Amateur Ornithology Disguised as Phrenology

Hey There !

Dave from McElhoes Family Farm/Belmont here.

My oh my. An awful lot has happened since the last newsletter. In the roller coaster that is March, we have had sunshine and snow. I have started, paused, and restarted long overdue pruning and cutting in the orchard, I have discovered more deer, rabbit and vole damage than I expected, and battled with ice and mud - sometimes on the same day.

But still the steady "march" into Spring continues. Last week, our landscape cleaning crew - the buzzards - returned to begin their duties, and this week the red winged blackbirds are loudly proclaiming their claims to last year's cattails. In the corn stubble the geese are feeding on gleanings or gathering on the sandbars on the river to gossip. In at least two nests I have seen bald eagles sitting, likewise, the bluebirds are busy building in the boxes in our orchard.

Also in the orchard, among the peaches and the apples and the pears, I see subtle swelling in the buds, and a bit of green lurks just beneath the bark of the elderberries, raspberries and blackberries. Soon Katie's egg laying flock will begin their bug patrol here, with the added fertilizer just a bonus.

Ok, back to work... Our limited supply of lambs are sold out for the year. Thank You so much to those who have reserved theirs, and thanks too, to those who missed out for their patience. We are still building back our flock, and hope to be back up to our full supply in another year or two.

As I am typing this I just received notice that I can have dibs on a few chicks for our Gourmet Country Chickens but just for the next few days. These birds would be ready about mid June. I haven't yet ordered any because of the uncertainty of supplies lately. If you are interested please email mail me directly ASAP so I see if we can meet the order deadlines.

Thank You for Your continued support,

Dave