The feel of summer began to shift this week. The grass and the leaves are still green but the wind and the evenings have a new chill to them. Chief and Lovett have been watching carefully for the first signs of Fall, a yellow birch leaf, or a red maple leaf. I love and treasure the excitement of the coming season and the change it brings. For the kids Fall means Jack Frost is coming and he’ll soon bring us snow and Winter. For the farm Fall brings cooler nights, and the reminder that tender baby chicks need protection from the cool breeze, while our grasses and pastures love the cooler weather as do the cattle. This week is also the last week before school starts and we have been busy with our last few full days on the farm together.
Through my healing process Chief and Lovett have learned what it means to be a helper around the house and the farm. I’ll admit I can now carry the boxes of chicks from the post office to the car, but there is such purpose for them when they know they are helping because I actually need help. The walk from the car to the brooder was a bit farther, so they practiced their teamwork.
I helped them take the tape off the boxes, since the packing tape will stick to the new chick down and is a pretty awful sight when a chick gets tangled in the tape bundle, but they carried the boxes into the brooder and began unloading the chicks. What fun to see every chick as they got to know their new home.
With these chicks safely and warmly settled in their new home we only have one more batch of chicks left to come before the end of the season. That will mark well over 3000 birds for the season and the potential for more next season.
Reber Rock Farm Blog 