To Everything There is a Season

Hey There !

Dave from McElhoes Family Farm/Belmont here.

This week has given some cooler temperatures and beautiful days. We have fallen into the summer routines that can sometimes make chores a drudge. Often, though, I find myself pausing and just silently taking in the beauty around me. A momentary stillness, an ease, an appreciation. We are simply stewards here, shepherds, nurturers, but we are not ever really in control.

The beginning of the year gave us supply issues that led to late starts on both our poultry and egg layers. The cold, wet spring did the same for our vegetables and fruits. The super dry and hot summer all but stopped the growth and regrowth of our grass - super important in our pasture based system.

But the late start also meant that the small, vulnerable chicks were not out on pasture in the cold and wet. Likewise, that cold and wet did allow the grass to get a good healthy start before the inevitable "summer slump". And the heat of summer dried the cut hay quickly.

This year, also, we have been experimenting with a new gardening technique. The difficult conditions helped us to demonstrate the value despite our neglect. Although the goats and sheep broke through the fence and ate much of the garden, we have had spectacular results from the few remaining plants. We have had plenty of tomatoes for our own use, as well as a decent amount to stock our fledgling farm stand. A tiny planting of summer squash, always an overachiever, has completely overwhelmed us. Peppers are still producing well even after they had their tops completely eaten off. A tiny row of green beans has given us more than we can eat, can or sell, and that after having the bottom leaves stripped up to about three feet high. All of these are with absolutely no watering at all. Without the drought, we would not have been as able to evaluate and would probably still be trying to perfect our irrigation.

So, I do apologize to those of you who were wanting poultry a little sooner. We had hoped to have it too. The smaller birds we have on offer so far are very flavorful. They are a bit small not because they are too young, but because the weather dictated it. The additional time we gave them helps to develop their flavor.

Our next batch of chickens is coming along well, but they still will not be ready for a few weeks. And we will not have our final batch probably until early October. Yikes, that is late for us, and inconvenient too. But the schedule is only partially up to us. We cannot rush them with sacrificing quality. The grocery store birds take half or less time, but we would rather do it right.

So I give thanks for the challenges, the successes and failures. Most especially, I give thanks to you for your patience and your patronage.

Thanks for listening,

Dave