Spring is in the air... Well, sort of.

Our new greenhouse is almost up and running, and in the meantime, we've got a few things started in the old one (which is already getting cramped!). We've started onions, leeks and scallions, as well as lettuce and Swiss chard. This week we'll be starting spring brassicas (cabbage, kale, kohlrabi). Pretty soon we'll be working the soil and direct seeding peas, beets and spinach.

The chickens are responding nicely to the longer days. We've got tons of eggs now, and our fridge is getting full. For anyone interested, you know how to contact us. The chickens also seem to be enjoying their days more. They're back to their bothersome selves around the greenhouses, getting underfoot in the new one and trying to lay eggs in the old one. Buffy, shown above, has started trying to lay eggs in the barn as well, so we have to check there everyday so we don't miss any eggs.

We're also trying to figure out how to get stuff done with a newborn. Mostly we take turns working outside, although it's mostly Todd doing everything at the moment. Katherine's pretty much nursing constantly (Elliot has quite the appetite). But she's getting the hang of baby wearing (actually typing this with Elliot in the Moby wrap). Soon we'll have him going everywhere with us. It will definitely be an interesting adventure farming with a babe!

Cloth Diapers (flat fold)

What real eggs should look like

Eggs should not all be uniform in size, shape, and color. Heck some of our eggs come out round or in the shape of a football. It makes me wonder what those giant so called "free range" chicken farms with names like Hidden Pastures or Sunny Meadows are doing to those chickens. We reuse old egg cartons and I just love to read the marketing schemes on the cartons, farm fresh eggs, hand gathered, free roaming, and my favorite, fresh eggs. Funny how corporations come up with a down on the farm, home grown marketing scheme and most people fall for it. I would love for one of these big companies to use the method we use on our farm, which is come on out and see where your food comes from. I think most people would be appalled if they saw where their food actually came from and how it was handled. Peanut butter anyone?

If you haven't seen this video, this is how our chickens live.

Saving the Environment one baby at a time

It's a lot more work but well worth it to us. We bought cloth diapers and cloth noodle and bum wipes. We also got these great drying racks which Ryanne and Jay got for us at a thrift store. I don't think most parents realize that the average baby will go through 2,500 diapers. That's a lot of plastic going into the landfills. To be honest, the cloth diapers are not that much work once you get the hang of it Using the drying racks, the cloth diapers and wipes will save us around $5,000 over the time before we can toilet train. The savings is great but leaving a small carbon footprint on the environment is the most important thing.