How to Cool Off in the Heat

July is in full swing. We started the week with temperatures in the 90s. For much of the country this would be a relief, but we have been enjoying highs in the 70s all summer, and so the jump in temperature is always a sweaty and lethargic adjustment. We delayed our chicken catching on Sunday to wait for the sun to go down and the day to cool off. The delay inspired some contributions from our dinner guests Dakin and Kristen! Visiting from Saranac Lake for a birthday dinner, they donned some gloves and long sleeve shirts to help us catch chickens. With the fully staffed crew of myself, Gwen, Lewis, Cedar, Dakin, and Kristen, we were done in half the time. Thank you for making it quick and stress free for the chickens and humans.

On Monday Lovett, Otis and I brought the new batch of chicks to the field in some much needed rain. Rain gear was an afterthought as we headed to the field with a trailer full of 3-week old chicks. With most afternoons in the 90s we welcomed the cooling rain. In the spring and fall cold rain can be dangerously cold, but I was soaked through in a few minutes and enjoyed every minute. Otis and I unloaded the chicks while Lovett helped empty the feeders and more importantly mop the ranger of the incoming rain! There must be a good saying about mopping in a rainstorm?

We also received two long awaited shipments this week. Racey and the team at Ndara are excited to announce that their online store is live! The pallet of trunks full of beautiful product finally arrived this week and Racey will be filling and shipping orders from our barn here at Reber Rock Farm.

Much less colorful but also delayed is our pallet of chicken crates to catch the chickens ready for processing. We increased our batch size this year and invested in more crates, but they have taken many months to get here. Thank you Essex Farm for lending us some to get us through.