FoxPlot babies

The first farm babies of the season arrived on February 25, much to the delight of their father and the relief of their mother.  Violet and Hazel arrived more quickly than their older sister Ruby had, but with no less fanfare. Ruby (2.5) who loves all soft and fuzzy things, loves to pet their soft little heads, and pick out soft fuzzy outfits for them to wear.

Just as those babies reached two months old, our next batch of farm babies arrived.  Fifty chicks hatched on a Monday and were overnighted from Whitmore Farm, in Maryland.  We chose three breeds; Ameracauna, Delaware, and Wellsummer. This is our first foray into the world of backyard chickens and while it might not be the ideal time to start a new project, here we go! We have be saving egg cartons for several years with the intention of having chickens in the future. Ruby is in love with them, and they seem to tolerate her affections well.  She talks to them sweetly and tells me how soft baby chicks are when they are just born. They spent the first week inside our house, but rapidly outgrew the space.  When the house started smelling a wee bit like a zoo, we moved them to a larger space in the garage. Ruby excitedly helped move them but then upon realizing what had happened, she cried and begged me to ‘put them back where they were.”  The chickens seem to be bigger each morning, and before long they will be ready for backyard living.

The growing season is also well underway at the FoxPlot. We might be crazy for trying to grow while now juggling three very small girls, but we are not without help.  Sara S. has been diligently starting and tending the greenhouse full of plants, and has begun planting them out in the garden beds.  Our biggest problem seems to be growing more plants than we have room for! The peas are 8 inches high, the spinach is fully grown, and the kale and chard are not far behind. It’s been a reasonable spring, with fair days followed by cool rain.  The tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and eggplants are taking over every inch in the greenhouse and will be in the ground soon, weather permitting.  (Insert awesome plant photo here. Regrettably, we have taken very few garden photos this year but it’s my intention to take more).

We are still offering shares of our CSA for this season.  We will be selling at the St. Charles Market as often as we can, though the schedule is yet to be determined. You can stop by the Baker Methodist Church for the indoor St. Charles Market tomorrow from 9-12.  Sara will be there with loads of spinach, plants, and a few jars of honey from last season.