Daffodils Poking Out
of the Ground during
the warm Spring Days

 

Snow on Bluff Mountain
Over which the
Appalachian Trail Passes

Little Arthur

Farmer Mandy

Little Arthur and Brother Frank

We never thought that little Arthur would survive. His mother rejected him so from the beginning he was a bottle fed baby. He had a rough beginning as his first few nights on the farm were a struggle. After he was getting strong enough to stand up, he fell in a crack between our stalls, and spent a cold night stuck and hanging by his neck. After that experience, he couldn’t stand up so we nursed him back to health. Our farm is in business to grow plants and veggies so we all needed to go to the ‘Whole Bloomin Thing”, which is our largest plant sale, so we didn’t think he would survive with no one at the farm to feed him; however, our neighbors Ann and Arthur came over several times that day and fed him. So he survived and that’s how he became Little Arthur. We thought he would always be a little runt because he was always one fourth the size of his brother Frank. Frank was not rejected from his mother so he grew quickly and healthy because he had the luxury of two teats to himself while Arthur remained the runt. Amazingly enough, today Arthur is about the same size as his brother Frank. Probably because Mandy spoiled Arthur with treats so Arthur is always seeking out food.  

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan, Little Ms. Ann and Brother Frank

Little Arthur and Brother Frank

 

Setting a post for the greenhouse

 

Getting ready to check level

 

All posts concreted and curing

 

Alvin in his dozer wile grading for our 4
 new greenhouses

 

Alvin with Carl and Donna checking the level
after a pass with his  Dozer

“Wouldn’t pull a greasy string out of a cat’s ass!”   

Alvin Kirpatrick is one great farmer in Spring Creek and has one of the prettiest tobacco crops each year. He taught us the principles and ethics of farming. He has been farming most of his life growing beans, tomatoes, hay, tobacco, potatoes, plus many things I probably don’t know about. One season we helped him pull down tobacco after it cured so that it could be graded and sold. He picked up each and every leaf that fell off the plant as we were pulling the tobacco down from the tier poles  – he cherished his crop – that is what we strive for with all of our crops.  

 Thank goodness Alvin is grading for our greenhouses because he is taking the time to be sure that we have good drainage between each of the four houses we hope to put up over the next year. One thing we have learned about growing in the greenhouse, one must drain the rain away from the house, otherwise you will loose crops from the ground being too wet. In previous growing seasons, we lost our greenhouse basil crop just from not draining the rainfall away from the house.       

  

Peeper Eggs!

Can you find the Peeper?

    

 More Peeper Eggs!

  

Our Little Seedlings!

We constantly have projects lined up and it seems that if we don’t have enough projects in the pipeline to last us a few years, we must think of more projects, just to keep us from thinking that we might someday have nothing to do but sit on the porch and nap. For example, this year we hope to put up a couple greenhouses that have been sitting on pallets in the fields for a couple years. Even though we always have a project underway, with us, however, it seems as though “The Growing Season Officially Begins” with the onset of the first day of seeding. It actually feels great to sterilize the flats and inserts, mix some dirt, put dirt in the flat inserts, and then carefully drop seeds in each sell of the flat insert!

Ocasionally we ask ourselelves, why do we farm?  We work very, very hard and make no money at it. We farm because we enjoy growing healthy food for people, eating healthy food ourselves and preserving our harvest for the winter, and we are dedicated to keeping farmscapes in the horizon.