Maid-N-Meadows: Fall Update 2019

  Fall sure has been a doozy! I don't know about anyone else, but the heat combined with no rain turned our pastures into dust! Our cows suffered and so did our milk production! But that wasn't our biggest challenge of the season. As soon as we started to experience a cool down and a bit of rain, we got hit with a family crisis.....one that would take a month to recover from.

                                

Baby Elora on CPAP, under a heat lamp. She was 18 inches long and weighed 4lbs 10oz.

   

10 Things I love About Farming!

        The farm life is a life of passion and excitement! (Sometimes the excitement is not the fun kind, but there is never a dull moment!) Here are my top ten favorite things about living and working on a farm.

10. No Traffic And Comfy Clothes

 

Raising Meat Chickens

      Many years ago, I got 10 Cornish Cross meat chickens to try and raise a little meat for my family. It was May and they were cute and cuddly and were fun to watch as they snapped up bugs and gorged on clover blossoms. As butchering time approached and they became big, clumsy beasts, it was July. They were not fairing well in the heat. They panted and waddled over to their water and then stretched back out in the shade. Occasionally one would be dead for no apparent reason, though I suspected the heat was playing a role.
      I decided I wasn't doing that again! Losing a six pound bird is expensive, not to mention the animals didn't seem too happy in the heat. Who could blame them?

Why We Started Maid-N-Meadows

           I have been sharing some of our journey in the cheese business, but I thought today I should share some of the personal reasons of why we actually started this journey to begin with. What really pushed us forward was a time of crisis in our family and marriage....this business, was actually born out of a serendipitous opportunity in a time of insane uncertainty. While our friends were supportive, there was no getting around that given the stress we were relating to, this was a rather risky time to invest in such a huge undertaking.

Early label design!

           Looking back though, I think the business was a beacon of hope. It was something that we could build together, even though at that moment  we had forgotten how to work together. The efforts we have undertaken to make our family stronger were and are valiant ones. But this business is still in the early stages and the hours are rough. I still look back in wonder at how far we have come, but I still wonder about the path forward!

Sitting Out: A Day On The Farm

          "Normal life" is starting to materialize on the farm! We have a huge backlog of bills, repairs, maintenance, and gardening work to keep us busy, but we can feel some hope of achievement, at least. Calves are being born, milk is in the tank, and cheese is getting made....all within a mile of one another. We don't miss the three hour trip to the old facility one bit! We even have a little time to stop and smell the ironweed and goldenrod!

Super Large, Jumbo Water Bath Canner

            Ever wonder how the Amish manage to can so much food? Well I have an answer for part of the secret! Yes, the "plain" folk are hard workers! Their large gardens, combined with a determined work ethic, yield hundreds of jars of food for the winter every year. But Amish and Mennonite folk don't just work hard, they work smart, too. Introducing the jumbo yard version of the water bath canner!

 

Family Gardening! Tips and Tactics To Battle The Weeds!

           

  It is July and we have squash coming out of our ears! After spending our summers driving to Windsor's cheese facility for the past two years, this year we had a garden. And not just any garden! Oh no, it is the biggest garden we have had in 10 years! Go big or bust right? It has been a challenge to keep up with it while we were working on our home facility, but Karson has the farming bug, especially if it involves some kind of engine.....tractor, tiller....He wanted to try some larger scale growing to share produce this year with the hopes that he can sell a little next year.
              So with about 60 hills of watermelon, 10 hills of butternut, 50 hills of cantaloupe, 50 lbs of potatoes, 65 tomato plants, and a lot of corn, keeping the weeds back has been a battle. But I thought I would share the various techniques we use to keep the fight to a minimum.