The Farm in May
It's such a beautiful day in May, I thought I'd do a walk around and give you a glimpse of what's going on at the farm.
The chicks have grown by about 400%. As you can see, their feathers are taking on more colors and patterning. We can now easily pick out the breeds.
In the middle of the above photo, you can see the grey "mystery" chick. She has feathers covering her feet as well, so at this point I'm going to take a guess at Blue Cochin?!?
We moved the chicks to an enclosed outdoor coop within the adults' area. They'll need to be bigger before we can mix the new with the old, but this gives them a chance to acclimate with each other. The outdoor coop affords the chicks the opportunity to try out their chicken skills of flying, roosting, dusting, and foraging. Happy chicks!
Jill's three babies are as cute as they can be. They are weaned and will be moving to their new home in Florence in a couple weeks. We will miss their sweet little personalities.
Lily's baby girl has retained her striking coloration - we call her Foxy.
Lily's other baby girl, Frosty, has more of the all white coloration of a Saanen. As you can see, all the babies love to get IN the hay manger to eat!
We started milking about 2 weeks ago. Cheese making starts today!
The lettuce for the most part is done until Fall, it's just too hot here in SC. But, the broccoli is coming . . . I see broccoli salad in the near future!
The kitchen herb garden is lush, above is fennel and garlic chives with mint, oregano, and rosemary in the background. The title photo shows lavender and sage. There's also basil, parsley, celeriac, and thyme.
I love the long lasting seasonal color of annuals. I have tried to plant annuals that reseed so as to save the time and expense of buying and planting new each year. Yes, there is the occasional thinning and "weeding" from unwanted places, but so worth it! Above are returning periwinkles. I also have old-fashioned balsams which provide pinks and purples.
Speaking of reseeding, the cosmos (above) and marigolds are reappearing in the dye garden.
As well, the perennial dye plants are awakening from their winter slumber - hibiscus (above), madder, Lady's Bed Straw, and St. John's Wort.
The farm is a vibrant place these May days. I hope you enjoyed the tour!
