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.

Dealing with loss

We didn't get them all

A few weeks ago we had captured our egg thief and released him in the woods far, far away. I should have known better but for what ever reason I did not set the trap again. Two days later I woke to the horror. Ms. Copper, one of our beloved Silkie chickens, decided that she was not coming in for bedtime, which was not uncommon for her. She loved being out when everyone was inside and would eventually go into the barn to roost. I usually would go out and catch her late at night to put her to bed, but again for whatever reason did not that night, thinking things would be as normal as they had been in the past. In this decision  came the death of Ms. Copper. We had another raccoon that had come in and chased her down and dragged her off. I was destroyed with guilt for not going out there like I had other nights. 

I wanted a dead raccoon! We set the trap and we did catch it but I did not kill it. Nature dictates the behavior of these animals, so really it was doing what it was born to do, so we released the coon where the other one was released. One of the hardest things for me not to kill this animal who hunted down my sweet bird, but it was the right thing to do.

I will miss that little fluffy butt and her oh so big bird attitude.

We also had a loss with our adopted guinea Ms. Red. She hadn't been feeling well and I thought she was egg bound. Brought her in and worked on her kept her separated her just in case from the flock. Ms. Red seemed to be doing better but we found her dead in her cage. This loss was a little easier but still hard. Living on a farm there is life and then there is death. It's hard for me to deal with but our children are very affected by it. They play with these animals and develop friendships with them, so losing them is hard. Ms. Copper was the hardest to deal with because she was not sick, but stolen from us. We will miss both of these birds very much and were glad that they were ours for the time they gave us.

Okay no more yucky bad, let's move to the good things!

Ms. Fudge is out and about now. After being pushed down the stairs by the guineas she has been living in a cage in my laundry room. She was very upset and just not happy. She would lay an egg every day but would look out the screen door at the other chickens and get upset. She still is limping but she is fast!!! I think she may limp for the rest of her life, but she is alive and now very happy. She is unable to perch right, so she goes to bed in a cage in the nursery. She is so much happier about her living arrangements now.

Ms. Sunshine was a little girl who broke her beak as a chick. She is doing great and has become the guardian of the flock. My son Wyatt, will go out sometimes to pick up a chicken and she gets soooo upset and will attack Wyatt until he drops the chicken. Such a funny bird, she has adjusted very well to her crooked beak and has no other problems at all.

Ms Lovey duck after her bath in the spring!

Ms. Curly Butt decided this morning that she would make sure what I was doing. You never know when you might need a nosy chicken.

We have a new scratching post! I moved a sink to the garden area and now the goats are using the hose hanger as a scratching post. I'm waiting to find it on the ground when I come home.

What a life! Ms. Jojo has the best life now and so glad we could give her this home. Pain in the butt and just a great personality. Can't wait to bred her again to get babies and milk!

Behind on the planting, but the weather hasn't been the best for planting. This weekend we are going to work on that and also....

we are getting rid of the cold frame and make it the pumpkin patch.

My horseradish had gotten a life of it's own. It has gotten huge!!!

Been busy in the garage and the sewing room. We have many ...

new items for sale on the Etsy store. 

I thought I was done with new designs for aprons but I had a request for a kitchen apron that was like my garden apron, soooo here it is and this is now available on the store also.

Farmer's Market in Independence and Wytheville have started so I will be there in person. Independence Market is Friday 9 to 2PM and Wytheville is on Saturday's 9 to 1 PM. Go check them out if you get a chance. I will keep everyone updated on where you can see me and our stuff at local shows. The season is upon us and it's going to be busy.

Rainy Days

Where's the boat?

It has just been raining buckets here in Virginia. My girls had gotten to the point of looking for the high ground to stay dry. Every time you walk in the yard or pasture, water runs up to the top of the ground.

We will need the rain, but right now the animals have had enough and I think we have too. My Orchard has not been mowed so it looks like we could cut for hay!  

Jojo got so sick of the water she jumps up here to get out of the wet. We have had breaks in the rain but not many. Today we have been lucky and we see sunshine, but they are talking about rain again for the rest of the week. I will never get my garden tilled at this rate.

Mr. Luther hiding from the girls. Everyone is in heat so poor Luther has been loved on by all the girls. He has truly just had enough of them and spent the day hiding.

Well we had a stranger in the barn. I sent the kids out one night to get the eggs and I knew where they were so I could make sure they were checking for them. Kids came back with 3 less eggs then they should have had in the basket. I sent the kids back out and they came back with no eggs. Ayla proceeded to tell me that she saw the eggs but when she had gone to the hayloft and came back down, they were gone. I thought we have a snake and I was okay with that, but we did not. We had a young raccoon, who thought he was getting a free meal, he was not. We caught him and he was released in a wooded area away from chickens! This was our excitement last week.

With all this rain it has given me time to push out more aprons and also

Some new bird feeders, so when you get a chance check out my Etsy store and see what is new, on my page "Things for sale". 

I am hoping that the rain will stop and I will have more on the garden and the re model of the barn.