Recent Happenings on the "Fram"

 

This photo was taken a bit earlier in the season, but the sunflowers have been lovely...we are now drying the seeds for harvesting.

 Our pigs!  Meet Krupke and Munsen.

Pretzels treeing her chicks.  Pretzels came back to live at Ironwood when family friends had to move out of the area.  She is settling in nicely...

The kids had friends over and were most helpful loading hay bales onto the trailer...

Our dog (Jack) helped too...

We were solar cooking fools in the heat of summer!  The menu included flan, fritata, apple bread, and pictured here, banana bread.

A visitor...

Our new calf, Indie!  This was taken July 5th, the morning after she was born--hence the name "Independence".  

Birthday Party at Ironwood Farm

This past Saturday, the annual spring party, for Chris' and Scotty's birthday was held.  As always, a wonderful time was had by all. 

 There was delicious food 

A farm-style slip-n-slide

with a pool at the bottom, 
 

wagon rides with Scotty driving the tractor

Eliza with a red-sided garter snake found at the farm, and later released.

ducklings

bucket rides into the mine shaft

with Scotty operating the hoist

water play in the sand pit

rides on the dirt bike

hanging out in the garage

Road Building

For years, we've needed a road between the houses at Ironwood Farm.  We're putting in a road now. 

 Through the boneyard
 

 Moving the boiler out of the way
 

The road is finished. 

 

Early May on the Farm

Baby lambs

New laying hen chicks.....

Kids swimming in the stock pool

In the greenhouse....

Corn knee-high by the first of May .....

bunching onions....

Aquaponics....

More Bees

Recently we had a swarm of bees on a peach tree here at the farm. 

I decided to lop off the whole branch and put the bees into an empty hive.

Here it is after I cut the branch from the tree.

After I cut the branch I carefully lowered the whole thing into the hive.

I left the hive there for the rest of the day so that any remaining bees could find their way inside, then moved it over to our place that evening. The next day I pulled out the rest of the branch and let them make themselves at home.

College Students Visit

In March, a group of college students from Eckerd College, in Florida, visited Ironwood Farm as a service trip.

in the house, getting the tour

Putting in a culvert for the new road across the ditch.

Adobe Floor Workshop

On the weekend of March 24th, with the help of some interns from WWOOF (wwoofers) an adobe floor was installed in the garage area of the workshop building behind the house.

Permaculture Institute 2012 Class

In March, Ironwood Farm hosted the Appropriate Technology Field Trip, as part of a weekend course offered by the Permaculture Institute, taught by Scott Pittman. Chris conducted a tour of the farm and house and discussions about aquaculture and pasture farming.