers. Grew lots of kale, chard, collards, lettuce, cucumbers and cabbage. Didn't have the variety or quantity that I would have liked, but good food all around anyways! The land is pretty well prepped and ready for 2014, the 2 greenhouses and the hoop house are still up and ready for use (could use some clean up of course!) and the chickens are having a grand time cleaning up the leftovers. I started working at Pigmans Organic Produce Patch in September and am learning tons there. I will NOT be doing a CSA this year. Since I will be working for Pigmans I will be full time plus on their farm and promoting their CSA. I will still be planting a few crops, mostly things that the animals and humans can both make use of.
Home: Jaeden made it through the summer and his first 3 months of high-school - at a school of his choice (he actually had to fill out an application and go to an interview before they let him in!). This summer he was able to go on vacation with my folks and then we went with them for a weekend in Leavenworth, WA just before Christmas. We made wonderful new friends and are looking forward to a great year getting to know people better and be more social. Jaeden is getting more involved in the high school group at church as well as doing more things with folks from the rock hounding group. I am still hoping to do more in the neighborhood and will be focusing more of my time on the main property and hosting events there.
That's a wrap.
So all in all it was a crazy busy, amazingly educational, topsy turvey, whirlwind roller-coaster of a year . . . but that was last year! We have spent the last week or so 'spring cleaning' and organizing - we aren't there yet, not organized or clean by any means, but closer than we were. I've taken time to stop - to just sit down and think about what is key to me. What do I really want to do when I grow up? I don't have an answer for that completely either, but I know better what I don't want to do. There are changes coming . . . changes here at home, changes to Crosstown Farms, changes for us individually. Looking forward to another year of growth and education, of giving back and building up.
I'll leave you with these 4 thoughts to ponder and hopefully help shape your year:
'You have a 100% success rate of surviving really bad days.' unknown
'Success is not final; Failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.' Winston Churchhill
'My imperative is to seek every moment and to live so God is in control.' Joel Salatin
'For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.' Bible, Jeremiah 29:11
That's a wrap.
So all in all it was a crazy busy, amazingly educational, topsy turvey, whirlwind roller-coaster of a year . . . but that was last year! We have spent the last week or so 'spring cleaning' and organizing - we aren't there yet, not organized or clean by any means, but closer than we were. I've taken time to stop - to just sit down and think about what is key to me. What do I really want to do when I grow up? I don't have an answer for that completely either, but I know better what I don't want to do. There are changes coming . . . changes here at home, changes to Crosstown Farms, changes for us individually. Looking forward to another year of growth and education, of giving back and building up.
I'll leave you with these 4 thoughts to ponder and hopefully help shape your year:
'You have a 100% success rate of surviving really bad days.' unknown
'Success is not final; Failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.' Winston Churchhill
'My imperative is to seek every moment and to live so God is in control.' Joel Salatin
'For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.' Bible, Jeremiah 29:11
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