High 62  Low 34  Clear and slightly warm.

Visit www.songcroftnaturals.com to support our family farm and to get great all natural skin and body products!

Visit the Farmers Market Thursdays 3-7pm

I’m not even going to put the date on this entry since I am embarrassed how long it took me to get around to writing. You see, it’s spring and although it has been the wettest April in Washington’s history, there are still a lot of spring shores to be done!

• Have planted a thicket hedge of prinsepia to help keep the neighbor dogs from coming over.

• Planted a variety of willows in blue, red, green and yellow along the creek.

• Trimmed back the rugosa, raspberries, woody herbs and several other plants

• Mucked the goat shed, cleaned the stall mats in them and sanitized all of the feeders and water buckets.

• Made a new perch for the chickens.

• Bred the rabbits.

• Got help re-doing parts of the goats sacrifice area as well as their browsing areas.

• Brian added on to the chickens poly-carb covered roof on their summer home (okay, they are a bit spoiled).

• Deconstructed some keyhole beds so I can reconfigure parts of the garden and add vertical growing space as well as an outdoor room.

• Fed the bees (It’s been so cold that they rarely go out and things are blooming late)

• Harvested lots of greens.

• The kids and I planted lots of carrots, radishes, lettuce, bok choy, peas, leeks, cilantro, potatoes, onions, and flowers in the garden beds.

• Planted a ton of seeds in trays that are now overcrowding the greenhouse (snow and hail in April!)

• Made compost tea and applied it to a test garden. (Amazing difference!)

• Taught two soils science class and composting class.

• Planted a berm with edible berries and trees with my apprentices.

• Planted a perry pear, cider apple and medlar tree.

• Planted forage plants including Nanking cherries around the summer chicken house.

• Did all the mom things like helping both kids enter project in a science fair and droving kids to and from swim classes.

• Did the homestead stuff like baking bread and making cheese.

• Got our www.SongCroftNaturals.com business ready for the Snohomish Farmers Market.

• And so the list goes on…

Soon I will be at the Snohomish Farmers Market every Thursday.

You might be asking yourself how I find time and energy to do all of these things. It is really more simple than one might think. I don’t have to go to the grocery very often and I don’t watch TV. I eat a healthy diet that includes very little processed foods and I have a positive attitude, even in this rainy season.

Attitude is everything!

See you at the Snohomish Farmers Market!

High 47  Low 41   It is a bright and beautiful sunny day!

The Spring issue of the newsletter is out. Subscribe, renew, gift… http://songcroft.com/index.php/the-songcroft-self-sufficiency-newsletter/

We have a new calendar page!  See our upcoming events! http://songcroft.com/index.php/calendar/

Spring is here and I am feeling the pull to be outdoors. Actually, I am aching to be outdoors. It has been over a week now and I have been on bed rest. I will be up and moving by next week but wont be able to lift for another six weeks. How on earth can that be when I have all of these farm chores to do?

I had went in for a schedule procedure which was suppose to be very simple and only take 45 minutes but I ended up staying in the hospital. Apparently, I am one of the people that don’ respond well to anesthesia or pain meds.  Anyway, it’s nothing serious but I spent the week with complications and should be up again by next Monday. If not, you’ll probably hear me ranting, even if you are reading this from the other side of the country!

I am ever so grateful for my wonderful community of friends and my dear mother who rushed me in for emergency care.  Friends have been bringing meals over for our family and helping out with errands. The kids even had rides to and from their activities. I can’t express enough what a blessing our community is!

Oh, I just have to mention Lotsa Helping Hands! It is a free service that you can use to arrange care (even across state) for someone in need. I have used it several times for friends with cancer and other health challenges. It allows you to add “needs” to a calendar (say like meals, rides for the kids etc…) and others to click on them and sign up. You invite friends and family to join your support group and help out. I could not have organized things without their help. Although their service is free, they really on donations and they will definitely get one from us!

With this “extra” time I have had, I have been trying to get the things done that I can. Mind you, I have been doing these things while very dizzy and groggy I might look back at it all later and think, “What in the world was I doing?”

Among the tasks I accomplished was a new garden plan. We will add some raised beds and arbors to the garden. The raised beds will also allow for seating for garden classes or parties and the arbor will make it feel more like a room. Other benefits of raised beds is that they will be tall enough to deter dogs and with the slightest bit of fencing, our chickens! Look later in the season for picture because as soon as I am able, I’m on it!

In Community,

Marilene

High 47 Low 36 It’s grey and misty today.

This is some healthy rhubarb!

After straining my wrist a couple weeks ago, things have been a bit harder to keep up with but where there a will there’s a way. Typing in particular was difficult.

Nonetheless, it was a busy couple of weeks here on Songcroft. I taught two classes for Sky Valley Community Schools. (This is similar to a larger towns Parks and Rec.) It was really great to introduce the basics of permaculture to folks who were so new to the concept that they came because the description made sense and intrigued them. The second class I taught was Winter Gardening. I think folks from the class will feel more confidant to give growing year-round a go this year.

Brian did a fabulous job finishing the summer chicken yard roof. It is part clear polycarbonate and part fishing net. I saw the fishing net in the driveway of some folks in town. It sat tin the driveway for quite some time. I asked them if they wanted it hauled off and they were delighted. They were seniors that needed some help so I did some small chores in their yard. It was a win-win for all, including the landfill.

After completing the summer chicken yard I began to landscape around it. I planted a grape that’s been in a pot for at least three years, a honeysuckle, two columnar apples, borage and some wormwood around the edges. It will look nice as well as serving multiple purposes. This is what we refer to as “stacking our functions.”

On one of the really rainy days I worked inside the greenhouse installing the drip irrigation on one side. I will have apprentices help the other side so they get some hands-on experience.

I reorganized my mini barn. Our barn is actually a long narrow building made from huge shipping crate panels and hollow core doors. It was great way to use salvaged materials. What is lacks in size, it makes up for in character but yes, I definitely have barn envy when I look at some large barns out there.

Organizing the barn was no small task as I was mostly one-handed and had to take most everything out to install shelving and hooks so things were in better order. It is now about as organized as it can get for being a small space that is expected to contain more than it’s fair share of gear.

Another thing we did was fill the West side of our land. Usually, it wouldn’t be necessary to fill in a slope on our land as we can take advantage of slopes but this is an area that we have our drain-field in and it needed to have more soil above it. So we spent the better part of this weekend filling and leveling the land so that paths are not so difficult for our many visitors and the drain-field is safely tucked away.

Next we will install some woodchips paths and seed the open areas with meadow mix that our chickens can forage on. This is another way to “stack our functions”. The meadow mix will be beautiful, protect our drain-field, keep mud from being tracked all over and be a source of nutritional forage for our chickens. We try to use the principle of “stacking functions” in all of our designs here on Songcroft. It just makes sense.

Well, it’s time to get busy. It’s soap making day and there’s lots to do!

Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter, your support is appreciation

. http://songcroft.com/index.php/the-songcroft-self-sufficiency-newsletter/

Baby Chicks and a Good Hen (click here to see a video of the hen and chicks)

I just have to show you our new baby chicks! One of our hens decided to sit on a nest of eggs and today they began to hatch. No matter how many times I see a baby chick newly hatched, I am still always amazed.

Our hen sat on the nest, diligently, for 21 days. She kept the eggs warm, turned them several times a day and rotated them beneath her so none of them got warmer than any of the others. She never got up. She never left them. She is a faithful mother. She’s a good hen.

Her nest is inside a dog crate. It is private and safe. The kids and I placed a water feeder and food within her reach.  It was her very own private hotel complete with room service and a bed of straw.

When I checked on her today, there were  four baby chicks and several eggs that she is still trying to hatch. One baby chick was hatched moments before I saw it. It was still wet and a bit groggy. There were two black chicks that look like they are Australorps and another yellow one that looks like our hen, an Auracana.

You can watch them in the video. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

High 59    Low 40            Overcast morning with clear afternoon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xWHETBd8BA

SongCroft Spring Tour (click above to see the video)

Today was the first warm day in along time. I actually saw people in shorts and tank tops. With all of the hail and heavy rains of late, I think people were truly optimistic and taking whatever they could get.

It was a beautiful day to explore with my son Simon. Among other things, we went on a trillium hunt. We looked for the precious flowers that hide in the shadows of the forest. We found lots of them but were delighted with every one. Simon was pleased to bring to a secret place where fifteen bloomed together, all in different stages.

Simon and I explored the creek, looked for frogs and salamanders, discussed the lives of the arborial faeries that live in the massive cedars and hemlocks and watched a pileated woodpecker. We collected maple blossoms to add to our supper, a mediteranean quinoa dish, and told each other secrets.

Today was a day to slow down and enjoy the weather, my children and the arrival of Spring.

It was precious.

High 43 Low 35  (Heavy rains all day mixed with hail)

It’s been a windy and wet week. Twice I have been trying to get work done outside only to have a shower of hail come down on me like it was raining bb’s. That’s when it’s smart to wear a hat with a brim. Hail can hurt when it pings against your cheek.

We have peas and spinach started in the garden as well as quinoa, lettuce, leeks, garlic, onion, radishes and beets. I placed tunnels over them as protection because the hail has been the size of  small marbles. It’s hard to watch our vegetable garden be pummeled when things are just starting to come up.

There is celery, cauliflower, leeks, collards and kale still growing in the greenhouse from Winter. We have tomato, pepper, ground cherry, celery, basil, cucumber and basil seedlings in the house. We are running out of space so I’ll be getting them in pots later this week. Whatever can withstand the cold evenings will go in our unheated greenhouse.

Everyday, I look out the back doors that overlook the vegetable gardens. I long to be weeding with the sun on my back and the buzz of honeybees around me. But for now, I will sit in my chair, waiting for the weather to warm and our vegetable garden will be lonely.

Have you planted anything in your garden? Do you have seeds started?

Write a comment and tell us how things are going.

High 55 Low 31

Overcast Morning with blue skies in the afternoon but it’s pouring now!

Wow, what a busy day. It has rained and even hailed here most of the week so when I woke up this morning to mild weather, I put my working clothes on and got busy!

After getting the kids breakfast and the house semi-settled, I got busy collecting eggs and checking on all of the chicks and ducklings. Our eggs are such beautiful colors that they are really the best naturally “dyed” easter eggs!

In the goat shed. I mucked the kidding stall and the main loafing area. After putting down fresh straw, I cleaned out the water feeders and feeder racks. Then I brushed the herd down and fed them. They were very happy.

I checked Aggie, our three year-old black Nubian doe, to see how close she is to kidding. Sure enough, I could feel all the way around her tail so the time is very near.  I offered her some herbal tea with raspberry leaf and she sucked it down in one long draw. I have been keeping my eye on her all day. She should have at least one kid by late tonight.

Next, I ran a hose through conduit across some paths to the goat shed. This will be buried when we bring in some fill dirt to level out the area a bit. Yeah, no more tripping on the hose!

I then mucked out the chicken yard and laid out fresh straw for them. They were hilarious as they ran around snatching up all of the worms that were hiding under the old straw. When I muck, it is really funny because the chickens are watching me and darting around, trying to get worms and trying to keep out of my way. I call it the chicken dance.

I used most of the old straw mixed with manure to lie down on the uneven paths and surrounding ground. I am using it to level out the terrain, which is really difficult to walk on when it’s slick. It is slowly becoming more even. My goal is to be able to wheel a hand-truck with hay bales across this area without wrestling it at a 60-degree angle.

The ducklings and young pullets were out in the chicken tractor today. They got a breath of fresh air, grass to eat as well as some nice bugs. We put them back inside for the night because the temperature is dropping and because we don’t want them to be anyone’s snack.

One of our ducks is on a nest of 12 eggs. She just sat on it today so the clock has just begun ticking. We’re on day one of 26 to 28 days. I’ll post photos when they hatch.

We also have a hen on a dozen or so eggs. They are not all hers but she didn’t care. She just wasn’t getting off the nest. We will show them to you soon too. They will be a mix so it will be fun to see what kinds they all are.

The bunnies were all given “green chop” and alfalfa to munch on. They are all such nice bunnies that we haven’t been able to come up with names for the does. Our buck’s name is Mr. Clementine T. Bunny The T. stands for Trustworthy. He was named by the kids. The three does were all going to be called Easter Bunny but that was just too confusing!

Now it’s time to feed the kids dinner before I run-off to play doula and mid-wife to our goat. We will be having homemade chicken rice soup and rosemary flax baguettes, all fresh from our kitchen.

This is a typical “stay-at-home” Spring day on our croft.

If these sort of topics and activities interest you, you’ll love the Spring issue of the Newsletter!

http://songcroft.com/index.php/the-songcroft-self-sufficiency-newsletter/

The kids and I will be dying eggs this weekend. It is kind of funny since our hens lay blue, green, pink, brown, white and tan eggs it always seems like we have Easter eggs anyway.  Some years they just stuck stickers and colored on the eggs because they liked the colors as they were but this year they want to color them.

We will use onionskins, spirulina powder, beets and red cabbage to make our dyes. One of the tricks to make the colors really work is to let them sit in the dye with a little vinegar added for about an hour. Allowing them to sit makes all of the difference! The colors are really amazing and quite vibrant. You can use your own creative ideas as to what to try as a colorant. Simmer your dyes for 15 minutes before using them and of course, don’t forget to hardboil the eggs! (Even if April Fools is close to Easter this year)

I’ve included a couple links incase you would like detailed instructions or a video to see how it id done. The photo is of our eggs before we dye them. Aren’t they beautiful!

http://www.ehow.com/how_4825511_dye-easter-eggs-naturally.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/natural-easter-egg-dyes/33289.html

Enjoy!

High 65 Low 43 Cool morning with warm afternoon. Sky was blue by noon.

I spent today puttering around on the land finishing lots of little things that needed to get done as well as taking care of a few larger things.

I moved all of the pullets to the big brooder. That means we now have nineteen pullets and five chicks. The chicks are still in the house. They have a small brooder box and a heat lamp. They were too young to join the rest in the large brooder since they have not feathered out yet and are still quite delicate. We will keep them inside for a couple more weeks. We have a hen sitting on a dozen eggs. We are hoping for success this time. We will be selling laying hens as well as eggs in a few months.

The ducklings spent the day in the new chicken tractor I finished. Brian gave them a seed tray as a splashing pool. It brought back memories of Sofie and Simon at two years old. They got in and out of the pool over-and-over again, splashing, laughing and having the time of their lives.

The goats went for a long walk with Sofia.  As the goats browsed, Sofia collected Balm of Gilead to make in to medicine later. I wonder what the goats think when we wild craft beside them?

Before coming in to make supper, I brought the laundry in off the clothesline and they smell fresh and crisp. It smelled much like my mood right now, optimistic and happy, with lots of energy. Just like Spring.

High 56             Low 45                 Warm afternoon breeze

Spring ahead? Not us, we’re taking giant leaps! There’s been a ton of stuff happening at SongCroft this week. Where can I begin…?

Over the course of the week we brought in a bit more hay to get us through until it is haying time here in the area. With a couple extra goats this past Winter, we went through more hay than usual so our estimate in August was a bit off. But no worries, I hauled the bails across our land. It is rugged terrain as we haven’t filled that side of the property yet and it is very uneven. It is hard to keep a bale on a hand-truck since they all want to fall downhill. Then I had to stack them under cover. At eighty pounds a bale, this job takes that take all by 5’4” frame has to offer. To keep the goats from leaning from their stall over in to the hay storage area, I installed a wooden barrier. Now they can only look at it longingly instead of gorging themselves until they look like someone ought to tie a line to a hoof so they don’t float away as giant goat balloons.

We also got almost all of the fencing around the vegetable and forest garden done. We just need to install a few gates. This means even if the goats do get out, they wont be eating my cabbages and strawberries!

The Winter rabbitry was converted in to a brooding house for the 17 pullets and 6 ducklings we are raising. We also have a hen on a nest in there. It is a good use of a small space. I will post photos and a video later.

All but the vegetable garden beds got compost on them. I will make another go at it over the coming week. The goats ate part of the garden in front of the house, that’s what happens when the kids leave the gate unlocked, so I put the compost down there first hoping it would help the poor plants survive. Even our big horse trough full of bamboo looks like Giant Panda’s attacked it!

Rhubarb and asparagus were planted. Only a few more years until we get our first harvest. (That was sarcasm incase you didn’t notice)

We cleared out an area so that we can bring in soil to level the land on the side of our house. This will make getting to the hay a lot easier. This is going to be major work.

We taught both our first year and second year courses from Saturday through Monday. We covered soils science, composting, fertilization and pruning. It was really busy and a lot of fun. Folks learned to do soil samples, test for ph and how to make compost. We mixed bedding and goat poo with a beautiful combination of scrap vegetables and juice bar compost. The colors were amazing and the results will be powerful. We also made a worm bin and were able to send it one with one of the student’s family. I truly love being with all of the course participants and am blessed to live such an amazing life.

Sometimes the songs here are the chirpings of birds and others times they are the grunts made while heaving bales of hay but it all makes for a beautiful rhythm that we love to live in.