Peek Cuteness
You don’t have to be brave all the time. Seek refuge when you need it. We all deserve soft spots to land from time to time. — Chickie number 3
Here’s What’s Happening At Good Spirits Farm
The! Fall! Weather! Has! Arrived! Yesterday we went from 90 down to the 60s in a matter of hours. Boy was that a relief! Although I’m working to encourage more native grasses in our pastures, right now we mainly have fescue, which is a cool season grass. Fescue basically goes dormant in July and August, but with the cooler weather, we should get one last growth spurt before winter. The race is on to stockpile as much grass as possible out in the fields. If we get good growth now I won’t have to feed too much hay!
This weekend the rest of the fall garden needs to go in, and the dead summer plants need to come out. I’ll pull as many weeds as I can and sow our winter cover crop, a mix of winter wheat, daikon radishes, and winter peas. These crops will hold the soil in place over the winter (though the daikon works to break up compacted soil). Next year, I’ll mow the vegetation they produce down and let it act as mulch on top of the soil. Eventually, it will compost down and make the topsoil even richer.
I thought I had a buyer lined up for my three steers (male cows that have been castrated), which would have lowered my workload this winter…but they backed out. So, now I need to decide whether I’ll continue to grow these guys out and then offer them for sale as beef shares, or if I’ll try to find another home for them. Farming is truly just endless decision-making!
(They’re cute, but they’re also lots of work!)
Here’s What I Loved This Week
This recipe for Pane Bianco, a savory stuffed bread from King Arthur. I swap the chopped basil for a light smear of pesto, but otherwise, it’s perfect as written. I often bring this to picnics, and it always goes fast!