May 2025
The cooler temperatures and repeated days of torrential rain has made for a bumpy start of the season. The continual downpours have made it impossible to get in the cornfield to prepare it for planting. The egg production has decreased as the chickens spend most of their time hunkered down in the barn and less time outside. And some of the seeds we planted early did not survive the multiple rounds of record rainfall. Still, the increased days of sunlight and the promise of warmer days keeps us optimistic. Farming is a wonderful metaphor for life. There are many things we cannot control (like the weather), but each seed we plant contains a promise of hope. As long as we keep planting the seeds, something is bound to grow!
We have a roo! Every spring, farmers across the country are playing a game called “hen or roo?” Sometimes you can tell if a chick will be male or female by the shape of their hackles or by their tail. Of course, one of the tell-tale signs is the traditional crowing of the rooster. At only 8 weeks, which is a little early but not uncommon, we were greeted at the barn one morning with a feeble attempt at a first crow! We have only had 2 roosters before, and it was the same breed…Ameraucanas. These breeds are notoriously difficult to sex, even for experts with years of training. It does appear that Henry (previously, somewhat optimistically, called Henrietta) will be our only roo. We will have to keep an eye on him to see how aggressive he will be. Hopefully he will behave himself enough to not have to be separated from the rest of the flock.
Swarm season is officially underway! Although it started late due to the cold & rainy weather, we have been able to catch 4 swarms so far this year. This allows us to replace the 3 hives we lost this winter and go into the season with one extra. While the swarm activity is dying down somewhat, we are hoping to catch at least one more. Swarms are vital to the growth and success of our apiary, and a great way to take advantage of natural splits. Learn more about swarms and what it takes to catch them on our Beekeeper’s Corner page.
Scapes are being harvested! While our spring crops have been struggling due to the weather, our garlic is growing strong. Planted back in October, they have been sleeping undergrown and began to pop up in March. We have had to cover them to keep them warm on several freezing nights, but they survived and are now very tall. They all now have “scapes,” which are the flower stalk of the plant. They grow straight out of the center of the plant, and will curl around itself one or two times before they are ready to harvest. While it is not necessary to harvest the scapes, it does allow the energy of the plant to go directly to the bulb. Scapes also have a fantastic flavor, and are great to cook with. You can saute’ them, make pesto, or use them in many different ways! We will sell our scapes and also the pesto we make from them. A delicious start to the growing season!
Another shearing day has come and gone! Once a year, usually in May, the amazing shearers from Alpine Shearing come to the farm and take care of our boys. There are three different grades of fleece: the blanket, the seconds & the thirds. The blanket is the prime fleece, and it is what we spin into yarn. We will skirt the fleece, picking out debris, and send it to the mill to process into roving. The yarn is then hand-spun from this roving. The seconds are a slightly lesser quality, but is still usable. Our dryer balls and felted soap are made from the seconds. The thirds are mostly scrap fleece. It is not up to our standards to use in anything we felt, and we are exploring other uses for it. Many people put it in their gardens as a natural way to cut down on weeds. Or use it as filling for bird houses. Many more creative people than us have discovered things to make with the thirds. They boys all look so funny with their fleece gone, but they feel a lot better. Since alpaca fleece is many times warmer than wool, they get hot quickly when it is at its thickest. This makes harvesting the fleece not only necessary for fiber production but also critical for the health and welfare of the animal. Colder locations may be able shear their alpacas every other year, but in the hot & humid days of a SW Ohio summer it is vital that this is an annual spring event! You can learn the entire process of how we turn wool into neck cozies & other items on our Fiber Arts page.
Make sure to check back as more exciting things are coming to the Happy farm! You can check out all the items we have for sale by visiting our Products Page. And make sure to follow us on Facebook.
Remember—Life is short…live happy!