"Let there be spring.......and BANG, it happened"

Disclaimer: this post was ninety five percent done then things got crazy busy on the farm. but I decided to post it anyway regardless of age. :-) Enjoy!


The title of this post sums it up.  Spring has come so quickly to the valley that we have been scrambling to get all the animals outside. Cows on pasture, chickens in eggmobiles, pigs turning compost and starting up a new farm, are just a few of the many things keeping us busy.

At the end of March I had a wonderful visit from two of my sisters, Laura and Anna.  We had so much fun together!  They jumped right in with work and were so much fun to have around. Talking at night and making me cookie dough for future baking completely spoiled me! :) We celebrated my 26th birthday with a fancy dinner downtown and enjoyed bowling with some of the farm staff.

I'm looking forward to moving into my new place soon, Yeah!! Work on the "hunt camp", as we call it  has been a little slow but with warmer weather here now things will kick into high gear to make the end of May dead line, before interns come.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

My new place in progress.

In March I went with our three apprentices to a maple syrup festival. We had a great time and enjoyed all you could eat buckwheat pancakes and pure maple syrup,  Yum!

This was a huge storage tank for sap as it came in to be boiled down.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, the maple glazed donuts are out of this world! :)

Eggs, eggs, and more eggs.

Laura and Anna washed the real dirty ones.

Cookin' in the cottage.

Target practice time!  

Teaching the girls fire arm safety and shooting tips.

From the Sisters' Perspective

Hello Friends!

This is Eric's sister Laura. :)  I have been given permission to hijack the blog and write about my and Anna's visit to Polyface this Spring.  (Ok, I guess if I have permission it wouldn't be hijacking. :)

Our time at the farm was amazing!! It was so much fun to be with Eric in his 'natural habitat'. :)

When we arrived, temperatures were in the 60's. It was a lovely change from Chicago's 30 degree rainy days. However, the beautiful weather was short lived as 2 days after arriving we got 6" of snow!  Hmm, maybe we brought it with us. :)

It certainly was beautiful!

Projects:

We always think it's great fun to help with chores on the farm.
The first major one was feeding hay at the rental farm where most of the cattle are wintered.

Loading up

 

On the wagon

 

Out for feeding

Each day we gathered and crated over 200 dozen eggs.
Yes, that is a total of 2,400 eggs!
Pretty Eggciting. :)

Are those colored eggs I see?  Must have been Easter Sunday :)

 Eric is responsible for feeding the cattle located on Polyface's main farm.

 Up...

...and over!

~Fun Times~

Eric took us out for dinner on his birthday. Zanendoa is a really nice restaurant with excellent food. (What can I say - their meat is from Polyface. :)  It was a fun sibling time.

Afterwards we met up with some of the Polyface team and went bowling

 The Fans

Eric's birthday celebration with the farm team

 

It was fun to see the dynamics of the "farm family".
They are all interesting, exciting people to be around.

Easter Sunday

 Dinner at Grady and Erin's home

Our little host, Ralph.  Isn't he adorable?!?!!

~Random Fun Things ~

One day we took a fourwheeler ride up the mountain.  Sorry, there are no pictures of the ride.  I wanted to protect my camera from the cold mud and water puddles we went through on the 3 mile ride. :)

View from the mountain top

  Zooming in on the farm quaintly nestled in the valley

We were able to squeeze in our favorite "Barth waffle breakfast"!
(Recipe complements of Eric's diligent search, 10+ years ago)

 Eric's new housing arrangements in progress

 And what would be a ride to the airport without a drive on the
Shenandoah Parkway and some fun pictures? :)

It really is hard to summarize our trip.
It was the perfect way to shake off our winter cabin fever
and get energized for an amazing spring and summer.

Eric, thank you for letting us come and visit!!

Can't wait to see you again! :)

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow.....

Sounds like Christmas doesn't it?  Well, I will say that early March seems rather late to be singing that tune, but it happened last week.  Tuesday night the snow started falling and it didn't stop until about noon on Wednesday.  We got almost a foot and a half of heavy snow! The scenery after it was all over was simply amazing.  Snow covered everything.  Thankfully, not much was damaged under the heavy weight and the animals were all safe and comfortable in their winter housing.

I am so thankful for the Lord Jesus whose blood covers our sins like a blanket of snow, never to be brought up, remembered, seen, or used against us, EVER again. (Isaiah 1:18)  Praise the Lord!!

Enjoy the pictures and have an awesome day!

I think I should make this picture into a post card.

Pretty comfy I'd say

Jonathan and Ben having fun being pulled on grain shovels.

Cool formations coming off the roof as it melted.

Filling Big Shoes

Life on the farm is going well and it seems spring is just around the corner.

Joel and Daniel recently returned from Australia where they were speaking at agricultural seminars and hosting workshops. During their absence the rest of us were left to keep the "farm fires burning" and  make sure that work went on as usual.  I am happy to report that we were up for the challenge!  I am so blessed with the awesome team I get to work with every day. They are the best!!

One of the big things that happened while the bosses were away, was the hosting of a two man TV crew from France.  They came to see the how and why of the Polyface operation.  Their main purpose for coming to the U.S. was to learn about, and capture on film, a sustainable way of farming in contrast to the conventional confinement style of operation.  This film trip was spurred on by the recent happenings in Europe where horse meat was found in industrial ground beef.

With both Joel and Daniel gone, the role of being one of the main "Polyfaces" fell to me.  Though a lapel mic is not part of my everyday work attire, I think I pulled it off. :)  We all enjoyed the learning experience and had a lot of fun with our guests from France. Can't wait to see what they put together!

Below are a couple shots of the "ever present cameras".  Unfortunately, the only documentation I have of our time together is when we fed pigs.

Most recent "sugaring".  I harvested 23 pints of syrup from this batch.

A cool, night shot of the steam coming off the pan.