Susitna Farm & Fiber: Woodside Gardens

Showing posts with label Woodside Gardens. Show all posts

Friday, August 8, 2014

August happenings...

Summer is humming along here at the farm! The geese and the chickens have gotten through their introductions without a single feather plucked, but there are feathers EVERYWHERE as Herdie and Gerdie go through their annual molt. The gardens are doing wonderful, with lots of veggies being harvested, despite the onslaught of slugs that we are battling! The fall garden has been planted and the seedlings seem much happier than they did when planted in the wonky spring we had this year... here's hoping for a fantastic second harvest!

Molting season makes for itchy new feathers!

Fall garden preparations!

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

A successful first hatch...

I have had my two Toulouse geese, Herdie and Gerdie, for a little over a year now. They are beautiful birds which have provided us with entertainment, compost amendments, and of course, eggs! We have enjoyed the fresh eggs immensely, and this year I was able to sell some of them to cover the cost of the goose food (which really does not cost much at all). Geese do not lay all year like chickens can, instead having a breeding season in the spring like many wild birds tend to do, so the eggs are a real treat.

Last month, towards the end of the season, I decided to let Gerdie hatch some goslings. She was getting increasingly desperate when I took eggs from the nest, and it is, after all, what comes naturally to her. All went well, smooth and uneventful, and seven goslings made it! It was great to have her sit on the nest, eliminating the need for constant monitoring and attention like an incubator can require, but the most wonderful thing about this experience was that my 5 year old daughter and my 10 year old son got to watch something so amazing. They observed the eggs as they hatched, helped me tend to the babies, learned a lot, got a bit emotional, and are looking forward to doing it again next year!

Here's a few pictures of our experience!

Thursday, June 19, 2014

June in the garden...

The frost is no longer a danger, the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and Gerdie is sitting on 9 eggs! So many things are springing to life around here that I thought I would share a few more pictures with you guys!

The flowers are blooming...