Giant Pile of Steaming Black Compost!

That is what we think when we walk out to the vegetable garden right now. We have a big pile of compost, ready to go into the soil and then to our plants (and then into us).

The garden is about half an acre surrounded on all sides by pasture. It sits on one of the highest ground on the farm, so when you go out to work you have a view of everything: the lake, the barns, the houses, the fields and behind them, the forrest. On warm days it is very pleasant working in the sun, catching the breeze (if there is one) and, eventually, having an audience.

The horses will be the first to come over to see what you are doing. They know that yummy things can come out of this patch of ground and are always curious to see if today is a snack day. We have learned from experience to place the corn plants waaaay back from the fence, and they have learned that a few pokes of barbed wire are not so bad when there is a corn stalk to be had. Eventually the cows will come too; they are also curious animals. The new little calves are even more curious than their mothers. (I have a theory that cows are born as smart as they will ever be and then go down hill from there.) Imagine their delight in discovering this giant, warm, aromatic pile of....something to eat....something to climb.....something to roll around in.


Myrtle the cow is especially loving the loam. She likes to roll her head in it and her calf has taken to climbing on top. Here is a film of their antics (sorry for the poor quality).

A warm week with lots of outside work. Love it.

It's been awhile.

During one of the coldest weeks of the winter, we witnessed the birth of the first two calves born from our own cows. They are two heifers and we have named them Gracie Lou and Ethel. We are so grateful they are girls, so we can keep them and they, by their presence, have doubled the size of our herd.

We attended the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association conference this month. We learned alot and met many great people who, like us, are passionately convinced that local, sustainable food is what our country, our state and our neighborhood needs.

We are a little late getting the onions into the ground--it has been a wet month--but we were blessed this week with two warm days in which we were able to get the onions and the leeks in the soil. The leeks are an experiment--I have a feeling that they would do better as a fall crop--but I dearly love them, so I hope they do well. Potatoes are next as well as greens and lettuces. I am salivating just thinking about it.

The chickens are starting to come out of their cold, dark, non-egg laying period. Some people put electric lights in the hen houses to trick the chickens into laying more during the dark season, but we think that the chickens need this time of rest before spring comes and nature comes alive with creation including the chickens desire to create more chickens. Thanks to you whom have been doing with less. There will be more eggs soon.




--Jackie Leigh