Sfumato Farm

On Raccoons

It's been a rough spring. We lost 45 pullets to raccoons over the past month and change. We were looking at a great egg-laying flock, and they are simply gone.  After we had lost the first batch, I had set up a catch trap, but a raccoon

production report

September 2023 Production Report

Fall is upon us, and with it, a little rain and cooler temps. Let's see how we did: TypeProductionMilk31.875 GallonsEggs345 Eggs are back up to July levels, but nowhere near the May craziness (900+). We have had about 10 birds sneak out of the coop and become

John to Present on Scything at Self Reliance Festival

John will be giving a class and ongoing demonstrations at the Self Reliance Festival in Camden, TN on October 14-15. Joel Salatin, Jack Spirko, John Willis, and many other excellent people will be presenting there as well. Come out and say hello and find your tribe!

production report

August 2023 Production Report

Heat. Heat. Heat. It's been super dry as well. TypeProductionMilk38 GallonsEggs85 Milk stayed pretty solid in volume, but eggs have bottomed out. There's just not been enough rain, very few grasshoppers, and the birds are just not laying much at all. They're also getting

production report

July 2023 Production Report

Moving into July, we were absent from the farm intermittently for an Irish wedding, Scout camp, and a few other things. TypeProductionMilk36 GallonsEggs357 Super hot temperatures reduced egg laying, and some of the eggs after a few days in the coop had gone bad. We will likely get the paddock

production report

June 2023 Production Report

June was an unexpected suprise month, as Fiona calved on the 14th, so we ended up with more milk than we expected (expectation was zero). Show me the numbers! Type Production Milk 4.125 Gallons Eggs 644 We water glassed an additional 81 eggs, and froze 6 dozen scambled in

production report

May 2023 Production Report

May is done and we've dried off Fiona as she gets ready to calve in July. We also sold off seven of our hens to our neighbor, Brad, as he had a hawk issue and we were dealing with a few too many eggs. Let's get

Baby Calf!

[A few weeks late, catching up!] In a very unexpected surprise, we have a baby calf a few weeks early. We were planning for July 7 or 21st, but instead we got June 14th. We had gone to a swim meet and came back to seeing a calf standing next

production report

April 2023 Production Report

Spring is sprung, and with it the farm is starting to come alive. Let's get right to the numbers: Type Production Milk 58 Gallons Eggs 485 (up from 98) We converted some of that into storage or other uses: 17 Sticks of Butter (from skimmed cream) 4.75g

production report

March Farm Production Report

Well, a big change this month was the addition of Fiona, our Jersey dairy cow. So I felt it was appropriate to report on what we're able to produce every month in 2023. January and February were effectively squat, with only a handful of eggs the entire month.

On Importing Firewood

For those who heat partially or entirely with firewood, sometimes it isn't easy to procure enough from your property to meet the need for the winter season. In these cases, we are often left with the option of purchasing firewood. Sometimes this results in the firewood coming from

house addition

Restoring a 1930s Farm Sink

This was a fun project over the summer. Took a while to get it done, but the end result is great and hopefully it'll last another 90 years at least!

2020 Garden Review

Gardens are often aspirational. We have grand plans in December and January when we order seed and we may even get seeds started on time, only to fall behind quickly come midsummer. That was the story we encountered this year. Not only a pandemic, but also finishing our house addition

scything

Scything Demonstration

My cousin, David, and my Dad both asked to see a video of me scything, so I turned it into a bit of an instructional demonstration. Enjoy! Using a scythe kit from Scythe Supply [https://www.scythesupply.com] and a 85cm Fux Haying Blade from One Scythe Revolution [https://onescytherevolution.

house addition

Footings and Floods

It's been an abnormally dry summer here. Last year was abnormally wet, so maybe it's just balancing it out. But while it hasn't rained much for months, nature decided to drop 5"+ of rain in the last week. The Commonwealth was in a

house addition

Groundbreak

When we moved to Sfumato in 2013, Whitney had but one strong caveat: We'd either expand the house or move by the five year mark.

goats

The Baby Goat Countdown

Sing that article title (badly) to the 80s Europe hit "The Final Countdown" and that's where we are. The first goat born on our farm years ago, Faye, is pregnant here for the third time. She's been seperated with her first daughter (Minerva) from

Seed Starting for 2019

We're a bit late this year getting seeds started. It's been a very wet 2018 and everything around the farm has been getting behind, as it's effectively been a mudslide anywhere you turn. I purchased a large number of plastic cell starters 3 years

farmlife

Saying Goodbye to Beauregard

I’m sad to report that we lost Beauregard the billy goat a few days ago. John and I have been taking it pretty hard. He had gotten anemic a couple weeks ago, but John had been treating him and we thought he was doing better. Then John found him

construction

A Foyer Landing Zone

When we bought Sfumato, the foyer was pretty simple. It worked well enough for two, and with Quincy it was still manageable. Once Gabe arrived and then Teddy as well, the area became difficult to use. It was almost impossible to pass to the closet to gain access to coats.

breastfeeding

Weaning and other thoughts on Nursing

Teddy last nursed two weeks ago. Even just typing that sentence makes me emotional! I am definitely still in hormonal limbo so bear with me if I come across as maudlin. I do NOT take my nursing relationships for granted when my babies are born because I had such a

birthstory

Teddy's Birth Story, A Year Later

1am Thursday, October 27th two days after my due date, I awoke to regular contractions about five minutes apart. They weren’t super strong, but regular and strong enough that I couldn’t sleep so I dared excitement. As John slept beside me and I debated how to pass the

preparedness

Intro to Preparedness

Recently, some friends who are new homeowners asked us about the basics of being prepared. Here's their primary question: > Now that we're semi-normal people who actually live in a house, I'm trying to figure out how to be somewhat prepared (hurricanes make

essentialoils

Lavender: My first essential oil love

I've been using essential oils for four years now and lavender will forever be my first true love. It is known for its anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antidepressant, antiseptic, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. It also has antispasmodic, analgesic, detoxifying, hypotensive and sedative effects. I think most people know lavender

The Athayde Musical Canon

My late mother used to quiz my brother and I on classical music and classic rock in the car. 10,000 points if we could name that tune! "No, no 20,000 points!!!" She would plead for us to take a stab at naming the artist at the