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Farm Blog
Stories from the heart of Hawthorn Farm.
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Context is Everything
Here's a list of phrases heard around the farm. And a list of who said them. Can you match them? "Every disc plow comes with a player...


A Skeptical Mare, the Valuable Soil Test, and Burying Beauty
Dolly had her "What the heck are you humans thinking" look after a hard day's work cultivating onions in the rain. That red tool next to...


Make Friends With Giants
When someone gave us 4 teenage roosters, we turned the birds loose on the farm. That couldn't be a worse fate than becoming cat food,...


Worth It For The Beauty
I never understood the term "eye candy." Until the crimson clover bloomed at the squash patch. Jenn and I spread handfuls of crimson...


Did Freya the Goat Discover Perpetual Motion?
When I go to milk the goats, sometimes one teat is emptier than the other. It's rarely the same side on the same goat. I'm suspicious....


At Least Everyone's Feet Stayed On
The ponies tolerated my attempt at plowing the front yard. It was a big pull through tough sod in tight quarters. Chiara handled the...


Steam Punk Hoophouse
Or is it Steam Gunk? Our compost-heated hoophouse is visibly warmer than the spring morning air. I love messing about in the mists of...


Farming, Finances, Freedom
Along with soil and goat milking, I think about property taxes. Should I ask the county for help in preserving this place as farmland? ...


Love, Pain, and a Five-sweep Cultivator
Pony-powered farm update: During the last sunny stretch, the team pulled my new cultivator at the rented farmland. Duke and Dolly were...


Chicken Milk Soap!
Years ago, Paul Wheaton of Permies.com asked if he could film my chicken butchering process. Little did I know this video would propel...
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