We hope everyone had a very lovely Independence Day. Here at the farm it was very ducky. Literally. Glenn’s parents arrived for some holiday barbeque with some feathered friends in tow. The first was a small flock of laying ducks.
I believe the brown ones are Dark Campbell and the black Cayuga. I’m particularly hopeful of the latter, because Cayuga’s lay coal black eggs at the beginning of the season, that slowly go grey, then white. What novelty! They’re happily hanging out in Duck Land with the meat birds at the moment as they are of similar age. However, once they mature, we’ll integrate them with our other laying ducks.
The other new arrival was this handsome Muscovy drake. A neighbor had a pair, but the female was killed by dogs. He had an interesting afternoon meeting all the chickens and turkeys. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Pekins, but I’m sure they’ll get along famously as soon as he settles in.
The white crested duck is looking pretty fancy as well. Still not positive if it’s male or female, but I would put money on it turning out to be a drake.
This week is the second week of the CSA. I did some weeding over the weekend and am happy with the progress of the vegetables. There greens are abundant, there are lots of summer squashes and zucchinis nearly ready and there are lots of tomatoes in the works! Potatoes are thriving, onions are looking great and we’re already harvesting full sized garlic heads. Melons are slow going, but the recent rain coupled by some heat and humidity will really help them take off!
Don’t forget, this Sunday, 7/8, is the first of the scheduled hay rides so make your reservations today! (You can just show up, but reservations guarantee you a seat.) Rides are at 11AM, 2PM and 4PM and cost $10 for adults and $7 for youths 4-14. The weather is looking great and we can’t wait!
