Trying to play catch up

So much has been going on here on the farm

We have been so busy here at Cranberry Acre. I have been so busy with the garden, sewing, making bird feeders, and taking care of the family. Memorial Day was amazing for me, we sold out of of almost everything, but it means more work and trying to play catch up. It's all in a days work!

Our herb bed was not looking good so I decided to get rid of it and plant some more beans and cucumbers. This was 2 weeks ago and are growing like champs.

This was the pumpkin patch we had planted 2 weeks ago. We took all the starts and were able to plant them here. They now look like this!

They are now monsters and are getting ready to grow on the pallet fence.

We decided against those nasty tomato cages and went with 2x1's for support. This was also 2 weeks ago

They now look like this!!!

It is so amazing how fast they grow.

We now have little yellow squash that are growing. I can not wait to harvest them for the grill.

Flowers, flowers everywhere!!! I love this time of year when all the flowers are in full bloom.

At the end of May we were hit with a hard loss. Our Farm Cat of 13 years was killed by our next door neighbors dog. Ms. Pico never left our yard and never wandered far and 3 days before Memorial Day she was put to sleep due to her injuries. It was one of the hardest things for me to control my anger because this dog had come to my house to kill our cat. She is now buried near our family dog and I do hope she is peaceful catching mice in heaven.

Mr. Bayne is still our mighty hunter but has now found a new enemy outside......

Larry and Curly hate Mr. Bayne! I do not know what was said between the 3 of them but they will not let him in the pasture anymore. Which has allowed me to put bird food in my feeders in the Orchard.

I now get to watch the birds loving on the feeders I make, instead of looking at yard art!!

I have a new camera and now have been able to sneak up on Lovey duck from afar and take pictures of bath time.

There is nothing like the happiness of a duck after her morning bath. You can hear her through walls.

But there is nothing as sweet as a girl and her duck, at least that is my opinion.

Fudge is still gimping around but seems to be doing a lot better with it and doesn't limp as much.

We have all decided that Ms. Puffy Cheeks, scuttles around the pasture like Charlie Chapman, so we have nick named her Charlie Puff. She thinks we are nuts when we shuffle behind her but we can't resist.

My handsome boy....eating bark!

So how does a one honed goat roll over?

Well glad you asked because here is Jojo rolling over. Almost looks like a seizure, but it's not. 

Almost there......

and we are up!

Proof that no matter what species you are.....brothers and sisters will always fight.

Crazy goats!

My willow tree is not going to make it. They love trees and it doesn't matter what you give them, if there is a tree in the pasture they will eat it.

Ms. Chocolate

Ms. Chocolate eating her favorite, white clover.

Today I was given the most beautiful chandelier. I do not know what it will be but it's sooooo pretty!!!

Well I hope I have caught up with most everything going on here at Cranberry Acre. I think Ms. Kiwi says it best with this picture.... Good night everyone and sleep tight!

Cranberry Acre will be at the Farmer's Market in Independence, VA and also Wytheville VA. Please check for times on our Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cranberry-Acre/659533780774843

Happy Memorial Day

Work on the Farm

Hard to believe that Memorial Day is upon us. Here at Cranberry Acre it is a busy time of year. We are trying to get gardens in and get projects started. Also we are busy creating new items for our business to take to the Farmer's Market and to local craft shows. Just a busy time for all and Memorial Day I will be at a local Flea Market for the first time, so we will be very busy ( Fingers crossed )

Cranberry Acre has gone through some changes on the lay out of our garden. We moved the old garden fence and made the garden space smaller for us. For Mother's Day we planted the garden. I have been so busy that I hadn't stopped to plant one thing, so we took the day to do just that.

The old cold frame has now become our new Pumpkin bed. We laid new compost out on the bed and then planted the seeds in pots. Once our pumpkins have thrown their 2nd sets of leaves we will cultivate the compost into the soil and plant our soon to be pumpkin jungle!

It has only been a week and we already have pumpkins growing in their pots. The weather here has been hot and humid, so the plants love it.

My sunflowers and

Green beans are also coming in. Spring is here and we are loving it.

My peach tree did not have any fruit at all this year but from the looks of things, my Gala apple tree is going to give us a bunch of fruit. Will be canning a lot this year. Which is a good thing.

My Sage plant is also blooming and looking oh so pretty. I love these flowers and so do the little Humming birds. I haven't been able to catch them on film but they are out there every morning enjoying the Sage plant.

My husband built me just outside the garden and along the fence, flower boxes for my wild flowers, so I relocated a very neglected rose to the box in hopes that it may try to survive. Crossing my fingers, since this is the rose my sister gave me around 4 years ago.

Along with Mother's Day garden came a fire pit in the orchard!! I can't wait to spend some nights by this fire pit with friends. Now we do not have to worry about the goats trying to be a part of the party and eating chips from the table!

What is so special about the Orchard space are the birds. Now that the trees are big and the cat has decided it's not worth the guineas chasing him to get to the Orchard, we have birds. This year we have 2 juvenile Robins that are sticking around. They have been fun to watch.

We also have a pair of Bluebirds that have a nest in our nest box, so excited because every year the Sparrows kick them out, but this year they picked a different box and have left the Bluebirds alone.

During the rain storm I got stuck out in the Orchard so I hide under my grapevine while, 

A Sparrow ate Supper and watched the rain from the feeder. Once the rain let up we both went to our homes.

My girls decided the rain was okay for them to wander and catch worms, but Curly Butt,

was really more interested in why I was in the rain.

Goats of course were in the barn while it rained. You would think it was snowing again with the way the cried and ran to the barn.

Little Ms. Coal, well she has become a little broody since her sister was eaten by that nasty Coon. She now will fluff 2 sizes when she does decide to leave the nest. Looks like a fluffy hot air balloon.

This week I took part with Old Timey School Days at "The Matthews Living Farm Museum. I love being there on the Farm with the kids and teaching them about things they may not have a chance to even know about. Like making clothes, shearing sheep, horse drawn plows, etc. Just a fun experience. 

This year I was in the cabin with some ladies from the Fiber guild talking about fiber and clothing from that time period.

Oh a new project that came to life. A new bird house made from an old tea pot, barn wood and some tin! Love getting ideas out of my head and into a new product that I can touch. My husband has the know how to get it from idea to actual object. I don't know enough about the tools to imagine where to start, so he works with me on the brain storm to make it happen. Team work is a great thing!

Cranberry Acre has a new handbag for 2015. It's neat because you can hold it like this or

hook it to the D rings below to make this!

Loving this new design and it is now available on my Etsy store and "Things for Sale page"

This weekend I will be in Hillsville, Friday through Monday, at the Memorial Day Flea Market and the next Friday I will be at the Independence Farmer's Market. Come on by and say hello would love to see you.