We had a recovery day yesterday. The little chicks are all doing well. The badly hurt one may never walk properly again though. However she is getting herself to her food and drink and stays close to her company through the cage walls. Chooks are pretty tough. 
There was the gentle raking of the rained-on hay. With the wind it was drying back out nicely. 
Daisy dutifully waits at her gate morning and evening. Once I open the gate, she trots into the milking room. I still can’t get her to walk with that lazy roll like a real cow. She has a munch on various cow treats while I brush her, getting her used to the routine. I have taken to bumping a metal bowl and her brush around her udder so she gets used to clumsy working in that area. She has never been milked before and I have never milked before so I need her to learn to be patient with me. So far she has been. 
The grapes are setting but due to that miserable frost that killed off so much of the vine, we will not get a bumper crop. I need to prune back all the dead cane today, so we can grow some vigorous wood for next year. 
The bees got an A+. Both hives are growing nicely. They were busy with brood and honey and ignored me which was a bonus. Both of them have received a new super on top. So they have another layer. Swarming is an issue in the early summer. The first thing we can do to discourage swarming, when they make a new queen and then most of them fly away with her looking for a new home, is to make sure they have room to grow in the hive. I also need to be careful not to give them too much room, so there is a timing issue. Hence the new medium supers. However I think we have it right. Last year they swarmed in the last week of June, and everything is about three weeks ahead this year. 
Once again we cross our fingers. I don’t know how I get anything done with all this finger crossing! But it is informed finger crossing!!
Good morning. It was a bit windy and chilly yesterday. The wind was good for the drying hay though. The cool weather has been great for greens and we are eating huge salads with every meal. The strawberries are being picked daily and are so sweet and so tasty I can almost guarantee I will not make jam. Too much eating going on!!
It has dawned clear and still this morning. It will be a lovely day. This afternoon, when John gets home from work we will bale the grass hay down the back. Our John is dying to see the baler churning out good things to eat. We have never done this before either. The most important thing at this stage is to make sure the grass is dry. If you bale green hay and stack it, it heats up, like compost, and can internally combust! Burning down your barn. Or at the very least you will have moldy hay which is bad. As a kid we were involved in the hay making but I took absolutely no notice of the decisions our elders made of course. I can rake or line bales up really well though!
The land and the animals themselves are great teachers, once you learn to listen and actively experience your life. You read, ask questions, study, then jump in and just do it. It is then that I find out the real lessons. Fear of the jumping is the only thing that can stop us learning the real lessons. And most importantly I have to keep my eyes wide open so I do learn as I go along.
Have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
71 responses to “Learning Lessons from The Farm”
I hope your first baling experience goes better than ours; we kind of blew up the baler a little bit because we forgot to loosen it up enough after the first bale came out 🙂 I hope you get lots of good bales today.
oops, well we know nothing so who knows what will happen!! c
I never miss your daily posts, but with my dad requiring a little extra TLC I fell behind! I’m getting caught up and my gosh! Too much has happened! I’m so sorry, and I get all that “circle of life” stuff, but I don’t have to like it! And it’s entirely too much to go through with a Marmite shortage! I think I’ve seen plenty on our shelves, or at least there was recently! You just say the word and I will send an emergency care package! I mean it! oxo Debra
The marmite crisi has been averted by my son who is sending me some and I think it is great that you are able to spend extra time with your Dad.. is he home from the hospital now?.. c
He was home, .but we’re back at the hospital! Maybe a little too soon! I’m sitting here now…with my quota of blog time and hospital internet restrictions! Thank you, Celi! Put me on back up if you need me begin hoarding Marmite! 🙂
they say that the factory will be back in production in October, but you never know, miserable about your dad but pneumonia is hard to throw off sometimes. (I hope i have that right) I can’t believe those silly internet estrictions though, i am not sure what it achieves! well take care, look after yourself too, you have an important role! c
Fear of the jumping…that’s what it always comes down to for me. I’m getting better at it though. 🙂
Hello…I’m a browsing reader, so I apologize if this isn’t your bee problem (the above seems to indicate you’re all better). I thought I’d share since I just saw this on my fb feed via eden farm and remember reading about your losses a while back. ~ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heather-pilatic/bee-kills-in-the-corn-bel_b_1520757.html Hope all is well on the farmy ~
The hives i inspected yesterday were the ones that still have bees in them. The problem one is completely empty so it is still a mystery. I have read about the corn killing them and truly hope that this is not the reason as every two years we are surrounded in corn! My only hope is the enormous flower garden I have so the bees can graze close to home.. but they are bees. they will go wherever they want to! Thank you for this link Angela. All info is always welcome..c
You and Daisy will be learning together. You girls will do just fine! It sounds like a lot of firsts coming up. It would appear you have learned much and are putting it to good use.
Have a nice weekend!
You take such good care of your animals. We’re about two months behind here weather-wise. 🙂
Your last paragraph is one of the best capsule statements of the lifelong learning process that I’ve seen anywhere. Just so. 🙂
xoxo