Monday, July 19, 2010

SUMMER TIME!

Ahhh, Summer time and the living is easy...Well, not quite. When you live on a farm life takes on a whole new meaning, time seems to fly right past you and you don't even know it- I can't believe it was March when I last posted! I just finished a farm tour of about 12; 7 children and 6 adults. It was nice watching the kids chase our chickens around the pen, they all laughed when the chickens tried to fly. They met our baby goat, Jerimiah, and fawned over how friendly and adorable he is. We also had a cheese making class last weekend of around 20 adults, including my Mom, Aunt, and some of my Aunt's friends. My daughter Brianna's new lab pup is settling in nicely, and today they swam in the back pond together. His name is Sawyer.
Our milking cow Gracie is giving 5-6 gallons a day, and at the moment we have no clue WHAT to do with it all. Lately I've been making Chevre, Baguettes, Mozzarella, Butter, Cream Cheese, Cottage Cheese and Ice Cream! Our chickens are doing well in laying production and our goats are as happy as ever, you could say things are going wonderfully.
-Besides this ridiculously warm weather of course.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

An Unconventional Farmer in the 21st Century



It's day break and the sun is coming up over the ridge, it's a clear and crisp 22 this morning. I don't think it even made it to 42 yesterday. Yesterday the whole day was cold and windy not a great day to be outside digging beds. So instead I spent the morning feeding the animals and getting ready to go to the ag show.


As I spent time meandering through the booths and visiting with the local residents who just happen to be my neighbors at the ag show, I had to stop a moment and think. It started as I attended a panel discussion on farming in the 21st century. There happened to be a young woman there who had written a book, her name is Lisa Hamilton and her book is called "Deeply Rooted", unconventional farmers in the age of agribusiness. She herself does not farm, she realized some time ago just how hard and exactly what it took to farm. So instead she writes about it and tells farmers stories.

I didn't get a chance to attend her earlier talk but showed up for the panel discussion with other farmers. As the discussion proceeded one of the older farmers, a gentleman who farms beans, stated "I come from a line of farmers, my father, my fathers father, have all worked the land." As I listened to his story and mulled over what he had to say, I couldn't help but think, I don't come from a line of farmers, and I am not a man, my father was not a farmer. When my daughter grows up, she'll say, "My Mother was a farmer" my grandchildren will say, "Nana was a farmer".

It appears I have achieved the status of the Ultimate Unconventional Farmer in the 21st Century. In 1998 a study was taken by the FDA and 9% of farms were run by women, the organic movement had a somewhat higher percentage of 21%. For a women of Hispanic descent the stats get a lot smaller and are almost non-existent. It appears women in farming and agriculture are very few and far between yet nestled here in the Four Corners area of Colorado I look around and see a few. You have Holly who runs Napier Farms, Judy and her daughter, Heidi, who have Rowher Farm, and then myself and my daughter Brianna own Dragonfly Farm. We all run our own Farm and handle most everything on it. Small operations trying to make our living and living off our land. We are all different with different ideas and farming experience but are all working towards the same goal.



It takes a lot to farm and it is not something for the weak of heart. It is never ending the things that need to be fixed or have to be built and it seems to grow by the minute. There is no time off especially when you own animals because you can't just leave them for a trip or vacation. It takes a dedication, a huge commitment to a certain lifestyle but I think it is well worth it. I have no regrets and I would not change it for anything. It's cold sometimes, hot sometimes, rainy, windy, snowing but when I go outside and look to what I have accomplished myself it is all worth it. I come from a good line of hard working women.


So as I go about my day feeding chickens, moving baby chicks to a new area, feeding and watering the milking goats, watering the greenhouse, I can stop and thank the Lord for my simple success. I am a small farmer in the 21st century who just happens to come from a line of beautifully rich, dark, women of Hispanic origins. They taught me the meaning of hard work, the meaning of family, and showed me how to think outside the box. They gave me a sense of who I am by just letting them be who they were. These are the women I come from, the women who showed me how to make tortillas, tamales, and who I share a common bond with; FAMILY .

Friday, March 19, 2010

March Planting in Colorado


It's been a great week this week; we started with snow and seem to be ending with snow. I'm happy we have had a few days of nice sunshine and 50-59 degree weather, it was beautiful. I'm glad this cloudy weather is today, that way I can head on out to the AG expo without wasting my sunshine.

We were able to get a bed dug this week which is great. It seems to take us at least a day a bed for a 5-10 or 20 area. Deep digging is a lot of work but we are hoping with our lousy soil that it pays off. It requires you to dig a 1 foot trench and then loosen the soil down another foot which becomes extremely difficult in our rocky little enclave. This is what takes us so long to dig the bed which I think normally we could get done a lot earlier if not for the rock we have to deal with after the 1 foot initial trench. The picture I borrowed just to give an example of what it looks like. I need batteries for the camera then we can show you exactly what it looks like.

Dad and I finished the inside chicken brooder area that the baby chicks can go into after they come out of the brooder. We have a lot of work to do on the coop this year as it has been leaking this winter. It could be that we just had so much snow but I want to make sure next year even if we have as much snow it stays drier. Those little ladies are the life blood of the farm as they are now producing about 4 dozen eggs a day. These eggs travel down to the local community grocery stores and are able to be purchased throughout the winter by our local community. No carbon footprint there being they travel a very close distance from the farm to the local store. Sometimes the mornings eggs are that afternoon on the shelf's, you can't beat that for fresh! Currently the little ladies supply Dolores Food Market, Zuma Natural Foods, and Let it grow Nursery.

CSA is still going well and I have bene making my deliveries to Durango weekly, thanks to my steady customer base I survived winter. Some of the days were nasty but all and all it was a great winter and my first winter CSA year. Thank you my Durango Customers for your support and continued interest in our farming endeavours.




-Teresa

Friday, March 12, 2010

Sunny Sunny Sunny


What a glorious morning! It has been two days now that we have been blessed with wonderfully sunny weather. It's nice and crisp this morning coming in at about 20 degrees with the blanket of snow still covering my planting beds. There appears to be some areas up by the greenhouse that can more than likely be dug today and covered before the next storm sets in.

In Colorado during the spring it can be a constant battle or rhythm with nature to get your planting in. I would like to look at it as a balanced rhythm she gives a little I get a little. A constant reminder of how I am not in control of every aspect of life. I guess this could be somewhat unsettling for some but for me I am reminded that I don't need to be in control of everything. Let go sometimes and just let God.

Patience is the virtue that is always needed when you become a cultivator of the land. You can sometimes feel the pressure of wanting to get everything in so you can get to the market just a tad early. It's the patience that should win out in the long run because it is just that you need when those early beds you coddled freeze in June.

So, as I look towards the day today I am thankful that I have been blessed with much. I am going to plan my day keeping in mind the few days I have before the next series of storms hit. I am going to say a little prayer that I can get what I need to get done in between those breaks and enjoy my life as a farmer.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Pea Planting anytime soon?



So I wake up this morning ready to face the day and look at digging my next deep dug bed to find it snowing. Not just a little drizzle of snow a full fledge storm, so I turn on the news to find out what it states and sure enough. WINTER STORM hitting the 4 Corners area. Just when I thought it was safe to go in the water and dig my beds I have been snookered.

Needless to say it does not appear that much pea planting will be done this week. Truly farming in Colorado is it's own unique experience. I guess I will make some soap and cheese this week. Those are always good things to do during our winter snow events.

As soon as spring starts to hit the air it feels time is a wasting. It is interesting I spend winter in somewhat of a languid relaxed state and then as soon as it gets somewhat warm I start to panic. Happens every year like clock work, I keep thinking I have to do this, I have to do that.

So this evening I have Brianna making brownies for us as we discuss the meaning of from scratch or homemade. She is really determined to make things from scratch and not from that lousy box of brownies. Actually it was pretty entertaining to listen to her expound on the homemade versus from scratch methods of cooking.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Cheese Making Room


It is spring and the time for new ideas, so I have been mulling over the idea of a separate cheese making room. I am still in the planning and contemplating mode but I have almost decided the expense would be worth it. Here in Southwest Colorado in my area there is not one for miles only in Durango. Cheese is a big item at the market and it has a fairly good profit ratio especially since I use my own goats milk. I have already filled out all of my information for the Raw Milk Association of Colorado and the state filed paper work for the Raw Milk statement. Which makes me good to go as a raw milk dairy using herd shares. To take the step further into cheese making I need a separate facility to process. It looks like I don't really need too much equipment to process on a small scale but I do need the facility. I had been thinking of converting the garage area to this type of room but wondering if that is the most cost effective way to go or if I should just build and plumb out a new structure. I need to make sure I go with the best but most cost effective idea in order for it to pass Paul's (husbands) inspection. If it does not he will veto the idea....

Friday, March 5, 2010

Spring Time is here


I was thanking my Lord yesterday for spring time and then the fickleness of a Colorado spring started rearing it's ugly head. It had been nice the past couple of days and had been drying up, when all of a sudden I wake up this morning to a light dusting of snow. I have to say I am not happy. I had my whole day set to deep dig some upper beds even though it was still a little wet, but my day has since changed.

Lately I had been planning on getting some soap making done and such, so looks like my agenda has changed. Wait, wait it looks like the sun is breaking through the morning and maybe just maybe it might clear up. I can only hope.

I have a few deliveries to do today not too much but I should finish up early enough to have a little time this evening to plan my work for next week. We also need to start more seedlings for April planting, tomatoes, brocoli, leeks, and others can be started now for planting in the GH in April. Busy Busy Busy once spring hits there is no slowing down for us.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Monday Morning Rush

It seems a life time ago I worried about that morning morning rush to get dressed, ready and out the door for my Monday morning comute. I would spend countless hours getting to and from work and my whole day would be wrapped up in this one pursuit. Everything would evolve around the driving, preparing, and returning from my one and only goal work. Wow, have things changed since then, I no longer spend all my time getting ready and driving to work. Oh don't get me wrong I still spend a lot of time working but its no longer the commute.

It is a simpler lifestyle, time goes by with the seasons as this is my clock. I love being able to be home with my daughter and enjoying the time I spend with her. She is the last one in my house and is growing up so soon. I love being able to sit and drink my coffee without rushing to get dressed so I can be out the door to get on the freeway. I love being able to sit down and take some time out for a little prayer anytime I want too. I think most of all I just love being out of all the day in day out cycle of work drama. The highlight of my drama on the farm is when a new baby goat is born or when being a toddler their head gets stuck in the fence. It's pretty simple here but what a blessing. After being in both worlds I would not trade mine for anything. I no longer need to worry about matching bags, shoes ect not that I really ever did but the goats really don't care if I am in my pajama's to milk them. The only thing I worry about now is keeping warm in the winter and that can be a job in itself, especially since it started snowing again.
02/21/2010
Sunday Morning and the snow has not stopped coming down and quite frankly I am beginning to wonder if we shall every see the ground. The branches on the trees are heavy with the white blanket covering them. They seem to be almost lying down as they bend to the weight of the snow. This week it started on Friday and has been coming down every since and looks like it will continue on until Monday. The house is cold today I am not burning wood because we have to cut more and have not had the time. The wood I have I am trying to keep for the evenings only, that way it will last a little bit and we don’t have to stress
Time off is almost over now as we work through the third week of February, yes snow is still on the ground but it’s marketing and seeding time. Funny, how it seems like I have not had any time off at all or at least not enough. I have been working on marketing all week long. Website is finally up and running yeah! www.dragonflyfamilyfarm.com. I have been working on it now for a few weeks and I am pretty happy so far. It was not to difficult so I am completely happy that it is almost finished.
It has been cold these past few days I think temps dropped down to single digit again. Its hard to think of planting when it is that cold but I don’t have a lot of time I really need to get on that. It’s so cold the chickens are laying so slow and I keep saying they better pick up or we are going to have chicken for dinner.
The last of my ladies are being bread now. Charlotte is visiting her boyfriend as we speak so she should kid in July as I have staggered most of my ladies to come in at different times. This will insure a lot longer milking cycle and a steady supply even in late winter when I have to milk in the cold. I am really going to try and get a milk barn done this year; I really need to focus on that.

Monday, February 15, 2010

2nd Week of February

Valentines Day


Its quiet this morning no one is awake yet, I love the stillness of everything as the sun breaks over the ridge. The only noises to be heard are outside, as I hear the rooster’s crow as they announce that morning is upon us to the farm. The house itself is quiet and a little cold, not even an ember is left of the evening’s fire. As I put on the mornings coffee I contemplate what the day has for me and take some time out to give thanks to my Lord for the great day that awaits me. It is a beautiful day today with the sun shining and bringing warmth to a cold Colorado, it is only about 21 degrees and this is not too bad for a February winter day in Colorado. It appears we will be blessed with sun for the rest of the week that means we should be able to start planting the greenhouse. I should be able to get in lettuce, greens, carrots, and maybe some Brussels sprouts this week, even with it still freezing those should be fine. I just line the beds with the heating cables for the soil and it raises the temperature a little. That is all the little seedlings need to get started and I cover them with a little agribon and they are good to go. I will uncover them in about a 3-4 weeks and then be presented with the miracles of growing undercover as I raise the covers in March to peek inside.
The chickens, these ladies are still slow in laying they are taking their sweet time to gear back up costing more and more money. What this means is when they usually take 4-6 months of feeding to lay one egg and then you add another 2-3 months in winter of no eggs your profit margin starts to look real thin. We shall see if we even break even this year between the cost of pullets, feed, cartons, and lighting I will be lucky if I do.
Goats will not be kidding until April so that is when our babies are due to arrive on the scene. I went over to my friend Vicki’s at “Weehavano Ranch” and she has new babies, one of her does gave birth to a beautiful male who looks to be the next sire. This beautiful young man is quite the male specimen and his markings are incredible he is going to grow up to be a very handsome buck. I am hoping for mostly females myself but we shall see what we come out with. I am not too sure I am ready to keep a buck and boy do they sure smell to high heaven when they are older.
Well it’s been about 2 weeks now and the website is up and running, it still needs some tweaking and a little cleaning up but all in all it looks great. I am happy with the website company who makes it fairly easy to start it. I managed to get a PayPal cart on there and now people can order our teas and such when they are away, I also added my herd share fees and initial start up on it too. I am trying to make it as convenient for people as possible and also drive a little more traffic to us with a web listing. Right now it is a work in progress and will take me a few more weeks to get it completely finished and looking like I want it. I am trying to place everything from our CSA shares to our pre-orders for hogs on it with access to receive payments on everything. Hopefully this will make bookkeeping a little easier being that it will track all payments on a weekly basis.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

First week of February


February and winter still has a grip on southwest Colorado. It’s snowing this morning as it has almost every week these last few weeks. As I look out the window I can see the heavy wet flakes coming down almost like rain. It’s creating a nice white blanket that I am sure I won’t uncover until spring when the sun starts to heat up our winter white farm.
The goats are non to happy as they do not like to venture out into any inclimate weather. If a slight drop of rain hits the roof they are in the barn running for cover. We laugh and say how they are fair weather goats. This all changes of course when the food bowl is filled if this happens when there is a blizzard going they will be out in a second knocking each other out of the way to get to it.
The chickens I am struggling with this winter it seems I am lucky if a get a couple of eggs from them lately. It seems between the cold and the less light they have quit laying and now to boost them back up is a struggle. They are costing me a pretty penny especially after I feed them all year not to be laying.
Its way past time to sit down and get our planting organized and I need to do that this week. I have been occupied with facebook lately my new little winter game but I need to break this as spring is coming quick. We have some of our planting mapped out already and this week Brianna and I need to work in the greenhouse. We should get on turning those beds in there and hopefully we have eliminated the problems we had last year with white flies by freezing it out.
I am going to start seedlings this week for lettuce and such that can pretty much almost go into the greenhouse. Lettuce is a hardy crop that can grow during winter here in Colorado. One of our neighbor farmers usually can grow it all winter with maybe only a 2-4 week slow period. She has really got the 4 season winter greenhouse down to a science.

Now that it is February I have to start getting a routine going, so it off the facebook for me and we have started our hard cheeses, soaps, and teas so that we will be ready when market arrives. This year we should have quite alot going on and we need to make it as sustainable and as cost controlled as possible. We need a new milking barn but that will have to wait until mid summer so we have the funds for it. First thing we are going to start this spring is the new raised beds all along the greenhouse and that should eat up money relatively quickly. Lots of planning goes into a small working farm. You can very easily go broke without it.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Winter In Colorado


We are in the middle of our beautiful Colorado winter. It has now been snowing all week long pretty much non-stop. It's a quiet time now for us as we only have the goats and chickens to take care of. The green house is now frozen and hopefully it will kill all the white flies that were in there right before Christmas.

Winter is a reflection time for us here, we spend the days reviewing just how blessed we were this last season. Taking the time to see what went right and what went wrong and on ways we can improve our little piece of Heaven on earth. It seems the seasons go and come for us so fast when you live by them. Before you know it I am getting ready to order seeds and we have already plotted out some of our planting areas. We decided this year we are going to add more raised beds outside the green house as these are easier for us to manage.

As the days now grow longer, I think my quiet time will soon come to an end. I am so fortunate in what I have been blessed with. The time to work hard and the ability to do it and then the time to take a rest and allow my soul to spend time in some quiet reflection. I firmly believe we really need this time and I am so thankful I have it. As winter has it's firm grip on my land I am happy to enjoy the thoughts and musings of spring.