Karen

Strength and the Farm

I am not naturally endowed with much upper body or core strength. I’ve never been able to do a pull-up or even hang from a bar for more than a second. My core strength was once mediocre, but two pregnancies have left me longing for the good old days of even mediocre core strength. And,Continue reading “Strength and the Farm”

Moving Pigs

This week we have 6 new pigs arriving at the farm – a breeding pair of Gloucestershire Old Spots and their 4 piglets. We’re very excited about their arrival, but in preparation we need to relocate our current pigs. One of our winter goals is to install a permanent perimeter fence in our woods withContinue reading “Moving Pigs”

Winter on the Farm

2018 has been frigid so far with temps not reaching above freezing until yesterday. Sunday morning was -2 at the farm, which is awfully close to the record low for the Charlottesville area (-10 in 1985) and well below the average January low of 25. Life pretty much comes to a standstill at the farmContinue reading “Winter on the Farm”

Cast of Critters

I’d love to introduce you to the current cast of critters on Heart & Bones Hollow. Let’s start with our faithful dogs. Scamper has been with us the longest. A 3-year-old Cattle dog/hound (?) mix, he has just come into his own and is proving to be a fiercely loyal and obedient dog. Through noContinue reading “Cast of Critters”

A Year on the Farm

December means it’s time to reflect on the last year. 2017 has been a great year for our little farm. We more than doubled our growing area from the previous season, attended 2 weekly markets, started selling pork at the market, had our first goat birth on the farm, and dipped our toes into mushroomContinue reading “A Year on the Farm”

One Mower Plow

Not long after we moved to Virginia, my cousin passed down a couple of tools from my great, great grandfather. One was his pitchfork – over a hundred years old with the original handle and his initials carved into it – still as strong and as useful as ever. The second was his plow. FarmingContinue reading “One Mower Plow”

Backbone of the Farm

I’ve been laid up with a back injury this past week, which has reminded me of the importance of a farmer’s back. Or anyone’s back for that matter! Since we try to limit our use of fossil fuels on the farm, much of the work is done by hand. We use our small garden tractorContinue reading “Backbone of the Farm”

Autumn – Letting Go

One of the things I love most about farming is the changing of seasons. Each season has its own delights and challenges. Now that we’ve had two hard freezes, it feels like we have finally moved solidly into autumn and are beginning to stare down the start of winter. This autumn has been particularly beautifulContinue reading “Autumn – Letting Go”

Settling in Virginia

In the last post I said I didn’t come from a farming family. Well, that’s not entirely true, but you have to go back a few generations. My great, great grandfather, Papa Collins, had a 100+ acre farm kind of across the street from our farm. I may have met him when I was aContinue reading “Settling in Virginia”

Farming as Calling

I did not grow up in a farming family. I didn’t even grow up in a family with deep food traditions – unless you count the Vienna sausages my grandmother would feed us when we would visit or the stashes of snickerdoodles and pound cakes in her freezer, though I still really love snickerdoodles. AndContinue reading “Farming as Calling”