We are happy to say that we will be at the following swap meets this fall of 2021: September 11, 2021 – Montrose Orchard, 12473 Seymour Road, Montrose, MI 48457 September 18, 2021 – Shipshewana Trading Place, 260-768-4129 October 9, 2021 – Kent County Youth Fairgrounds, 225 South Hudson St., Lowell, MI 49331 October 16,Continue reading “New Season – Swap Meets for 2021”
Author Archives: Jeff and Rita
Animal of the Month – Canvasback Duck
The Canvasback Duck is a relatively large diving duck that is successfully raised in private collections, though its natural habitat is lakes and marsh areas across North America. In the winter, they migrate to the coastal shores and some inland lakes that do not freeze over. In the summer, they can migrate as far northContinue reading “Animal of the Month – Canvasback Duck”
Of Farm Animals, Compost, and the Results of it All
Composting makes all the difference in my garden. This year, we used well rotted goat/sheep/chicken/rabbit manure and bedding as well as green wastes from the kitchen for the majority of our homemade compost. Other items we tossed in from time to time included paper, coffee grounds and untreated coffee filters, wood chips, weeds pulled fromContinue reading “Of Farm Animals, Compost, and the Results of it All”
Incubation – When to Incubate Eggs and When to Leave it to the Birds
At Life-Springs-Farm & Aviary, we have fired up our incubator for a trial run. Every spring about this time, we thoroughly clean and disinfect our incubator and hatcher using a reliable disinfecting spray made for incubators. Once that is done, it’s time fire them up and make sure they come up to, and stay at,Continue reading “Incubation – When to Incubate Eggs and When to Leave it to the Birds”
Animal of the Month – The Mandarin Duck
The Mandarin is a bright and colorful wood duck from Asia, primarily China and Japan, but they are also found in Siberia and North and South Korea. They are Asia’s counterpart to our North American Wood Duck. Easy to raise in captivity, the Mandarin is a duck that is becoming more and more in demandContinue reading “Animal of the Month – The Mandarin Duck”
Going Back to the Good Ole Days
These days, I am more obsessed with farming and gardening on a larger scale than I have in the past. Mind you, I have been growing an organic garden since 1988. However, as the years have come and gone, I have found myself expanding in both my thinking and my actual gardening practices. A fewContinue reading “Going Back to the Good Ole Days”
Baby Goats and Winter
Nigerian Dwarf goats go into heat every 21-28 days. We learned early on that the boys can successfully breed at an early age. This winter has been a mild one for us in northern Michigan. When we found that we had not taken our little Nigerian Dwarf buck, a.k.a. Bucky, away from the girls earlyContinue reading “Baby Goats and Winter”
Animal of the Month – The Falcated Duck
The Falcated Duck is a beautiful duck that used to be called Falcated Teal. The male has a shiny green and copper/brown head and a brown and white body. It is about the size of a Gadwall Duck and American Widgeon. The female is mostly brown with some gray/blue feathers on the wings. Naturally, itContinue reading “Animal of the Month – The Falcated Duck”
My Mother’s Book
My mom has been gone now for nearly five years. After my dad passed in August of 2020, we five siblings got to divide up what was left behind (in belongings, not land). This was made possible since they had a trust set up rather than a traditional will. My brother was trustee and heContinue reading “My Mother’s Book”
Animal of the Month – American Dorper Sheep
The American Dorper sheep is a hair breed that originated in South Africa about 1946 (when the breed was finalized). Blackheaded Persian Ewes were bred with Dorset Horn rams and, over time, the result was a hardy meat sheep that shed hair rather than wool that needed to be shorn. The meat from the DorperContinue reading “Animal of the Month – American Dorper Sheep”
