“…if the grasses don’t run dry and the newborn calves they don’t die, another year from Mary will have flown…” –Lyle Lovett
Every time I hear this song it speaks to me of the hardships of farming.
This is what our pastures look like at Circle S. At least they aren’t just dirt yet – which will happen eventually if we don’t get some rain. I guess my greatest fear is to run out of feed for our animals. We are responsible for their livelihood, and they are responsible for ours. We can irrigate the garden, but it is impossible to irrigate our pastures.
We implemented a rotational grazing system on our new property for precisely this reason. It is a definite advantage, we already know people who are selling off their cattle because they are out of grass. Farmers and horse owners are frantically searching for hay, because hot, dry weather is detrimental to most hay crops.
Our fruit crops were non-existent this year because of the drought. My strawberries were eaten by the crows. The blueberries dried up and fell off the bushes before they ever got ripe. The grapes and apples are doing the same thing.
But – worry does nothing to help, so we will take it one day at a time. As my friend at the feed store says, “farmer’s are nothing but gamblers”.
Sooooo – I guess we will gamble on another season. I have my fall CSA sign up information posted on the website. We are ramping up for an exciting year next year. We should be moved into our cabin by September – the last (and hardest) animals to move will be our two cats Lucy and Biscuit.
We will be building a new flock of Circle S hens this fall, and will be back to selling eggs next spring. We will also be back to selling quarters of beef and some smaller beef packages by late winter.
What’s in the bucket: Fennel, carrots, cabbage, summer squash, cucumbers, potatoes, kohlrabi, okra or cherry tomatoes.
What’s at market: fennel, cabbage, potatoes, summer squash, red, white and blue potatoes. 4th of July special: buy one quart red white and blue potatoes get one free.