Gardens at HOWL

Our gardens at HOWL - A Vermont Women's Land Trust, pictured below about 2 weeks ago, are in full swing. I have canned 8 pints of green beans. Numerous meals have been accompanied by this wonderful legume, which is so rich in vitamin C, iron, potassium & fiber. The piggies have had their fair share as well.



Summer squashes abound and a few tomatoes are finally ripening. Swiss chard, beets, turnips and of course lots and lots of basil. About 10 servings of pesto are now in the freeze. Soon the tomatillos will be turned into salsa verde and more pesto will be made. Potatoes survived an early tussle with the Colorado potato beetle. With some vigilant hand picking of those pesky larva, I managed to eliminate them. The early blight and I are having a time of it...so far I am winning. I heard the late blight was here in Vermont, but I am hopeful that I won't get it.

The piggies have been given the remains of the spinach, arugula and broccoli, and I chop up the really large zucchinis for a nice side dish at dinner time.

Wiggers move to new paddock!

There is nothing more entertaining to see than a piggy on pasture. They run, they play. When we move them to a new pasture, they explore the boundaries of the paddock, immediately rooting around for the new, tasty tidbits. They'll leave your wild berries alone, but all else is fair game.

This is one of the Tamworth pigs coming through the thickest part of the new paddock.

Clearing the pastures

Slowly clearing and improving pasture is a lot of work. With our new mower, we can mow down all the weeds that the sheep don't eat...but only after we cut out all the saplings. Look at this pile!! Icelandic sheep eat most all weeds...even some that are toxic! Icelandic sheep are perfect for Vermont climates and conditions and are really helping to bring these fields back.

Lambs get ear tags

Not the most popular job on the farm, but the lambs were becoming increasingly difficult to tell apart...well, the white ones anyway. They all are ear tagged and hoof trimmed in early summer.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly...

My friend Jude took this photo of two of our Plymouth Barred Rock chickens...I couldn't resist...

Stark Hollow Farm animals have arrived at HOWL

The Icelandic sheep, Tamworth pigs and layer hens of Stark Hollow Farm have moved to their summer home at HOWL - Vermont Women's Land Trust in Huntington, Vt. The grass was already hip high by the time the animals landed over the Memorial day weekend. The critters are so happy to be there. There are 24 sheep, 4 pigs and 9 chickens right now with a few more layers on the way. We are working with HOWL on stewardship of the land to help bring back the fallow pastures. This year we hope to have the sheep graze out the labyrinth so that it may once again be enjoyed by HOWL caretakers and visitors alike.

Vanessa & her new truck

Ain't she just a farmer now! Our new (well, really used) Ford F150 was a real asset as we moved all the animals from Starksboro onto summer pasture at HOWL. Oakley loves the bench seat. It's got a hitch for the trailer and everything...every farm has gotta have a truck!