Though I sincerely enjoy moving our meat birds across the field everyday during the growing season, I also sincerely enjoy a break from it through the colder season. It was especially nice to not need to move them Sunday morning before church. I did get one final chicken shelter moving in for the year…

Ol' Jack Frost showed up in the valley this morning. It’s about time to fire up the wood stove. And the chainsaw. No more chickens to move. We harvest our last batch of meat birds this Wednesday. Instead of saving the best for last, we saved the biggest for last…

Amy’s brother and his family came up to the valley for a few days while they were on fall break. The timing was also good for Amy and the kids to take a break from school and for us to slowdown from work. While there is always plenty that can be done, this is one of our slower seasons on the farm…

With a trip to the processor on Monday, we got 40 cows in the barn to sort on Sunday after church. Then sorted out the biggest 8 of about 30 hogs to load on the trailer to be ready to roll out Monday morning. Our beef inventory is low, and our pork inventory is next to out. We’ll be restocked soon. Thanks for your patience…

Thankful for about 1/2 inch of scattered showers this week. And the rainbow that followed. A class from Emory & Henry came out to the farm for a field trip on Monday. With Amy finishing filling coolers for her delivery to Chilhowie…

I love this time of year. Fields of spider webs on display in the mornings. This is my favorite time of year to be moving chickens. Partly because it means that chicken season is coming to an end, but even more so because I love seeing the chickens so aggressively go after the crickets and grasshoppers when being moved to fresh grass in the mornings. Another of many foraging options that conventionally raised chickens don’t have access to…

No more chicks in the brooder. We emptied out 10 shelters, totaling over 500 chickens, for harvest on Monday afternoon. We typically put about 60 chicks in our 10x12 Salatin style shelters. Each batch is moved daily across the field for approximately five weeks, totaling a distance of roughly 140 yards. So before restocking the empty shelters one last time…

Spending time sorting meat and filling orders is a pretty regular part of what we do, but I think we did more freezer work this week than any week prior to. Monday afternoon it was sorting through chicken and making sure we have enough parts set aside to fill chicken shares through the off season. We’re getting close. Tuesday it was…

Feeling like fall this week. Darkness hanging on a little longer each morning and coming back a little quicker in the evenings. Amy commented about being thankful for the decrease in daylight hours, resulting in an earlier dinnertime and a more decent bedtime…

Lots of meat deliveries this week. I delivered to Marion on Saturday while Amy took herd shares to the Abingdon Farmers Market. On Monday she and the kids delivered to Knoxville. Yesterday she delivered to Bristol and Kingsport, with the Transit van giving her a scare in between stops. When the time came to leave Bristol and head to the Kingsport drop, the van didn’t want to start…

It’s hard to get away from the farm, especially during chicken season. Even if I could get away, I often tell people that there’s no place I’d rather go than to the cabin. With vacancies at our Airbnb cabins this week, we decided to take the whole crew up to the cabin for a two night staycation…

Hallie’s goat enterprise was short lived. I went to take the dogs out with the chickens one night after getting back from the Rich Valley Fair over the weekend, but the dogs were not at home. They had ventured out the road 3/4 of a mile to the barn…

Looks like we’re in the goat business. The kids have been as excited about the Rich Valley Fair as I remember being at their age. On youth day at the fair, Hallie caught a goat and got to bring it home. Mustang is his new name. I don’t know much about goats…

For those who have been asking for eggs, we don’t have eggs, but we did get about 70 egg laying chicks this week. We should have eggs this fall. Hallie still has her few layers in the backyard. We purchase eggs from her for our own consumption. She’d been subcontracting out some of her chicken chores…

Monday morning I took 8 cows and 4 hogs to the processor which meant getting a group of almost 60 cows in the pens Sunday afternoon to sort and turn back out. Then sort out the biggest few hogs out of about 25 to load on the trailer. Monday evening the farm animal harvest continued, catching over 500 chickens…

I knew it was about time for more feed, but I miscalculated how far our remaining feed would last. With 18 tons of non-gmo feed scheduled for delivery on Tuesday, I ran out of chicken feed Saturday morning…

Happy 4th! Thankful for independence. And those who paid the price for freedom. I pray we don’t take it for granted. Or let it slip away. Another busy week on the farm. Monday was a lot of cattle sorting and hauling…

Mother Nature certainly flipped the switch from spring to summer on us. Freezer work filling orders actually felt refreshing. After getting a batch of almost 700 chicks settled in the brooder last Friday, we spent a few hours filling coolers and orders for Saturday’s herd share deliveries…

“When I rise up 
let me rise up joyful 
like a bird.
When I fall 
let me fall without regret 
like a leaf.” - Wendell Berry

Long days. It feels good to go to bed tired. Though I’m about at my limit, I feel like that’s probably where I should be. I’m thankful. Thankful for every bale that kicked out without a breakdown. Thankful for friends and family who continue to come help out on processing day. Thankful for my pretty wife raking hay, cutting up chickens, filling orders, making broth, cooking us dinner, and smiling as she goes…