The summer solstice has come and gone and I am looking forward to the days getting shorter. We had some very hot weather this week with highs in the upper 90s and lots of humidity. For some places this is just summer weather, but we are used to cooler temperatures and the abrupt rise in temperatures was hard on all the animals, not just the humans. We make sure chickens have plenty of water, and as much ventilation as possible. For the pigs we also check water, maybe give them a spray with the hose for fun and to cool off, and make sure they have access to plenty of shade and woods to play in.
Racey is preparing to leave for Nepal this week, and flew out of Montreal on Saturday evening. She is running a pilot training for the SEADS Handbook, which she worked hard on for two years with her teammates to write and develop, and now they are in the process of building the training program to train folks to use the handbook. Pretty cool stuff, and full of fascinating conversations around what is the role of development, how one writes global standards for anything and my favorite topic so far: how to train people to use the manual AND respond in a crisis/emergency. Bon voyage Racey, we will miss you in so many ways.
With Racey’s departure we have a new arrival on the farm this week. My cousin Beatty Swett asked if she could come help on the farm while on summer break from her studies in Agriculture at our nearby Cornell University. Beatty is full of curiosity, imagination and she brings her smile to whatever she is helping with. This week was a not-so-timid introduction to our life and farm. We had a heat wave, swimming with Lewis and Lovett at the pond, long days learning and helping make a large batch of chicken apple sausage and so much more. Welcome Beatty.
Racey will be away for two weeks, with a time difference of 9 hours and 45 minutes (who knew Nepal has their own time zone which is 15 minutes ahead of Indian Standard Time…), we have a great team of people this year, more than ever before and we are excited to support Racey in her absence.
Farm Happenings
This week Noah borrowed this fantastic dump trailer from our neighbor and friend Tully. We hauled some wood chips from another neighbor Jerry who has a firewood processing business. We use these chips, mixed with peat moss bedding from the brooder and the viscera from chicken processing to make some pretty awesome compost. We will have compost available in the spring!
Happy Solstice.
Reber Rock Farm Blog 