Monday, November 23, 2020

Our Tiny Farm During the Year of COVID

view from a porch looking over a pasture and hills
In December 2019 I wrote a post about how we were transitioning Our Tiny Farm for the next stage of our lives. I am still working full-time as a faculty member in the Department of Horticultural Science at  NC State University, but I am starting to think about what I want to do next. 
Class C RV in a campground
We also have an RV that we really enjoy exploring this beautiful country in. So raising cattle, garlic, and vegetables don't fit quite as easily into our lives and plans as they used to. 

A brown donkey and a grey donkey outside a barn with a blue jolly ball
We have decided that we will continue to raise our own donkeys and provide a temporary home for a few others. We enjoy them so very much. And when we travel, our very capable son, who lives on the farm, takes care of them for us. THAT is one of the keys to our being able to make this transition and keep the farm; having a young, strong son who enjoys living here with us. He gets free rent and we have built-in farm help.
A small brown donkey and larger grey donkey
These are our two donkeys. Chester is the brown miniature donkey on the left and Meadow is the small standard donkey on the right.
Newborn donkey and its mother
The farm behind us also raises donkeys and one summer day a baby was born right next to our fence line. This donkey is less than five minutes old!
pickup truck with trailer stacked high with hay
We put up a nice supply of locally grown hay for our donkeys. We have a good relationship with our hay supplier and are assured that they use no persistent herbicides on their fields so we can safely use the manure on our gardens and provide it to others without risk to sensitive plants.
vegetable garden
The plan for 2020 was to grow a small, manageable garden that would be easy to maintain and not put a guilt trip on us come harvest time. Well, old habits die hard and before I knew it, hubby had planted a sizeable garden. We enjoyed lots of fresh, homegrown tomatoes, beans, sweet corn, summer squash, zucchini, butternut squash, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes. 
Green beans in a zip lock bag destined for the freezer
We also froze and gave away much of what we grew. Now this big garden area, which we have managed following practices and using products approved by the National Organic Program, is sown in cover crops. Next spring our plan is to keep this area planted in soil building and pollinator friendly plants and build raised beds close to the kitchen!
Elk in front of a barn

An elk and two dogs
We had a very special treat this summer. We had several elk from the Smoky Mountain National Park find their way into our community. People were posting pictures of them on social media from all over our area, and then late one afternoon, a big bull came to our area. Here he is just strolling across our farm. All the horses and donkeys just stood and stared. 
A border collie-golden puppy with a blue ball

An elderly border collie-golden dog on a dog bed
On a very sad note, we had to say good-bye to the most loving, wonderful dog in the world, Traveler. Traveler came to us from the Foothills Humane Society 12 years ago. He was our constant companion. He got along well (most of the time) with all the farm animals and the house cats. He is missed very, very much.
Plastic bottles of honey on a tile counter
In addition to boarding donkeys, we will continue to be beekeepers and bottle honey.
Bee hives
It was an excellent honey year. Our friends and family will be enjoying this for a long time.
Big tree down in front of house
Easter night we had a terrible storm come through with high winds and a deluge of rain. Our Tiny Farm was hit particularly hard. We don't know if it was a micro-burst, straight line winds, or a tornado, but twenty VERY large trees were blown down in the middle of the night. We were so blessed. The only damage to the house was to the gutter on the corner of the porch.
Purple face masks made from Viking's fabric
Like many others, I became quite proficient at making many kinds of face masks for family and friends.
Man with a tiller
We till up the garden each spring using the Troy-Bilt rototiller that my mother, siblings, and I bought for my father when I was a teenager. They don't make them like that anymore!
Carpenter bee trap on a red barn wall
Carpenter bees were making swiss cheese out of our barn, so we hung four of these traps on the barn this year. They really work!
a row of daffodils in bloom
These daffodils were here when we bought Our Tiny Farm in 1999. Who knows how long they were there before that!
Winter sunrise over a farm scape
We see beautiful sunrises and sunsets from our farm.
Bear damaged fence around donkey paddock
Our big excitement in January was going out to see the donkeys in the morning and finding that a bear had tried to push his, or her, way into the donkeys' paddock. Several years ago I had my husband reinforce the fencing on the paddock area where we confine our little donkeys each night. He moved the six-strand electric fencing to the outside and put woven wire fencing on the inside. The bear reached through the upper electric wires and pushed the woven wire fencing out of the big heavy staples on the corner post. We assume that as he/she pushed forward, he/she made contact with several of the electric wires and was shocked enough to give up (we keep that fence very hot). There was a footprint left in the mud that I asked some of my bear hunting friends to verify that it was indeed a bear (although, what else could have done that?). Since then, we have a trail cam mounted.
Log farm house
And that was our COVID year on Our Tiny Farm. Today I was planning for our very small Thanksgiving celebration later in the week. It will just be three of us this year but we are looking forward to Zoom video calls with parents, siblings, and my daughter and family. Aren't we fortunate to have such technology to get us through this pandemic. Stay safe.





 

1 comment:

  1. Wonderful to get your update, and have a lovely Thanksgiving! We are blessed.

    ReplyDelete