Earl (Draft Mule)
was a really big kid
Clair (Clarabelle) and Hannah
(Hannabelle) -- step-sisters
Mushy & Mavis (aka Bonky
Donkey & Donkey Oatie)
Mother & Father
Goose (Nene)
Clair being served breakfast in bed on (un)Labor Day
(Earl wants to spoil her 'labors')
This was how Clair used to
greet us and visitors here
Clair & Henny Penny receive thousands of bits
of information as Marc and the bucket of water
make their way through the snow
Henny Penny would ride Clair's back
for the best vantage point to get any
bits of food Clair left in the snow
Bonky & Oatie get behind 'Mama' Clair to protect them from Phil, who's being
a pest. Marc explained to Phil that the girls were not comfortable with Phil's
behaviors, but to no avail; so Phil was sent to his corner for a 'time out.' Phil
eventually was returned to his former owner, and harmony was restored.
Earl and Mother Goose
dancing a beautiful minuet
Earl huffed and puffed at this young
moose who was happily checking out
the tender spring greens
Good thing it wasn't this Bull Moose
that Earl was challenging
These animals are masters of invisibility -- except for when they are crossing at the "Moose Crossing" signs at the sides of Route 122 here. In warm weather you may see them around here.
|
These are moments of ecstatic trance states, where some of the magical
forces of nature can be glimpsed in peripheral vision, as well as head on.
I am head over heels in love with the sheer energies at play, even when
there is a daunting amount of gottas to do here (like the seeming futility
of fencing where the moose roam, or the two pigs work their way
through). But gratitude for all this is also a very natural force here.
The Odd Couple
Clair, often mistaken for a moose,
understood the spoken and
unspoken: Marc would THINK
about going down to brush her,
and she'd stick her head out the
barn and do a great imitation of a
fog horn. Her ears spoke
volumes. When she died, she
took a chunk of our hearts with
her.
We have taken as many longears out of harm's way as we could take responsibility for. A number of them have been successfully placed with caring owners. Our consideration is to give them a loving home as well as to keep them from the slaughterhouses. These are some of All Our Relations...
|
Removed stumps cleared away (upper North Pasture)
|
Stumps lined up along old logging road for a fence (lower North Pasture)
|
Marc clearing
1000s of root
pieces, and
adding them to the
fence line
Stumps ready to be lined up (lower
North Pasture, along old logging road)
Fence Line -- Stephanie shown for scale
|
West Pasture: Cover crops of buckwheat, oats, black oil seed radish, forage
beets, and winter rye have been repeatedly grown and disc harrowed into the
land in the West Pasture -- part of the process of bringing the land back gently
and responsibly to be able to have healthy micro-organisms & earthworms,
attract pollinators, and grow REAL food.
North Pasture: The stump fence at the foot of the North Pasture successfully
protects our cultivated vegetable/pasture areas. We did not cut the trees -- the
previous owner did. The only trees we cut are those that have died & fallen.
De-stumping the North Pasture (2009)
Stumps over-wintering above ground to drop the soil from their roots back onto the land where top soil belongs
Antique Manure Spreader: West Pasture
|
"The wrongs done to trees, wrongs of every sort, are done in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief, for when the light comes, the heart of the people is always
right." -- John Muir
Phil was a very
contrary Mule
The Committee (3 Chinese
Geese, 2 Toulouse)
Bobo and Hazel
West Pasture: Compost Piles on turned soil ready for Spring 2014
|
Stephanie at the 'Dozer
(6-28-2009)
Earl at Sunrise as Full Moon is Setting on the Black Hills
Hannah, Clair, and Bonky (Oatie
ahead of them) heading to the
Round-Bale Banquet Table
Marc giving Bonky Donkey rubbies, Clair waiting for her turn
Donkey Oatie, Bonky Donkey,
Clair, Hannah (they were very
'good' at escaping in toto to
neighbors' vegetable gardens)
Past
FARM STORIES
Moose on the Farm
WELCOME!
Sparky (born to
Mama Mavis on
2/20/2014)
The peaceful bliss
of a full belly and
warm sunshine
Clair took a piece of
our hearts with her
when she died
Trying to keep Bobo & Hazel separated from the Pigs' sweet food