Good Rest, Garden

 As the leaves make their way off of the maples, and the last crisp leaves hang, rattling upon the oaks, it is time to tuck the garden away for a long winter's nap... well, sort of. While we could just leave it all- limp, frosted plants blackened and wilting, tomatoes dropped from vines, earth cooling under nights that dip into the 30s with blazing stars overhead- it is better to take the time now to plan for next year's bounty. 

The vegetables have been harvested, and any remaining plants have been cleared away to the compost pile to start breaking down for next year's bounty. Weeds have been cleared, and several beds are now tucked in under a rich pile of shredded leaves. This will insulate the soil a bit, and keep microbes active longer into the season, as well as add nutrients back to the beds that worked so hard all spring and summer. After years of doing this, the soil in this garden is rich, moist, and truly grows more than we can eat. Another step in the fall is planting rye. This cover crop will also enhance the nutrients available next year, with an added bonus: carbon sequestration happening in winter months when so much else is dormant. It turns out the garden isn't completely "napping," after all- much work is still happening, even if it is beyond our line of sight.

So, while it might be tempting at the end of a long season to just walk away and leave it all until spring, the added work now will pay off next year. Not only will there be less mess to pick up when the sun has finally warmed our northern soils enough to plant, but there will be less pests, fewer diseases, and more microbes. What do microbes mean? Rich soil and better nutrition in everything we grow, and carbon being drawn down into the earth where it belongs. These  simple steps reward us and help our earth in our own, small way. Now that's an idea worth sowing.

Goat Treets

Here at Sunny Acres, we have goats who enjoy their treets to eat. Yes, we know how to spell, but we literally are feeding out... tree(ts). Here are some photos showing goats' enthusiasm for browsing. Sure, they'll happily turn mixed-grass forage into a meal any day, but give a goat a brushy area to clear, and suddenly that meal is a very happy one- because... it's full of treets! 

Where a corner of a field has been lost to a variety of shrubs and understory growth, and a large pine is being crowded badly, the goats were called in to work and enjoy a day of brush-munching. 

Downed tree? No problem. The goats will make quick work of the leaves in no time! They even clean up poison ivy. The only itchy rash that results from that is when a friendly goat rubs her urushiol-covered self on you as a manner of saying hello. Farm-daughter here may be speaking from personal experience on that one, but I digress. 

They aren't termites, so there will still be some cleanup to do, but why waste all that great growth when goats will happily make a meal of it?

In the end, the field boundary is back to the original location, the pine tree is opened up a bit, and the goats go to bed with full... rumens. And that, dear reader, is a happy ending. 

Thanks for taking the time to check in on Sunny Acres!

~M.McIlroy,

Farm-Daughter, 

Goat-Midwife, 

Collector of farm stories 

Kidding 2017

Well, here we are in the business of spring, despite the blizzard that buried the farm in snow last week. As the great dig-out is under way, we are already well into the arrivals for kidding season this year. Pictures may speak better than words here, so please enjoy a glimpse at what's been keeping us off the computer and in the barn since the beginning of March!

Solar Energy on Sunny Acres

It might be fair to say our farm utilizes solar energy more than any other resource.  We've been "going green with solar" long before solar panels were even invented. How is this possible?

Behold:  the incredible conversion of solar energy to carbohydrates and oxygen, which, in turn, provides energy for our animals. And, ultimately, us.  

 Here, the herd is checking out (and sneaking some edges of) a new seeding. Even 

as the daylight period fades, this lush pasture will continue to grow. 

In the spring, it will provide an incredible boost for the does and kids--- so long as the deer don't decimate it. But that's a story for another day!

Here, we have another great use of solar energy:  boosting the temperature in the compost pile, which encourages the growth of bacteria that will convert organic waste into compost. The compost will eventually provide additional nutrients to the crops.  And back to the animals. And to us. Who knew the sun, waste, and microbes could make something so wonderful?

Part of our sustainability plan is to continue to utilize solar energy in a multitude of ways.  We're pleased to announce that Sunny Acres Farm has "gone solar" with the installation of panels on the barn, as well as on each home on the property.  We've worked with Kasselman Solar to establish a great solar plan for our farm.  If you're in the area and considering utilizing solar energy, please click on the link and check them out!   

While we're talking about solar energy, there's on form of solar power yet unmentioned.  It's probably the most powerful form of energy our farm has ever seen.  We've managed to snap a picture of this energy- though it is usually so energetic, it is difficult to capture in photos:  Kid-in-the-sunshine-energy.  We have four units of this running at the moment, and it appears to be a totally renewable and limitless power source, if not a bit unpredictable at times.

So there you have it:  Sunny Acres Farm is truly a solar-powered operation that has "gone green" since 1897.  

Surrogate Grasslands

It's a beautiful day here on Sunny Acres, very much in line with our farm name.  Let this image speak for itself:

Truly, what more can be said about a seamlessly blue sky, outrageously green pastures, and just the slightest warm breeze to make a walk in the sunshine comfortable?

Perhaps the one thing a picture can't quite speak to is the sound of such a day:  a chorus of birdsong carries over these pasture lands and hillside. Redwing Blackbirds and Bobolink, in particulary, ring out clearly.

If you've never heard the babbling, bubbling, flittering, and wild song of Bobolink, you truly must visit a grassland of nesting Bobolink and immerse yourself in it.  They sound like R2D2, or pure spring joy, or a a run-away orchestra.  This video is a good substitute if you don't happen to have a pasture close enough to visit.

This spring, we're celebrating the return of another grassland bird to the farm.  (No, the picture below is not a flock of birds.  We assure you we can tell the difference.  It is, however, a nice example of the herd moving through a pasture, improving it as they go.)

Perhaps because the pastures are improving under the care of rotational grazing and hard work of the two-legged AND four-legged pasture managers around here, we've heard the distinct song of Northern Bobwhite around the farm. He's been much too elusive to document with photos, but we are so glad to know they have decided to call Sunny Acres home. We hope it is an indication of the health of the farm as a whole--- instead of being a one-crop land, these birds arrive to enjoy a variety of flora and fauna acting as a surrogate grassland to the native prairies they were once so abundant on. It might not be font-page news when a small bird slips quietly to the near-threatened status, or when that bird is at long-last found again locally, but we all stood outside during the first morning this Bobwhite call was heard, taking it in, feeling it is a triumph for nature, no matter how seemingly small.

Honeybees are carefully tended by one of the Sunny Acres farmers, and goats by others. Chickens forage here, and now we can say that Bobwhite do, too. In a world filled with climate doom-and-gloom stories, we hope these images of life returning to the farm will lift your spirits. A little bit of sunny news is welcome, isn't it?


On the other side of the pasture, a cool wetland area offers respite from the heat during the warm seasons of the year.  Not wanting to be outdone by the riot of color and song in the fields, the woodland offers beauty, too.

Hopefully, this little "photo tour" of the farm today will help you better see how our farm is in more than just the business of agriculture, but we're also making it our business to create an oasis where life of all different kinds may quietly come on home. 

Milk and Meat Goats

We're beyond pleased that the breeding program on our farm is producing girls with good production. While they are belly up to the hay rack, it gives us a great opportunity to pay attention to production and attachment and all things business-end.  These first-time mothers are looking fabulous! 

And these young couldn't agree more that having excellent producing mothers is a positive thing. 

(Ever come to the farm and wonder where the babies are? Just look under a hay rack!) 

Recap: A Year in Review

If a blog were an account of the true happenings of farm, it would rival the Oxford English Dictionary in its expansiveness.  Of course, the more we are doing on the farm, the less we have the time and energy to blog about it. Seeing that the blog hasn't been updated since April 2015, this is a good sign for the farm, though a poor sign for any faithful readers we might have. That's where I'm jumping in. Farmgirl here, writing an update on behalf of the chief farmers of this operation, because they are up to their elbows in all things kidding season at the moment.  I'm snuggled into my warm house watching the snow.  This seems like an arrangement I can live with.

The last post was exactly one year ago.  Babies arrived, the pastures grew, the farm got busy, and the blog got dusty. Here's an exceedingly abbreviated version of the 2015-2016 season for your viewing pleasure.

We were all enamored with the experiment of growing tef last summer- it grew like wild fire and kept everything else out of the field.  Plus, it is soft and really fun to run through, especially if you are a member of the 12 and under set.

Perhaps the most important work of farming is ensuring a future for the farm.  This not only means paying attention to feeding the land (more on that in future posts), but feeding the love of farming in the next generation.  For the youngest farmer, that usually means just letting him tag along and shadow his PopPop. As they get older, it means patience while they practice their skills and, perhaps, get a bit distracted in the process (like pulling the rope that connects our hose to the very top of the barn, before realizing the pulley is now stuck, for example).  

No picture of learning to be patient with the young learner in the rope situation. 

The rope was retrieved, 

the hose reattached, and we were all grateful for ladders. But enjoy another glimpse of the distractedly happy apprentices: 

Summer gave way to a glorious autumn- 

-And the goats kept marching to pasture.  The kids grew (both the 4-legged and bipedal variety), and 

autumn lasted a record length of time:  from September through April. 

Winter started on April 3, 2016. 

... Just in time for kidding season 2016. 

So, Earth has found its way around the sun for another complete revolution, and the seasons have spun along with it.  We hope with the new writing arrangement to update you on happenings here more often than the Earth can make it around the sun.  Stay tuned (and hopeful!) with us. Thank you!

Future topics: 

• kidding updates
• Chicken scratch, or why we've moved to a no-soy, non-GMO feed
• feeding a farm:  how to nourish the soil for long-term gains