Phillips Farm in the Community Press

 Phillips Farm is in the news!

Our neighbor, Rita Heikenfeld, writes a regular column for the Community Press family of local papers.  She asked me a few weeks ago if she could come interview me to do a story about our little adventure here at the farm.  I agreed and she came over one lovely morning to chat on the back porch and take some pictures in the garden.  The story came out this week (July 15, 2015) and you can read it any local paper here in Cincinnati, or online at the Community Press website.  It is also featured on Cincinnati.com.

Babies: Take II

I think having baby chicks the second time around must be something like having a second child.  I haven't actually raised any kids from baby-hood so I can't say for sure, but here's my speculation from what others have told me.

The first time you want to keep them in your house so you can keep an eye on them all the time.  You check on them constantly: changing their water any time it gets any bedding in it,  filling their bowls when they get less than 3/4 full, raising and lowering their heat lamps any time they huddle or spread out, worrying if they are too hot or too cold, picking them up and holding them...  You are overwhelmed by dust and dogs barking at birds but you live with it because they're babies and they need to be watched.

Take II: keep them in an outbuilding to contain the dust, check on them in the morning and evening, refill water and food once/day if they need it, set the lamps and leave them.  The happy little chicks really don't need all the fuss.  Whenever I do go out to check on them, they are scampering about, eating, pecking at things, napping under the lights, or just standing around together like old ladies chatting.

Lesson learned!  Never again will we make so much fuss about some baby birds.  Everyone seems happier if we just give them what they need and leave them be in peace.

A morning snack for the babies and old ladies

the "fear of something new" huddle

"My food!" - Rooster

"What?!  It was for me, right?" - Rooster

"Back away girls.  I'll tell you when you can have some."  - Rooster

Yesterday I made dilly beans and applesauce so I had lots of scraps that I ground up and put in several bags in the refrigerator to give to the birds.  I brought out two plates this morning: a big one for the old ladies and a little one for the babes.  When I delivered the small plate, the little girls did the "I don't know what that is so I'm going to stay away from it" huddle in the corner.  When I brought the big plate in for the old ladies, the rooster immediately stood on top of the plate and claimed it for himself!  The other birds surrounded him and managed to peck away some of the food between his legs, but he maintained his spot right in the middle of the bowl until most of the food was eaten.

Babies!

Rhode Island Red friends

Finding their food dishes for the first time

Ameraucana baby  

Josh built a new version of the brooder to keep in the workshop; no more babies in the house!

We have had so many people express interest in eggs that we decided to go ahead and increase our flock this year instead of waiting until next. And it's warm enough now that they won't have to be indoors as long as they did in the spring. Josh picked up 22 chicks this morning: 11 Ameraucana and 11 Rhode Island reds. This will bring our total flock to 45. Our plan is to keep them in the workshop for a few weeks then attach the small coop to the side of the run so the new and old birds can see each other but the little ladies will be safely separated until they are big enough to hold their own. It's so exciting to have babies again. Boy are they cute when they are so little!

Something new: Phillips Farm Art on Etsy

Quilt Square painting in process

Completed painting

Handmade cards: Sketches from Around Phillips Farm

A bundle of cards

Rhode Island Reds

Gone Fishing 1

A Patriotic Sunset

I have been busily preparing handmade items for my new shop on Etsy: Phillips Farm Art.  So far I have several sets of handmade cards, a variety of framed original pictures from around the farm, and a quilt square painting like the one I made for our barn.  Check out the store and see if there's something that you like:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/PhillipsFarmArt.  Keep checking back as I will continue to add new items.

I hope you will enjoy this little taste of life on the farm!

Tomatoes aren't supposed to look like that

sideways tomato plants

I was feeling overwhelmed when I went out to work in the garden this morning.  It was like a jungle after our week-long absence and I had much to do.  Tomato blight had taken a strong hold on my plants since it's been so wet and the plants never get a chance to dry off.  My first task was the clear out the blighted foliage and get the tomatoes in order.  They were laden with leaves and fruit and weighing heavy on their cages.  I cut and tied up branches for hours when the sky turned dark.  I felt the first drizzles and thought: It's okay, I only have two more plants to do.  I can handle a little rain.  But then all the sudden the sky dropped about ten shades darker, the winds picked up, thunder rumbled loud and the clouds broke loose with sheets of pounding rain.  I ran for cover in the lean-to and watched the rain and winds destroy all my hard work...

As I stood there helpless, the tomatoes fell over; corn stalks broke; huge sunflowers leaned and creaked, breaking off in places; branches broke off my pepper plants; cucumber leaves tore into shreds.  How disheartening.

Tomorrow I'll see what I can do to set things right again.

Pickle Relish

My trellis was hanging heavy with pretty little cucumbers when we got home.  I also had a basket of big cucumbers sitting by the back door, a gift from a friendly neighbor.  My stores of pickles are looking good so I went to my cookbooks for some other ideas for my cucumbers.  I decided to try some pickle relish.  I found two recipes that looked delicious: sweet relish and dill relish.

They were both pretty easy to make, starting with pulverizing the cucumbers in the food processor with some onion.  With the addition of a few spices, it sits for a couple of hours then gets rinsed and drained.  Finally, you add a few more ingredients, cook 10 minutes then jar and it's done.

And we grilled up some sausages and hot dogs for dinner so we could try it...husband approved!