Farm Blog

Stories from the heart of Hawthorn Farm.

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Bigger is Bigger

Do Unto Ponies

Caught Up... To What?

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Did Freya the Goat Discover Perpetual Motion?

When I go to milk the goats, sometimes one teat is emptier than the other. It's rarely the same side on the same goat. I'm suspicious. ...

At Least Everyone's Feet Stayed On

The ponies tolerated my attempt at plowing the front yard. It was a big pull through tough sod in tight quarters. Chiara handled the pl...

Steam Punk Hoophouse

Or is it Steam Gunk? Our compost-heated hoophouse is visibly warmer than the spring morning air. I love messing about in the mists of mi...

Farming, Finances, Freedom

Along with soil and goat milking, I think about property taxes. Should I ask the county for help in preserving this place as farmland? ...

Love, Pain, and a Five-sweep Cultivator

Pony-powered farm update: During the last sunny stretch, the team pulled my new cultivator at the rented farmland. Duke and Dolly were r...

Chicken Milk Soap!

Years ago, Paul Wheaton of Permies.com asked if he could film my chicken butchering process. Little did I know this video would propel m...

Ponies at work

I put out the bat call on Sunday afternoon. "Would love some help with the ponies as I hitch them to a stoneboat for the first time!" Ke...

Where's My Toothbrush?

What do great horned owls, tiny goats, and a toothbrush all have in common? They conspired to test my dedication to oral hygiene, aided ...

Goat Births in Four Acts

Prologue: A dozen people had asked me to alert them when the goats were giving birth. Did they really want to see a birth? Just know wh...

The Kids and Mama Maple

I took the 5-year-olds to the big-leaf maple where Bob put in 4 spiles last week. We get several gallons of sap a day, and the sunny aft...

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